Restaurants
 
The Milanese can spend hours discussing where and when their next meal will take place, and which seasonal specialities will feature. Even when you are drinking the focus is on the food, as evidenced by the ritual of aperitivi, when every bar worth its Martini lays out tempting nibbles for “happy hour” (7-9pm). While you're here, try to sample local dishes, such as cassouela, a Milanese risotto with saffron, featuring pig's trotters, sausage and ham.

Two welcome changes have hit the dining scene over the past couple of years. First, many hotels now have excellent restaurants, and smoking has been banned from all but about 50 bars and restaurants.
Lunch takes place between 1pm and 3pm, and the work-conscious Milanese are less likely than their Roman counterparts to linger over several courses. Dinner starts at about 8pm. Many restaurants are closed on Sunday or Monday and shut down throughout August. 

Curiosity
Eat, drink and be merry in restaurants frequented by VIP's. Such places are numerous in Milan, where a little luck can place you next to a "big name label", a singer or popular celebrity. Miuccia Prada and her husband are fond of Bebel's, while Tom Ford, the American Gucci stylist, prefers the Trattoria delle Langhe. The Versace family often lunches at Conte Camillo and dines at the Torchietto. The creative spirits of the younger generation, Kean Etro and Dolce & Gabbana, prefer alternative restaurants like Brick Oven, Vecchio Porco, the Russian Yar or the Japanese Fuji .


Our favourites: 

BEBEL'S
Via San Marco, 38
Restaurant, pizzeria, grill. This elegant place is a favourite haunt of Miuccia Prada, understandable given its refined Art Nouveau styling and warm ambience of the sunny colour scheme. The menu incorporates traditional, homey cooking in keeping with the decor. Bebel's offers a wide range of meat and fish dishes, while the pizza is somewhat limited.

TRATTORIA DELLE LANGHE
Corso Como, 6
The Langhe's cuisine is known for its Piemontese cooking, where truffles reign supreme. The atmosphere is reserved and elegantly clothed in dark wood panelling. The restaurant annex features an unusual salad bar, a small bistro with huge mirrors and few tables which offers some 38 types of salad dishes.

CONTE CAMILLO
Piazza Cavour, 3
Select and intimate characterise the restaurant annexed to the Hotel Cavour. Maitre Flavio Perotti guarantees impeccable service while chef Claudio Tallarini conjures up a new menu every week drawn from a multitude of sources of which the Lombardian regional cuisine is the undisputed favourite.

TORCHIETTO
Via A.Sforza, 47
Optimal traditional cuisine rich in masterfully prepared regional specialities. We recommend the high quality home made pasta. Nice friendly atmosphere frequented by the fashion scene.

BRICK OVEN
Via Marsala, 2
An exciting new post-modern arrival featuring a menu with only high-quality pizzas and steaks. There are around 40 different kinds of pizza from the most traditional to the avant-garde, all large and oval-shaped, served on cutting boards.
The beef is Texan-style: filets, roast beef, steaks and cutlets with American sauces. Excellent, if basic wine list includes half-bottles. Beer on tap is a tasty alternative.

AL VECCHIO PORCO
Via Messina, 8
Classic restaurant with garden and veranda. Frequented by sports celebrities (especially those of soccer and motorcycling), fashion personalities and the show business crowd. It's possible to reserve the premises for the evening for private functions. The cuisine is simple, traditional Italian fare. The pizza is also quite good. The wine list is excellent, though limited to Italian wines.

YAR
Via Mercalli, 22
Vodka and caviar, meat, fish, potatoes, herring and the inevitable Beef Stroganoff in this fine locale dedicated to the very best of Russian cooking. In the bistro-bar, guests can taste 18 kinds of vodka lined up behind the bar, served with snacks laced with caviar. In the elegant restaurant section, where its softly lit walls are lined with velvet, the sumptuous meals of the Tsars are recreated in special menus and such traditional dishes as borscht and salmon ravioli.

FUJI
Via Montello, 9
Japanese. Essential, very elegant, with the sushi bar in full view. Food is of the highest quality, particularly the raw fish. Menu represents the best of Japanese cuisine.

BICE
Via Borgospesso, 12
On of Milan's most renowned restaurants, best-known for its VIP clientele. Generations of the Bice family have carried on the restaurant's grand tradition since 1922. It is significant that Bice is one of the most established Milan eateries, in view of the fact that the cuisine is primarily Tuscan. Impeccable service.

GIACOMO
This elegant Tuscan restaurant is imbued with turn-of-the-century charm. Optimal fish dishes, particularly the "spaghetti allo scoglio" (spaghetti literally "on the rocks", made with seafood). Everything is just right and the service beyond reproach. Pleasant, fashionable atmosphere..

PAPER MOON
Via Bagutta, 1
A "fashion pizza" is on the menu of this small but well-known restaurant in the centre of Milan which offers an extensive selection of crunchy crust pizzas laden with great toppings, as well as "fast food" Italian style. A favourite among show business people, it wouldn't be at all surprising to run into Carreras here one evening.

OSTERIA DELL'OPERETTA
Corso da Porta Ticinese, 70
An antique Milanese osteria that's very "in" at the moment, popular for its "odd" cuisine. Specialities include tortelloni in basil cream, beef strips with cheese fondue and rich vegetarian salads as well as a vegetable sauté. Wide assortment of cheeses. Great selection of desserts. The wine list is not extensive, but quite good.

TRATTORIA TOSCANA
Corso da Porta Ticinese, 58
An oasis amidst the hustle and bustle with a spacious garden rimmed by the historical houses of Porta Ticinese. One of the very trendiest places to be at he moment. Well-visited by models, the fashion set and high-rollers. First courses are excellent Tuscan delights. A good spot to stop off for an aperitif or after-dinner drink.

ZEN
Via Maddalena, 1
Sushi, Trendy. Sushi served on a conveyor belt.

CHANDELIER
Via Broggi, 17
Trendy-chic. Atmospheric restaurant, exuberant interior, baroque, rococo, kitsch and chic. The plates are highly decorative; fusion-style food.

LA CANTINA DI MANUELA
Via Carlo Poerio, 3
Fine selection of Italian wines, family-style cooking

LA TRADIZIONALE
Via Bergognone, 16
Trendy, Pizzeria-grill,

CORSO COMO CAFE
Corso Como, 10
Carla Sozzani's place began as a chic and refined cafè. Now it's the most important fashion place in Milan. Sozzani''s Gallery : artists, designers, famous fashion photographers exhibitions.
Sozzani shop: the most fashionable. Luxurious and tranquil restaurant. Italian - world fusion cuisine. Ideal for quiet business lunch, more animated in the evening.

ARMANI VIA MANZONI
Via Manzoni, 31
Multifunction store “The Armani Empire”. There you will find Emporio Armani men's and women's clothing and accessories, Armani Fiori flower shop supplied by Christian Tortu, Armani Profumi fragrance bar, Armani Libri international bookstore, Armani Casa forniture and decorating space, Emporio Armani Caffè and Nobu bar restaurant.

SHAMBALA
Via Ripamonti, 337
Trendy, Oriental. It's the most fashionable and the most frequented ethno-chic restaurant at the moment. The menu and the decor reflect the cosmopolitan nature of the staff in the kitchen (Asian, Vietnamese and Pacific).