Seta is located in the beautiful Mandarin Oriental Hotel. It has a nice sized indoor dining room as well as a good sized candlelit patio, where we were able to sit. The patio has large windows looking into the kitchen where you see dozens of people working on your meal. It is new, having just opened in July 2015, but the service is well up to speed. They offer a tasting menu as well as a la carte. It was a gorgeous, elegant way to enjoy our last meal in Milan. Continue reading
Antica Trattoria Della Pesa feels like it’s in an old house as the rooms ramble through it, each decorated with memorabilia and wine bottles. We went because I had to try their ‘fried risotto”. It is a fairly large menu with lots of classic options. We started with pasta and porcini mushrooms which was buttery and finished with a light sprinkling of parmesan. It was simple yet elegant and delicious. The pasta was very thin and had a tendency to get clumpy but it was too good to care. Continue reading
Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia consists of 2 dining rooms both filled with art. We were seated in the smaller of the dining rooms with mostly non-Italian diners. The larger room had more wall art but each of our tables had a metal animal on it as decoration. Maybe because of the art but the lighting was a bit bright to me but the service could not have been more attentive and welcoming. They offer a couple tasting menus as well as a la carte. This night we chose to go the latter direction. Continue reading
Mirta is a small place with a casual atmosphere, that seemed frequented by local, regular customers. It serves seasonal and creative food without frills that is excellent. It is a family run place with Juan Lema of Uruguay as the main chef and his wife Cristina Borgherini running the front of the house. They make fresh pasta daily and the chef’s attention to detail delivers a tasty, satisfying product to the lucky diner. The rest of the staff was friendly and helpful, our waitress being particularly helpful in making selections. It was an experience I look forward to having again. Continue reading
Cracco is a small 2 star Michelin place that offers a quiet and elegant dining experience. The main dining room has about 8 tables and there are also a several tables on an upstairs level that opens on to the main dining room and another squeezed into a small nook. Service is very friendly and attentive but while the lighting in the room makes picture taking easier I might have preferred a slightly dimmer room. They offer a tasting menu as well as a la carte options and the night we were there was truffle season so they also had a menu of truffle courses that could be added to a tasting or your a la carte order. Be forewarned ladies, your menu will not have prices, a real throw back on gentility. Continue reading
Berton is a medium sized, one star Michelin restaurant with a modern decor. Spacious tables are provided for all guests. They offer a broth tasting menu as well as a degustation tasting or a la carte items. All tables are brought a rack of crispy chips to snack on while you look over the menu and wine list. The rectangular one was tasty with a parmesan flavor. The staff were nice and friendly that were helpful and attentive. We chose the degustation tasting and the pacing moved along at a nice pace without too much lagging. Most things were served more warm than hot and with the ingredients sounding better than the end result. The food was good but a little soulless, but overall it was a pleasant dining experience, just not one to repeat. Continue reading
Ratanà is a medium sized place in an old house that is updated inside and surrounded by construction and skyscrapers. They had some air conditioning on the warm day we were there but it was not the most efficient system. It is known for Milanese slow food cooking. They get a crowd for lunch but many seemed there for business because most of the crowd didn’t linger for a long relaxed lunch. It is a fairly small menu at lunch but a large wine list. The waitstaff was helpful and opinionated but there was a small misunderstanding in that our tartar did not get ordered, which turned out to be okay. Portions are fairly large and the food is mildly flavored. They do not charge for their beautiful bread that was pretty unexciting. Continue reading
