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Dining and
drinking in Milan (Back to
Milan main information page)
Milan may be famous
for its shopping, trading, and amazing designers, but it is also
a great place to enjoy a good meal. There are many ethnic
restaurants, trattorias and pizzerias in the city, and during
the summer months, it is not unusual to see groups of friends
enjoying their pizza margherita as they sit outside under white
parasols.
In the fifties, many people came to Milan from other regions in
Italy, to escape unemployment in their cities. Some of them
decided to open simple "trattorias" (traditional Italian
restaurants), offering the cuisine of their home town, which was
mainly Tuscan and Southern Italian. A number of these
restaurants grew in quality over the years, transforming
themselves into excellent and often outstanding restaurants:
places such as Trattoria Toscana K2, which has now become so
popular that you need to book in advance in order to sample
their tasty pasta dishes or fresh fish recipes; or the mythical
Antica Trattoria Milano which opened a few years after the end
of the second world war and serves good, hearty food alla
Milanese!
Pizzerias are popular in Milan (and everywhere else in Italy!!)
Many restaurants serve traditional pizzas cooked in wood fuelled
ovens, giving the dough a delicious smoked taste. Some of the
pizzerias have traditional checked table clothes, some have
outdoor seating, and some have 'cool' paper tablecloths and
provide you with pencils so you can amuse yourself while you are
waiting for your pizza or for your bill. Why not try the Grand'Italia,
a pizzeria in the fashionable Brera district, or Pane e Farina,
a restaurant popular with both young and old. If you want
traditional Neapolitan-style pizza, then head for La Cuccuma,
which will also serenade you with piano music on certain
evenings.
A wonderful view of the city can be seen from Bistrot Duomo,
this is a great place to try if you want a quick snack and
cappuccino while shopping or a more substantial meal before
going on to the cinema, it is located at the top of the glorious
Rinascente department store, which gives you another reason to
visit!! A special mention must also go to Savini, a restaurant
situated close to Rinascente, in the breath-taking Galleria
Vittorio Emanuele II galleria which is known as the best
restaurant in Milan by people over a certain age. The prices are
high, but it is worth a visit if only to enjoy an old-world
charm and steep yourself in Milanese elegance.
In the eighties and nineties, a new wave of immigration brought
thousands of people from the Third World; this led to the growth
of the best ethnic restaurant network in Italy. In Milan you'll
find restaurants serving delights from almost every country:
from Sri Lanka to Brazil (excellent Brazilian cuisine is to be
found in Porcao), Korea to Senegal. In the last couple of years
Japanese cuisine has rocked the city, Yume is a testimony to
this - it is the place to come to have a truly Japanese
experience and to meet like minded individuals who probably have
a passion for being glamorous and wearing black!! - Who knows
what new food sensation the millennium will bring?
It may sound strange, but there is no better way to round off a
meal than to stroll through the central streets of Milan eating
ice cream and watching the world go by, especially if the
evening is a warm summer's one; a personal favourite is Marghera
delicious ice creams and desserts are sold here, and there are
often long queues (always a good sign); or you could try the
excellent Umberto where the ice cream is praised to the skies!!
(Back to
Milan main information page)
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