Here is a summary of places I visited in Milan in May 2022 (I am still editing the post so keep tracking)
The King’s Italian Bakery (Il Re italian Bakery)
Address: Viale Tunisia, 19, 20124 Milano MI, Italy
This is a lovely coffee shop with many options to choose from and for reasonable prices.
I visited there during the morning, and it wasn’t crowded. The display & the tables were clean, which made it inviting to sit there.
The staff was kind, and the service was efficient.
I began with a Salami Panini, which was tasty yet not that big. But it was a good thing since it left me room for the brilliant cake that the cashier recommended.
Please see below the photo of this cake because I’m not sure what was the exact name of this cake. It was a sort of lemon cream cake that was served with whipped cream next to it.
It was delicious, and the fresh cup of Espressos complemented the cake’s mild lemon flavor.
If you’re visiting this area, I strongly recommend you stop by this coffee place.
Ristorante Jumping (Jumping da Gigi)
Address: Via Mauro Macchi, 2, 20124 Milano MI, Italy
I will update this info soon
Leccomilano (Leccomilano un buco di bar)
Address: Via Lecco, 5, 20124 Milano MI, Italy
It was the first place I sat for an aperitivo in Milano, and the experience was funny.
The place itself is small, with several tables outside on the street.
There are many bars nearby, but I chose to sit here because it wasn’t as crowded as the other bars. Plus, there were positive vibes around the place.
The waitress was kind, and while sitting there, the picture became clear as it appeared to be LGBTQ-friendly, so the characters were vivid.
Service was horrifically slow, but eventually, I received to the table a glass of Aperol Spritz along with vegetables & crisps. It cost a total of 9 Euros which is a fair price.
Overall, I wouldn’t say this is a “must-go place,” but in a city such as Milan, where everything (and everyone) looks like it was taken out of a magazine – This place is unpretentious in a good way.
Eppol Milano
Address: Via Marcello Malpighi, 7, 20129 Milano MI, Italy
Attractive location, nice staff, and excellent value-for-money!
I ordered a Salmon Tropical salad (11.00 Euro), which was delicious. In addition, I asked for fizzy water (2.00 Euro).
The fizzy water comes inside a glass bottle which makes me wonder if it is prepared in the bar itself. Not that I mind about it, but I’m trying to figure out how they manage to keep the price competitive compared to other places that charged me double for that.
B&B Baldassarre
Address: Via Ruggero Boscovich, 22, 20124 Milano MI, Italy
I walked by this place several times before I sat there, and each time it seemed like a very friendly restaurant. So, I decided to eat dinner there.
The place wasn’t crowded when I sat there. However, everything there seemed like it took ages – serve the food, bring the bill, pay the bill… I am not sure if this is the attitude of the specific waiter who served me, because it was late at night, or because of something else.
There were many options on the menu, and eventually, I asked for Pasta Carbonara (11.00 Euros) and a large bottle of sparkling water (4.00 Euro). Compared to other restaurants I attended, it wasn’t cheap, but at this point, I was so hungry and thirsty that I didn’t care much about the money as long as the food was good.
Also, I had a good experience in the previous places I ate in Milan, so I didn’t suspect disappointment was about to come.
But when the waiter finally served me the food, I realized that It would be a better choice to go to Mcdonald’s that night. The dish was small, so there was no chance it would satisfy me. No matter how slowly I tried to eat the pasta and convince myself that I enjoyed every bit of it – it just wasn’t worth it.
I should note that after attending more restaurants in Milan, I realized that this is probably the standard proportion for Pasta Carbonara. So although it was a lesson that I had to learn, I still feel that regardless of the amount that was served – if the food were worth it, then I wouldn’t feel disappointed.
In addition, it was one of the few places that charged me for COPERTO (2.5 Euro), making the experience even less attractive.
The waiter seemed either tired or preferred to talk with people he is familiar with in Italian (probably local customers), so I decided to Google what “COPERTO” meant since it was the first time I was charged for it.
Probably they charged me for the Parmesan cheese & bread because these were the only two things I got in addition to what I ordered.
As for the bread – I didn’t ask for it, it wasn’t that good, and it wasn’t served with anything – no olive oil, no spread, no nothing. Considering that I ordered only Pasta Carbonara, the least that the waiter could do was to offer me something that goes along with the bread (even if it meant additional payment) or let me know in advance that I would pay for it.
Don’t get me wrong, because there’s nothing wrong with tipping or charging for service as long as there is any justification. And since other restaurants offered me a better experience in every aspect but didn’t charge me for COPERTO, then it is very annoying to do so in places that I found the least deserve it.
Overall, I believe some people will like this place while others don’t. But since it was the first place in Milan that made me feel disappointed and didn’t live up to my expectations (which are to eat good food, not to feel that I am starving, and pay a reasonable amount of money for it), then if your priorities in life are like what I just described, I recommend you to try and find somewhere else.
FAB
Address: Piazza Pio XI, 20123 Milano MI, Italy
After going along the Navigli and trying to figure out which bar I should sit in, I chose this place because it was the least crowded among the places with good ratings on Google. The location was fine, I sat outside at a small table during the evening for about an hour.
Maybe my expectations were too high, but during the whole time, there wasn’t any special vibe compared to other places I saw earlier.
I ordered an Aperol Spritz, which was OK, and came with Aperitivo that included crisps, olives, sliced vegetables with sauce & peanuts. The price was fair, the drink was effective, and the Aperitivo was filling.
The guy who served me seemed too serious towards me. Some people who sat there after I had already ordered received their orders before me, which wasn’t cool. It might have been a coincidence, but since the place wasn’t crowded, then this was noticeable.
Overall it was a good experience, but the bottom line is that this is “one out of many” bars in the area.
Caffè Spadari
Address: Piazza Pio XI, 20123 Milano MI, Italy
The location is near the Duomo di Milano and has a touristic-business orientation. I sat there mid-day, and it seemed like a decent place to eat lunch.
The prices were reasonable for a place in such a location, and the service was OK.
I ordered a “Risotto Milanese” (10 Euro) and a small bottle of mineral water (2.5 Euro) and had to wait approx. 10-15 minutes until it arrived. The dish was not more than an appetizer, and I stayed hungry following that. It tasted OK, but if it were good, then I would consider getting myself another item from the menu.
Once I got the bill, I learned they charge for COPERTO, making the deal even less attractive.
Bakery Pastry Di Lorenzo Vailati Vailati (Panificio Storico Vailati)
Address: Via Vitruvio, 9, 20124 Milano MI, Italy
This small bakery is located between Central Station Milan to Corso Buenos Aires street and offers a variety of eye-catching sweets, pastries, and coffee.
I arrived there approx. at 11:00 am, and the place was busy but not crowded. While I was there, most of the people sitting there were tourists.
When I placed my order, the peak had passed, and I had no problem finding a table inside.
I ordered four small items along with a cup of cappuccino. The total bill was 7.40 euros, which is a reasonable price.
The cappuccino was good but not exceptional compared to the coffee I drank during my trip to Milan.
The highlight was the Sicilian Cassata Cake, a traditional cake from Sicily, Italy, consisting of a round sponge cake moistened with fruit juices or liqueur and layered with ricotta cheese and candied fruit. If you are visiting Italy, I highly recommend trying it yourself.
The chocolate truffle was the second-best treat. It was dense from the inside and not too sweet, so it is a great choice if you eat it with a cappuccino, as I did.
I also enjoyed the raspberry delight, and the least impressive sweet was the one with the nuts coating.
This place isn’t a “must-visit” because there are far more unique places in Milan to do each of these things. But overall, I had a good time there.
One note is that the employee who served me wasn’t patient at first. I approached her in English, and following that, she asked me to wait. Then, she went to serve a lady who spoke Italian and only then got back to serve me.
This happened to me more than once during my visit to Milan, so I suspect that Italians tend to prioritize their people over tourists.
Farini
Address: Corso di Porta Ticinese, 53, 20123 Milano MI, Italy
This is a bakery chain store that has branches across Italy, including several in Milan. I visited the store in Ticinese neighborhood.
The place wasn’t crowded and once I paid the guy who served me warmed the pizza a little bit. If you buy a pizza from the display, I recommend you ask them to do that.
I enjoyed the combination of the toppings, but once they cut it into four pieces, it felt that there were more dough and fewer toppings (there wasn’t much cheese on any of them) so they could have been more generous with it.
It isn’t expensive, but the value for money here is less attractive than in other places where you can have a normal rounded pizza.
If the prices were a little cheaper (let’s say 1-2 euros / 20% less per item) I would buy much more.
Overall, It is a nice location, they serve tasty pizza, and I am glad I tried it.
Pasticceria Demetrio-Minerva
Address: Viale della Libertà, 5/a, 27100 Pavia PV, Italy
While visiting Milan, I also had a day in which I headed to Pavia, a city that is 30-minute by train from Milan.
When I got out of the train station, I looked for a place where I could grab something to eat, and so I found this place.
It is located 5-minutes on foot from the train station, right next to the Statue of Minerva.
And I must say – it was a mixed experience of emotions, as I am about to explain.
I Got myself an espresso and a ricotta brioche for a takeaway.
The ricotta brioche was so delicious that I shed tears of joy while eating it – I strongly advise you to try it.
The coffee was good and made good company for the ricotta brioche.
There was only one thing that bothered me, and that’s why I don’t give this place a 5-star review – When I visited inside the place, I wanted to get myself more delights, but there was a fly inside the display right on the sweets.
I’m not sure if the lady who worked there was aware of that or not, but this is not acceptable by any standards.
This might be a one-time only, but it happened on my shift, and I couldn’t ignore that.
If I had seen that in the first place, there was a chance I wouldn’t eat there that day.
Regardless of that, since I already fell in love with the ricotta brioche, then if I get to visit there again – I would give this place a second chance and hope this fly incident won’t repeat itself.
Osteria Italiana Milano
Address: Via Napo Torriani, 22, 20124 Milano MI, Italy
I will update this info soon
Historical Rotisserie 35
Address: Via Lazzaro Palazzi, 5, Milano MI, Italy
On my last night in Milan, I was looking for a nice place to eat dinner at around 9:00 PM. After walking along the area, I saw this place, which seemed nice with a good atmosphere.
I sat outside, and it felt like a members club where if you don’t know someone who works there then you are just an extra on the show.
They didn’t have several dishes that I asked for, but eventually, I decided to take beef with salad and a beer.
It took them ages to serve me the food, and I was about to leave the place when they finally brought me what I had ordered. The beef wasn’t too tender, and I couldn’t chew 1/5th of it.
I also had to wait for ages for them to get me the bill.
The overall price was reasonable, but I didn’t enjoy the visit due to the mentioned above. Creating an atmosphere in a place is an art, but there’s a big difference if you make the customer be part of it or leave the customer outside of it. It is a nice place to grab a drink, but that’s it…
From there I went straight to Mcdonald’s, ate until I got stuffed, and paid less than half…
GROM – Il Gelato come una volta (GROM)
Address: Corso Buenos Aires, 13, 20124 Milano MI, Italy
if you’re planning a shopping day at Corso Buenos Aires, do yourself a favor and don’t skip this ice cream (sorry – GELATO…).
It was a hot sunny day, and you know how shopping can be tiring, right?
So I got myself a “Coppetta Grande” (large cup) which cost 4.00 euros, with three flavors – strawberries, pistachio & salted caramel.
The price was more than fair for what I received – size and tase-wise.
And boy, oh boy! I wish I could share with you a bit of a lick of it because it tasted SO GOOD!
Moreover, the texture was exceptional, probably thanks to the silos in which the gelato is stored. I stared like a child at the machines that prepared it for several minutes because the preparation process was hypnotizing.
The ingredients seemed of good quality, and the gelato was fresh. I got lucky with the pistachio flavor because I got it exactly when the machine stopped spinning, and the gelato was ready.
Inside the store, great air conditioning and a few benches to sit and eat without pressure.
I’m glad I’ve been there and would love to come back for more.
KFC
Address: Viale Abruzzi, 93, 20131 Milano MI, Italy
The branch is on a side street of the central Corso Buenos Aires street, which is good because it can be a starting/finishing spot if you plan to go shopping there.
Fast service, spacious & clean branch (including the toilet), no weirdos (OK, maybe a little bit – excluding me…).
Free refill with a meal, small chicken wings compared to what I am used to eating in the USA.
Reasonable prices, but I think there’s a similar chain store (which I don’t remember its name) that has even cheaper prices.
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