What to Eat in Milan

As Italy’s second-largest city after Rome, Milan is a modern, cosmopolitan hub that buzzes with an energy almost more similar to London or New York than to its Italian neighbors. Milan’s dining out scene is also similar to that of the same foreign cities, with a wide array of restaurants that tend to lean more modern than traditional and look more outside of the surrounding region than inward.

Oftentimes, eating like a local in Milan means eating a little bit of everything, but of course, there are historically Milanese dishes that follow similar rules to other northern Italian regions: butter over olive oil, polenta and risotto over pasta, hearty and long-cooked meat dishes suitable for damp, cold winters.

There are many amazing restaurants in Milan, and in such a big, talented pool it takes a little fishing around to find the places that will give you a true history lesson in the classics – and, sometimes, enough wiggle room for some innovation and modern tastes. If you want to uncover the famous dishes that Milan is known for, these are the best restaurants for a crash course in classic Milanese cuisine.

Risotto alla Milanese: Osteria del Treno

Even though risotto is generally found throughout the north of Italy, risotto alla Milanese is a particularly luxurious one: cooked with bone marrow and butter and infused with saffron, the rice is rich in both flavor and its golden color. But in terms of texture, perish any thoughts of hearty, sticky-thick, cheesy risotto: a proper alla Milanese version is, in the end, light and almost soup-like (or as the locals say, all’onda – with waves, or ripples).

Fortunately, you can literally start your trip with this famous dish if you’re arriving in Milan by train: the Osteria del Treno, which makes a gold-standard version of the risotto alla vecchia maniera (“in the old style,” a safe bet for an institution such as this) is just down the street from the Milano Centrale station.

Cotoletta alla Milanese: Via Stampa

Cotoletta (or costoletta) is perhaps better known by the second part of its name – alla Milanese, of course – and outside of Italy, it usually calls to mind either a pork or chicken cutlet. But in its namesake city, the proper alla Milanese dish is veal, much like wiener schnitzel in nearby Austria (though some historians argue that the Milanese form is, in fact, much older and the original; breaded veal cutlet is mentioned in a document describing a banquet menu in the 12th century).

It’s tempting to think of “cutlet” as a direct translation for cotoletta, but in fact the alternative spelling of costoletta refers to the rib area from which the meat is cut. And in Milan, this is a serious cutlet – not at all thinly pounded like schnitzel but instead bone-in and at least a half-inch-thick. It is, like many Italian classics, cooked simply: breaded, very lightly seasoned, and pan-fried in clarified butter.

Try it at Via Stampa, one of the recent cadre of Italian city restaurants that merit the term “neo-trattoria:” balancing to old-school tradition in moderation with contemporary-chic vibes, all while devoting itself to the highest-quality ingredients from trusted producers of the region.

Osso Buco: Antica Trattoria della Pesa

Osso buco (or ossobuco), veal shanks that have been cooked for a luxuriously long time in red wine, is another classic in Milan – synonymous with both fine dining and cold-weather cooking. Often served on a bed of risotto alla Milanese, osso buco is sometimes topped with gremolada (or gremolata), a salsa-verde-like mixture of lemon rind, herbs, garlic, and anchovies that gives a fresh and zingy note to the meat course. Antica Trattoria della Pesa has been a Milan mainstay since 1880, so they know what they’re doing when it comes to this famous secondo.

Risotto al Salto: Sadler Ristorante

Another risotto? Actually, no – at least, not in the format that you’re thinking. Risotto al salto is basically a huge, crispy rice “cake” made from risotto alla Milanese that has been formed into a disk and cooked in a (butter-filled) skillet. Risotto al salto was traditionally a way to use up leftover risotto, mostly in home-cooking contexts, but legend has it that the famous Belle-Époque restaurant Savini would serve it at post-theatre dinners to guests coming directly from the nearby La Scala opera house – presumably because it was a quick way to feed hungry patrons with late-night cravings and use up any risotto that hadn’t yet been served.

While risotto al salto maintains its association with leftovers-based home cooking, some of today’s top chefs in Milan, such as Claudio Sadler at Sadler Ristorante, have embraced it as a way to present diners with a whimsical spin on the well-known risotto. At Sadler, it exists solely on the lunch menu, since a quick, relatively light business lunch is often the local routine in Milan. An added touch of restaurant fancy comes in the form of a fonduta or crema di formaggio (melted cheese sauce) drizzled on top of the crispy cake. But no matter the setting nor the chef, risotto al salto is a rare and therefore fascinating example of thriftiness in the larger scheme of Milanese cuisine.

Vitello Tonnato: Ratanà

Vitello tonnato (thinly sliced veal served with a punchy tuna sauce and capers), though it hails from Lombardy’s neighboring region of Piedmont, is so ubiquitous in Milan that it’s almost as though the Milanese have adopted it as their own dish. Ratanà, one of Milan’s most-talked-about restaurants, may be known for its modern, whimsical dishes, but it’s the perfect place to order a classic like vitello tonnato too: chef Cesare Battisti’s dedication to the Slow Food philosophy for sourcing ingredients ensures the meat is ethically raised and of the highest quality.

Negroni Sbagliato: Bar Basso

After all these stick-to-your-ribs dishes (or, rather, before), make sure to get a drink at the place that is said to have introduced the aperitivo tradition to the city of Milan – Bar Basso. It’s far from undiscovered, but as the bar that has defined and continues to define the drinking scene in one of Italy’s most cocktail-obsessed cities, it’s an obligatory stop for seeing the properly old-school side of Milan. And the Negroni sbagliato – which swaps gin for prosecco to make a lighter, fizzy version of the classic cocktail – is the almost obligatory order.

Caffè: Orsonero

Obviously, you can get good coffee in all of its espresso-based forms anywhere in Italy. But Milan is the city where people are especially wired on specialty, single-origin coffee, which is creating a definite scene and infusing a whole new buzz into Italy’s coffee culture. At Orsonero, one of the pioneers in this movement, order a plain and simple caffè (espresso) from one of the light or medium roasts (a preference in this “third wave” of coffee culture) – to allow you to discern and appreciate the essence of the origin. But once you’re ready for milks and foams, the baristas will make you a cappuccino or the like, usually worthy of a photo.

Panettone con Zabaione: Pavé

It’s likely that you know panettone even if you’ve never been to Italy in December, or even at all – it is such a symbol of Italian Christmas that by now panettone is also widely available in many countries with a history of Italian immigrants. But this brioche-like (and cake-like) bread studded with candied fruit is especially associated with the north of Italy, and many trace its origins to Milan itself.

Since much of the commercially available panettone these days is produced on an industrial scale, it’s worth seeking out the best pasticcerie in Italian cities if you’re there during the holiday season, which will lead you to proper, artisanal panettone. At Milan’s Pavé (an all-day café with especially stellar pastries and baked goods), you can get panettone by the slice rather than a whole loaf, which makes the perfect winter afternoon snack with a cup of tea or coffee.

Better yet, order it with Pavé’s house-made zabaglione, which is typically available during the season as a single-serving glass jar. This is a popular and traditional pairing – usually panettone on dessert menus will be drizzled with zabaglione over the top, but in this case, you get the simultaneous luxury and informality of dipping your slice directly in the jar.

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