Restaurant Reviews from Our Trip to Milan

Back from our amazing weekend in Milan, Italy to celebrate my 30th birthday.  It was so nice to get away from Monaco!  We did SO much, but overall we ate, drank and shopped!  I think I'll do a separate shopping post, but for this one I'll focus on the restaurants! Ok here we go:

THURSDAY
We arrived just after lunch and by the time we had gotten the keys to our flat and unpacked we were ready for a nice glass of wine in the sunshine!  We stayed literally 1/2 a block from the Duomo, so we didn't want to venture too far for some vini. We ended up at Charleston just 1 block off of the pedestrian street Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. We shared a pizza and nice bottle of Nebbiolo.  It was glorious to sit in the sun and just relax after our travels.  I would say the food isn't very fancy, but the service was decent and it wasn't too expensive (12€ for a pizza). Not sure if I would go back, since there are TONs of other restaurants around, but it was definitely better than those gross cafes on Vittorio Emanuele (ew, those are only ok for a coffee).

Charleston Restaurant

Next was dinner!  We ventured just outside the city center to a small restaurant called Ristorante Guerrini. We had to cab it there(10€ cab ride), it was worth it to get a bit out of the touristy area, bless our foodie hearts.  Everyone spoke Italian, luckily the hubs can mostly understand.  There was one waitress who spoke a bit of English, but mostly would fall back into Italian.  Which is fine with us.  When we travel we like to blend in, and really experience the culture...not try to be idiot Americans being loud and obnoxious and complaing about everything.  But back to the food.  We shared the Zucchini flowers stuffed with cheese, and then shared the Steak special for 2.  Let me tell you, the food was an 11 out of 10.  Just simply amazing! Fresh ingredients, and nice flavors.  Nothing too strong. And everything matched perfectly with the Brunello wine we ordered (YUMMMM)!  It was only surpassed by the service.  The chef came out of the kitchen several times to check that his patrons were happy. We wouldn't have changed a thing about this dining experience.  We stayed for 3 lovely hours (and spent under 200€ including wine), and were nice and full and happy when we left!

Amazing Brunello Wine!!

Gorgeous Zucchini Flowers

Sorry I look creepy here, but the point was to show the food....YUM!

Happy Birthday to me!

Me w/ the chef!

FRIDAY
We woke up and popped to the bakery just down the street from us (Luini) and had an amazing sugary breakfast. Something that resembled a doughnut with pudding filling. We wanted to come here since we noticed the queue that was nearly a block long when we arrived on Thursday. It did not disappoint and for a mere 6€ breakfast is was within budget :)

When it came time to decide what we wanted to do for lunch, we were a bit of a mess.  It was raining fairly hard and were were just out of the city center to check out the outlet Il Savengente (more about that in my shopping post).  I was hoping for Nobu, but it was nearly 1pm and we were no where near the location.  Finally after walking 3 blocks in the horrible rain, I threw a small fit and we decided to jump in a taxi and go where we originally wanted.  Never been so happy with a decision!  Nobu Armani did not disappoint. We each ordered the Nobu In/Out box and indulged in some sake.  I will make one quick comment about the deco.  I was expecting something luxurious and stunning, but it was really pretty minimalist and you can tell that the restaurant has been open for a while since it looked like it had taken a beating.  Never-the-less- everything was amazing food and drink and service-wise so in my opinion well worth the 140€ price tag (we opted for dessert as well).

Me w/ the Nobu Boxes

The hubbys dessert - crunchy bananas with a pistachio creme and ginger lolly pop!!

My dessert - lemon ice cream, coconut tart think, in a puree of melon!  It was delish.

Next was dinner at Don Carlos which was was absolutely unforgettable, and world class for certain. This is a place for a nice romantic meal, which is precisely what we were looking for.  With gorgeous silver table settings, and classic decor yet comfortable ambiance. We started with a glass of Spumante, and then took the delicious scallops as well as some Foie Gras.  Next, we tried the Home made Pizzoccheri which was very traditional, and quite delicious.  Then I opted for the rabbit wrapped in crunchy philo for my main course and David went for the Milanese style Tuna (Tuna was the best choice - absolutely fantastic).  Overall, I would rate the food an 8.5...but the service makes up for the food which I would rate at an 11 out of 10.  Everyone was so gracious, and happy and helpful.  Even speaking Italian to help us learn :) We even got a tour of the cellar with the stunning old Roman wall, which is a great memory that we will cherish. Of course this dinner was not cheap at just under 300€, but for us, it was worth every penny!

David's Foie Gras starter

My scallops starter (the better choice of the 2...but both VERY good)!

Home made Pizzoccheri, probably wouldn't order again...but it was great to try it!

My Rabbit Entree

David's Tuna Entree....AMAZING!!

Me in the cellar next to the old Roman Wall!

SATURDAY
This was our big shopping day, so we focused mainly on that...but we took our breakfast at the juice bar at La Rincesente (just across the street from our flat). We had a yummy salmon bagel with some juice elixir and Acai and of course a coffee.

For lunch I had read about La Latteria (next to the San Marco church) from the New York Times...so we jumped in a cab and headed there only to find it CLOSED :(  But happily the taxi driver recommended another restaurant just 1 block away called Stendhal with a lovely patio area, which was full of happy people enjoying their lunch.  We joined them and had another amazing meal!  I took the pasta with truffles and slow cooked beef (like Bacon, but better).  David took the lobster linguini...both were fabulous along with our Barbaresco wine, it was delightful!

A nice light wine, perfect for afternoon drinking.

David's octopus started - I did not care for this AT ALL!

My appetizer - ham, burrata and zucchini flowers

My entree

David's lobster linguini

After eating for 3 days like pigs, we decided to skip dinner on Saturday night and enjoyed a nice bottle of wine on our terrace and a gelato.

SUNDAY
On a previous trip to Milan we ventured into the Bulgari Hotel from a recommendation from a friend. Our goal this trip was to try their famous brunch.  I had emailed to make a reservation, and took at 10:30am spot.  I was unaware that the brunch didn't start until 12:30pm. O well, we ate a small breakfast and then took a bottle of champagne and sat in the sun and waited for the brunch to start.  It was a huge spread with all kinds of salad, charcuterie, meat, sushi, and dessert!  It was amazing, and a great price at just 72€ per person. We ate and ate, and probably would have eaten more but unfortunately we had to catch the train at 3pm.  We had amazing service from a gentleman named Stephano (the hostess was a bit rude with the reservation mix up), but luckily Stephano made the experience much better and I hope to see him again the next time we go back.

Stephano brought me a birthday tart...so sweet!

champagne at 11am...why not?

Lovely outside space!

And THAT'S how we ate our way through Milan.  Would I go back to all of these restaurants?  Maybe not, because I'm an adventurer and like to try new things.  But never say never!  I would without a doubt recommend each and every restaurant we went to, there is something unique about each!