Heading to the Italian powerhouse this summer? Consider this your essential guide to the very best places to eat, drink, and sleep in the style and design capital.
Italy is always a good idea, and it's no secret that Milan is an especially good one for anyone obsessed with architecture, fashion and design. But the bon vivants in our midst will be thrilled to learn it's also home to a cache of smash hit restaurants and a bar scene that's been not-so-quietly blowing up over the last few years. Once you've completed your obligatory laps of the Duomo and acquired a stiff neck thanks to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele's jaw-dropping glass vault, let this guide be your North Star for all things gastronomic in the Italian hub.
Long, leisurely lunches and dreamy dinners
Expect the unexpected at Contraste, a bold and unique restaurant which explores the interplay of illusion and reality. You arrive at a door that looks like the entrance to a private home, walk through the tranquil courtyard, before entering an eye-catching dining room, where pops of blue, red and green enliven the walls, while near-fluorescent yellow trolleys and furnishings punctuate the space. Choose between the Riflesso menu, which features traditional dishes made with modern techniques – and the Riflessioni menu, filled with more innovative options and unusual flavour combinations. A dish resembling a dessert might be the fish course, while a savoury-looking starter might in fact be a sweet bite. It's certainly brave of Uruguayan chef Matias Perdomo to pair Atlantic bonito with bone marrow, plankton and sauerkraut, and peanuts with tendons, caviar and passionfruit, yet it works.
At Contraste, each room is designed with a dominant colour representing one of the four elements – air, water, earth and fire – to inspire images of landscapes (Image: Serena Eller)
Vegetarian restaurant Joia opened back in 1989 when a group of friends asked Swiss chef Pietro Leemann to look after the menu of their new restaurant. Just a year after opening, Leemann bought out Joia, and persevered with his alta cucina naturale (natural cuisine) philosophy, earning him a Michelin star in 1996, which the restaurant still holds today. The restaurant is now run by chefs Sauro Ricci and Raffaele Minghini, who have devised a menu that is 80 per cent vegan and entirely gluten-free.
Dishes here are poetic, evocative and artfully plated, with names like Nothing is Created, Nothing is Destroyed, which is a tangle of seasonal leaves sautéed and served with glazed tempeh and Bordeaux sauce; and The Silk Road – citrus fruits with a mango cheesecake, lime sorbet, dark chocolate and tonka bean. Creative drinks pairings round things out, with a mix of organic and biodynamic wines, plus house-made juices, rare teas and small-batch blends.
The vulcano dorato (golden volcano) at Joia is an apple tarte tatin, draped in berry sauce with vanilla cream alongside a yoghurt ice cream
If you're in the mood for ultra-fine dining, head to the elegant Mudec, the Museum of Cultures and to Enrico Bartolini al Mudec. The legendary chef's 14 restaurants have the same number of Michelin stars between them, with three-star al Mudec the crème de la crème. Choose between the Best Of or Mudec Experience menus, offering green spaghetti, mustard, wild garlic, anchovies and caviar, and Guanaja chocolate soufflé, salted peanut, rum pineapple, coconut vinegar and toasted sesame, or enjoy a la carte.
Trattoria Trippa is a casual and retro spot, dubbed one of Italy's best trattorias. Chef Diego Rossi's menu changes with the seasons, but you'll always find the eponymous tripe, alongside wild boar cheek stew, grilled croutons and endive, and bread cake with apple mustard and raisins.
Strolling around the Naviglio Grande canal? Keep an eye out for 28 Posti, where chefs Franco Salvatore and Andrea Zazzara have crafted an ethically geared menu, sourcing from small producers and maximising every ingredient to reduce waste.
When it comes to cocktail hour
Yapa's signature Yaparríta pairs tequila and sherry with yuzu extract and a red shiso garnish for a dry, herbaceous finish
Aesthetes with a jet-setting palate will be won over by Yapa – an earthy, pared back cocktail bar and kitchen infused with Latin American, Mediterranean and East Asian sensibilities. Textured woods, cool linens, smoked metals and handmade ceramics set the tone for a continent-spanning menu of flavour-packed drinks, such as the Americano Kimchi, which uses passionfruit soda and gochujang blended with everyone's favourite Korean ferment. Here, circularity fires the team's creativity, producing drinks such as the Chicano, with recycled tamarillo tomato peels for a natural bitterness and umami that smacks of Campari. The Margarita Romesco meanwhile uses leftovers from romesco sauce made in the kitchen, strained and redistilled with reposado tequila. Score a spot at the eight-seat bar if you're in the market for snacks, steered by raw and fresh delights like amberjack, kale salad and pan con tomate.
Moebius is housed in a former textile warehouse, now restored with a post-industrial aesthetic
Moebius is a multi-hyphenate of the best kind: part-restaurant, bar and event space, perfect for catching up with friends, business meets and everything in-between. The vibe is buzzing while the food is exciting and moreish: downstairs, think raw sea bass, champonzu, green beans and sesame alongside velvety pastas with jerusalem artichoke, scallop, finished with bottarga. Upstairs, you'll find the glass-enclosed Moebius Sperimentale, an intimate, one Michelin star restaurant with capacity for 30 covers. You'll want to settle in at the bar though, which is anchored by a three-metre-high, raw concrete bottle rack, and home to more than 300 atmospherically backlit spirits. As for the actual drinks, there's a spread of tantalising twists on classics: a winter melon negroni made with balsamic, winter melon and feta, a pesto martini and a neat selection of zero-proofs. Guest shifts are all the rage too, with host talent hailing from San Francisco, Almaty, New Delhi and Seoul. Plug into the bar's socials to see who'll be there next.
You're in the land of aperitivo, and it doesn't get more authentic than at Camparino in Galleria. Set within Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, the bar has been open since 1915 and, complete with original mosaics and frescoes, there's no better spot for a Campari Seltz and a bowl of olives.
With just four seats, Backdoor 43 is one of the world's smallest bars. Filled with vintage curiosities, it's like having your own private speakeasy for the night, with staff asking ahead of time what kind of music, glassware, alcohol, drink style and flavours you love. Between mixing your ideal cocktail, bartenders don Guy Fawkes masks and serve takeaway cocktails through a tiny window to passers-by.
Like your bars discreet and secreted away? You'll absolutely want to find a way into 1930. Befriend the owners at Mag Cafè and they might let you in. It's worth the effort: the vibe is old-school comfy with antique armchairs, exposed brickwork and live piano, and the cocktails are cool and creative. Much like the clientele.
1930's interior blends exposed 17th-century brick vaults with walnut furniture, creating a clandestine feel
Where to stay
The standard of Milan's hotels is formidably high, offering variety too, from the historic and polished to the utterly cool. The all-suite Portrait Milano does both beautifully, set in one of Europe's oldest seminaries with a vast piazza that claims yet another superlative as the largest public square in the city's fashion district. Stuffy the vibe is not, and as perhaps the crowning jewel in the Ferragamo family's hotel empire, there's a glut of poppy, shoe-themed art, beautifully designed places to eat and luxuriously upholstered lounges, while suites are decked out in oxblood carpets, clotted cream daybeds, mahogany trim and a marble-encased bathroom.
Before Portrait Milano's completion in 2022, the site once housed the world's second oldest seminary, dating back to1565
The spa once again combines the historic with the cutting edge, where the pool's vaulted ceiling echoes an ancient cistern, but also offers biohacking and cryotherapy treatments, plus a sensory-deprivation, dry floating therapy, said to improve sleep, focus and physical recovery.
Seta sits in Mandarin Oriental Milan's second courtyard, with direct views into the kitchen
Another darling of the city's five-star line-up, the Mandarin Oriental Milan is home away from home for the international jet set. Breakfast is served in a serene courtyard overlooked by ferns and thriving plant pots, gingham parasols and low-slung woven armchairs, while bold, monochromatic tilework and reflective surfaces brighten the restaurant inside. You'll find thoughtfully placed, original artwork throughout the hotel, while the principles of feng shui are upheld in rooms, where modern Italian furnishings and an oatmeal and cream palette soothe the nerves. Led by superstar chef Antonio Guida, Seta is this MO's pièce de resistance, serving up the cosmopolitan flavours of Milan on menus inspired by Guida's southern Italian heritage and the culinary history of Tuscany and France. The stunning risotto with raspberry and herb cream is an absolute must.
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