Milan is a city that’s both local and global at once. It’s well known as Italy’s fashion and design capital, a reputation that has attracted visitors from around the world and restaurants serving international cuisines (as well as dishes from other Italian regions). The city also has a storied Chinatown and introduced items from other international visitors and transplants, like sushi, to the country long before Rome. But Milan is also steeped in Lombardy’s culinary traditions, including dishes like cotoletta Milanese and creamy risotto all’onda. Agricultural regions, like the fertile Po Valley (home to carnaroli rice perfect for risotto) and Olrepò Pavese (where vineyard-clad rolling hills burst with clusters of pinot nero), thrive just beyond the outer ring of the dense metropolis.
You can still enjoy the city’s Old World culinary charms, from boxes of artisan panettone around the holidays to retro market food stalls in the summer. But Milan’s food scene is increasingly embracing new concepts alongside its boundary-pushing fashion scene, even as the city’s world-famous amaro distilleries, Fernet Branca and Campari, continue to fuel an explosion of craft cocktail bars. The city’s chefs put creative spins on local ingredients, while new restaurants, many of them women-owned, celebrate social inclusion and vegetable-forward menus. Bubbly Campari sodas, traditional osterias, avant-garde pizzerias — Milan has more than looks.
In this latest refresh, we’ve revamped our write-ups to include even more relevant info for diners, including a rough range of pricing for each destination — ranging from $ for quick, inexpensive meals with dishes largely under $10 USD (or the equivalent in euros), to $$$$ for places where entrees exceed $30.
Elizabeth De Filippo-Jones is a culinary concierge and guide leading tours in Milan and in Northern and Central Italy via Risotto & Steel. Her forthcoming podcast about Northern Italy, Risotto Radio, will launch in spring 2024. Additional contributions by Angelica Frey.
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