The Milan restaurants you should be booking now

From buzzy cocktail bars to secluded hideaways for traditional feasts, our edit of Milan restaurants is your must-have guide for dining in the city, whether you’re a local or a visitor, like us, planning ahead for Milan trips and events such as Salone del Mobile 2024. Looking for the best pizza in Milan? We asked the city's design community for their recommendations.

Our go-to Milan restaurants

Horto

An Arcadian oasis hidden amongst Milan’s industrial clutter, Horto is one of our favourite new restaurants in the city.

With a kitchen headed by chef Norbert Niederkofler (of three-Michelin-star and one-green-star restaurant St Hubertus at the Hotel Rosa Alpina in San Cassiano), Horto serves a rotating menu of dishes that places an emphasis on local suppliers and low-impact farming. These include carnaroli risotto, chestnut and black truffle; trout from the Ticino consortium, cooked over embers and mushrooms consommé; and fresh cheese, Varzese beef carpaccio and sturgeon caviar.

The food is made even better by the surrounding views, as you look out over the Duomo and the city’s rooftops.  

hortorestaurant.com

Al Garghet 

Situated in the middle of a field on the edges of Milan, Al Garghet is a pastoral and kaleidoscopic destination that spans several dining rooms, each with different decor – from a ‘Scottish cottage’ style interior dining room with tartan tablecloths, to a verdant outdoor garden. 

Founder Emanuela Cipolla serves up recipes from her mother Teresa's kitchen, including Piacenza fried dumplings with ham and fried vegetables; and Al Garghet’s famous Milanese cutlet made with pork rather than traditional veal.

‘When my mother used to cook schnitzel,’ Cipolla explains, ‘the veal was too expensive, so our cutlet was made from loin, well beaten to make it bigger, with double breading. She cut it and stuffed our sandwiches with it, adding tomato and salad and sometimes even some homemade mayonnaise.’ 

We recommend pairing the cutlet with one of the restaurant’s rotating menu of pasta dishes, and don’t forget to try the courgette flowers. 

algarghet.it

Erba Brusca

Travel along a stretch of highway on the city’s outskirts to an innocuous-looking yellow building and you'll find one of the best Milan restaurants. Erba Brusca’s elegantly casual atmosphere complements its menu of simple but flawlessly executed dishes that change seasonally and are often made with ingredients sourced from the restaurant's own vegetable garden. 

It is worth visiting all year round, but we particularly recommend booking one of the tables in the outdoor garden during the warmer months.

erbabrusca.it

Si Ma Townhouse

Si Ma Townhouse is one of our favourite bars in the city, with a menu of inventive cocktails served in either the buzzy downstairs bar or upstairs lounge. There is a menu of simple snacks, from hummus and vegetables to a straightforward burger, but the real draw here is the potent drinks and beguiling crowd. If you are looking for a fun night out, this should be one of the first stops on your list. 

simatownhouse.com