Have you ever attempted to order an iced coffee in Italy? If you’re not immediately met with a quizzical stare or firm refusal, a begrudged cup of ice cubes is all that will accompany your espresso shot. Italians, understandably, dig in their heels when it comes to their culinary culture, making even the most taken for granted trends slow to catch on here. But the arrival of Cafezal, billed as a Brazilian-Italian micro-roastery and coffee shop, is a sign that change is in the air. In the run-up to the much-debated opening of Starbucks this fall, the first on Italian soil, it seems that third wave coffee culture in Milan is finally waking up.
Cafezal is on Via Solferino in the heart of Milan’s buzzing Brera district. Featuring a rotating cast of speciality beans – sourced from small-scale plantations from Honduras to Ethiopia – toasted on site and transformed into typical Italian espresso-based drinks alongside more novel (for Italy) offerings of pourover drip coffees and cold brews.
Local design darlings Studiopepe dressed up the 50sq m space in a style they call ‘post-modern urban’, washing the walls in an inky blue shade that makes the custom dusty pink banquettes pop. Woodgrain-printed wallpaper, terrazzo tabletops, spindly soft-cornered stools, black Marquina marble counters and a wavy, corrugated bar with brushed copper trim make for a welcome addition to Milan’s slowly percolating coffee scene.
ADDRESS
Via Solferino, 27
-
Four under-the-radar travel destinations to book in 2026 – before everyone else doesYou'd be forgiven if none of these locations are on your travel bingo card – yet
-
Estudio Ome on how the goal of its landscapes ‘is to provoke, even through a subtle detail, an experience’The Mexico City-based practice explores landscape architecture in Mexico, France and beyond, seeking to unite ‘art and ecology’
-
Charlotte Chesnais brings her distinctive sensuality to sculptural new jewelleryDefined by curving shapes and luscious pearls, the jewellery designer's new collection, 'Joaillerie', has sculptural allure
-
Pierre-Yves Rochon celebrates ‘the great tradition of Italian design’ in Four Seasons Hotel Milano refreshThe sophisticated hotel’s 118 rooms and suites have been redesigned by the acclaimed designer and long-time collaborator of the brand
-
At this elegant new aparthotel in Florence, local living is done rightThis Time Tomorrow offers bespoke itineraries and neoclassical interiors that echo the city’s layered soul
-
Do luxury hotels need a farmer-in-residence?From Ibiza to Indonesia, hospitality brands are cultivating a new travel experience, where wellness begins in the soil and ends at the table
-
Il Sereno’s new Listening Suite is what phonophiles’ dreams are made ofDesigned by Patricia Urquiola and Il Sereno founder and audiophile Luis Contreras, the new Lake Como-facing suite unites Japanese listening culture with Italian design
-
Inside Belmond’s most exclusive holiday villa yet, a lavish Ligurian palazzoOnce the theatre of lavish parties, Villa Beatrice is now a palatial haven of seclusion with easy access to Portofino’s Splendido, a Belmond hotel
-
The most stylish hotel takeovers to pop up at this summerFrom Capri to Ibiza, luxury fashion brands are taking over seaside resorts with exclusive boutique pop-ups and bespoke poolside accessories
-
Detour Discotheque is bringing ‘the world’s dreamiest party’ to PugliaThe pop-up event, La Dolce Vita Disco, promises dancing, good food and sunshine in a 16th-century Italian farmhouse
-
Five tranquil suites by Patricia Urquiola suspend visitors ‘between sea and sky’ in CapriPatricia Urquiola dreams up a study in contrast and tradition for the next chapter of Jumeirah Capri Palace
