The Best Date Night Spots in Milan

Modern and contemporary Japanese–Italian food. An exciting place. Bentoteca is an exciting place run by chef Yoji Tokuyoshi, previous chef at Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana. It’s a sort of an unusual concept of Japanese–Italian food, it's very modern and contemporary. And it's a nice addition to the Milan restaurant scene which I think is quite high-end, old school and traditional. They had this beautiful and delicious miso-glazed pigeon dish, that was spatchcocked and grilled flat. It's wonderful to see that cities like Milan gain new additions – people are thinking and developing their own concepts from the old school and young chefs are exploring the market and finding new spots to open their own restaurants.

New opening in Milan: The Manzoni restaurant launched together with the well-known Tom Dixon designer studio.Responsible for the cuisine: barely 30 years old chef Davide Figliolini, who previously had worked for Dabiz Muñoz in Diverxo.The menu can be described as trendy international cuisine with an Italian base. Modern and young, well curated.To try: suckling pig with raspberry sauce, tacos with tuna, duck ravioli with Alba white truffle.

I’d grown bored of the long, reserve 4-days of your life, look-at-me, look-at-me tasting menus that tire and repeat. This, though, reinstalled my love for the long-list and reminded me how exciting and revolutionary restaurants can be. When the chef and their team are pushing, driving, kicking down doors; researching, reimagining, rewarding the diner with something they’ve never seen, felt or tasted before. A Venetian sarde in saor and a Piedmontese beef tartare. Then, an amberjack fish mosaic arrives, a colourful rubik of small-cubed amberjack alongside cubes of grapefruit, orange, black squid, foie gras and macadamia nut. Then, thinly-sliced langoustine like ribbons is covered in a resplendent, bright orange chorizo sauce which I imagine poured over nachos and pizza and pasta and popcorn, cascading down my chin. Finally, a tart-like potato slice is topped with a piquant chorizo-octopus gel and its delicious suckers.Then, a flurry of dishes: caramelised onion and goats cheese is sealed within a blown sugar casing – a staple from Matias’ Pont de Ferr days – then a tiny carbonara within a bite-size pasta ball and beef sashimi with umeboshi (salted) plum.I sigh a defeatist sigh as desserts begin to emerge. Still, each is suitably sized and flows nicely on from the savoury courses: a porcini ice cream and cioccolato face, moulded to replicate the restaurant’s iconic sculpture “The Secret” by the Milanese artist Matteo Pugliese that greets guests upon entering. Then, a fig leaf ice cream with basil oil which is quickly surpassed by a wonderfully artistic “Campari Sicily” shaped in the style of a Cola bottle but with the refreshing booze-laden hit of bittersweet orange.

One of the most memorable meals we’ve had was in Milan at Ristorante Berton: a broth tasting menu, every course accompanied by a different flavored broth. how’s that for creativity. We were lucky to snatch a reservation at the last minute because the owner of the Airbnb room we rented was also the chef’s publicist. Otherwise we wouldn’t have known about the place, as it just opened a few weeks prior to our arrival to Milan. Although the chef has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants before but his own restaurant didn’t have a star that the time. But after finishing our meal, I was so impressed that I remember thinking, it won’t be long before this place got a star. And surely enough, two months after we dined there on Sept 1, 2014, his restaurant was awarded a Michelin star, less than a year after it opened- almost unheard of. It’s always thrilling to be dining at a place BEFORE it got a star, makes you feel like you kind of “discovered” a hidden gem before it joined the Michelin sought-after culture (although we just lucked out due to our Airbnb connection). The stylish & minimalistic restaurant sits in a futuristic glass tower amid the skyscrapers of Porta Nuova, with its decor echoes its cuisine, using just a few ingredients to create original and artfully presented dishes. We even got some face time with the chef and a tour of his immaculate stainless steel kitchen. But of course, the food was the real superstar here- inventive, original, light, and just purely delicious.

Enrico Bartolini‘s restaurant in Mudec is a spacious and airy restaurant. The current executive chef Davide Boglioli delivers dishes that are on point in terms of taste and appearance. I opted for the contemporary Mudec experience menu rather than the Best of menu. The theatre of some dishes which had final elements completed at the table made the dining experience more enjoyable.

The Trattoria Masuelli cotoletta (schnitzel) enters by right among my favorites in Milan (ultra-crispy breading with eggs, breadcrumbs and panko and very soft meat of high quality), really good!Delicate rabbit tuna with zucchini in carpione and sage in batter.Pleasant the agnolotti del Plin with roast sauce and the 'Spago Milano' spaghetto di Gragnano with saffron with marrow ristretto (the flavor recalls and recalls a lot that of the risotto of the same name but I missed perhaps the greedy part of the cream of the risotto).Very nice wine list, I decided for a good accompaniment with two different bottles of Produttori del Barbaresco with excellent value for money.Also try a lustful mascarpone cream with cat's tongues.

Cozy tiny place in a cool neighborhood serving small plates with interesting ingredients, matches and flavorsCozy tiny place near Porta Venezia in Milano.Small lovely plates, interesting combinations of ingredients, various techniques and freshness are just some of the characteristics of Bites Milano.I recommend sitting at the counter to appreciate some phases of preparation and composition of the dishes!My favorite dishes on the menu of 8 tastings (chosen from the kitchen) the mackerel, an original version of katsu sando (with cabbage) and Chwanmushi with eel.Good also the panna cotta!1. Pickled mackerel, spicy vinaigrette, tangerine, yuzu 2. Scallop, Nduja 3. Katsuosando, braised cabbage, dried shrimp4. Chawanmushi, cauliflower, eel, Ikura5. Veal tongue, seaweed6. Yakitori, beef cheek, green pepper 7. Pannacotta, brewer's yeast, hazelnuts 8. Crispy waffle, red turnips, mascarpone, creamy toasted barley

Interesting modern Italian cuisine in a beautiful location inside the Prada Foundation and a gorgeous view over MilanA beautiful evening at the Ristorante Torre of the Prada Foundation, a fascinating place with an incredible view of the Milanese skyline (the illuminated spires of the cathedral leave speechless at night) I tried an equally intriguing, tasty, delicious cuisine, with soft and enveloping textures balanced by fresh and bitter vegetable notes.1.Raw sea bass with pears, fresh nuts and roasted onion broth 2.Duck breast, Treviso radicchio, Gorizia rose, orange paste (very nice to see and equally tasty, good the bitter and crunchy part of the radicchio in contrast with the tender meat)3.White asparagus, smoked scamorza cream, cedar, caper leaves (the creaminess of this dish is a cuddle, the smoky note remains delicate)4.Risotto with squid ink, trumpet zucchini, marigold 5.Squid stuffed with lamb ragout, turnip greens, hollandaise sauce6.Agnolotti with cicadas, turnip greens, cicada consommé and marigold oil 7.Mandarin sorbet, dehydrated citrus, yogurt granita

Pure flavour bursts of Taiwan in Milan. Grace is from Taiwan and brings the pure flavours of her homeland to Milan. Everything is hand-crafted, the place is small and intimate but always offers a pure burst of taste.

Attentive fine dining cuisine by chef Eugenio Boer, located in the Ticinese district.Small, elegant and professional restaurant with attentive fine dining cuisine by chef Eugenio Boer. Located in the Ticinese district, serving both tasting menus and à la carte with creative dishes based on traditional recipes.

High quality in one of the best spot in MilanWhile searching for something special in Brera we face this beauty, super classy. The fine environment brings you the excellence of raw materials, service on point, and a very chilled and relaxed atmosphere.

Ceresio 7 is already a legend of Milanese glamorous life, always associated with well-being and cheerful atmosphere.Coming here you have 2 options: you can sip a cocktail in a bar or dine in a chic designer restaurant.Make the double choice: cuisine of Elio Sironi is trendy, healthy and very light and in the same time very delightful and tasty, and cocktails by Guglielmo Miriello are just fantastic. Try them both.

Natural wines and interesting dishes on a quiet stretch of the NavigliGianluca Ladu was among the first to work with natural wine in Milan: he started out with a first, smaller version of Vinoir, on a quiet stretch of the Navigli, and over the years he expanded; he's changed a few chefs in the kitchen, but what hasn't changed is how well his very personal selection of wines pairs with the dishes. At Vinoir it's not about small plates of trite culinary cliches, it's real food, cooked well, closer to the offer you'd expect from a good bistro. They might not have the cool logo or the cool merch, but they know how to please customers with grown-up taste. If you sit outside at the right time of the day you may also catch the boats from the two rowing clubs of Milan as they zip by on the water. Now that's cool. (If you can't find a table at Vinoir and want to stay in the area, my next pick is Enoteca Naturale, which occupies a wing of Emergency's headquarters and part of its garden, in front of one of Milan's most beautiful churches, Sant'Eustorgio. Younger, hip vibe, if you like that kind of scene, with a knowledgeable staff that knows how to keep the party going).

The best veal parmigiana in ParisItalian restaurant par Niko Romito in the newly opened Bulgari Hotel in the heart of Paris “Golden triangle”.The chef’s elegant cuisine in a very refined (but still relaxed) atmosphere.Everything is delicious, but don’t miss the vitello tonnato (with its surprising platting that looks like an Italian landscape), the spaghetti e pommodoro and the extraordinary veal parmigiana: thick cut of meat, thin breading, crispy, tender, juicy… and not oily. Just perfect.

Some of the best Roman food in Milan, perfect for a midweek supper.When I lived in Milan this used to be my go-to when I fancied a really delicious plate of pasta. As the name suggests, it's a Roman restaurant and the namesake dish, carbonara, etc. are all spot on. Skip the secondi and go straight for dessert, which was always very good I remember.