For quite sometime now it appears it is almost easier to eat good sushi (by the way, did you read our selection of the best Japanese restaurants in town?), or a good hamburger, than a state-of-the-art ossobuco. And while perhaps Milanese tradition may not be particularly trendy, we would like to present – to those arriving in town for Expo, but also to those who have always lived here – ten places where to taste the most typical dishes in this cuisine, prepared in a careful and authentic way.
Antica Trattoria del Gallo, Via Privata Gerli, 3 – Vigano Certosino / Gaggiano (+39.02.9085276)
An establishment just outiside of town, on the way to Abbiategrasso. This trattoria was run by three generations in the Gerli family who sold it to Paolo Reina in the Nineties. They offer traditional recipes with admirable consistency and are famous for their Chicken diavola.
La bettola di Piero, Via Orti, 17 (+39.02.55184947)
In a street in the centre of Milan that still preserves a particular spirit from long ago, this simple and welcoming trattoria offers a typical Milanese cuisine with a few influences from Piedmont in a rustic and retro setting.
Cesare Battisti, Ratanà's chef, is also on of the Ambassadors of Expo Milano 2015
, Via Edoardo Porro, 8 (+39.02.60830205)
An old farmhouse from the 15th century, in a small street in the outskirts of Milan, is the setting for this
osteria devoted to
ossobuco and other classics in Milanese cuisine. Patron
Gianni Borelli is a veteran in the town’s restaurant scene.
Masuelli San Marco, Viale Umbria, 80 (+39.02.55184138)
A historic place in Milan, this restaurant offers delicious and absolutely authentic dishes since 1921.
Pino Masuelli pairs the culinary offer with stories that make you experience a side of this town that today has almost disappeared.
Ratanà, Via de Castilla, 28 (+39.02.87128855)
Cesare Battisti is both an absolutely modern chef and an old-times patron, and you can find this dualism in
Ratanà’s cooking too. Tradition is presented with authenticity but also reinterpreted with taste and elegance.
Testina, Via Abbadesse, 19 (+39.02.4035907)
It used to be in Via Fantoni and called
La Pesa. Then the whole staff, chef included, moved to the Isola neighbourhood, without changing the scrupulous attention to Milanese tradition and the informal and warm welcome dedicated to guests.
Trattoria Arlati, Via Alberto Nota, 47 (+39.02.84571125)
This place has almost eighty years of history behind it, yet over the years it has been capable of evolving without losing its identity. Traditional dishes, an excellent wine list and live music a couple of nights a week.
Trattoria degli orti, Via Monviso, 13 (+39.02.33101800)
A corner of Milanese tradition presented with elegance and care. This place is welcoming and furnished with dark wood and old photos, while the menu includes all the pillars in the tradition of Lombardy and something more too.
Trattora del Nuovo Macello's "coteletta"
, Via Lombroso, 20 (+39.025457714)
Giovanni Traversone’s family has been running this restaurant with the same passion since 1959. The dining room, with refined ancient pieces of furniture, is the perfect setting for classic dishes such as “coteletta” for which the trattoria is famous, but also more creative recipes.
Trattoria Madonnina, Via Gentilino 6 (+39.02.89409089)
In a calm street off Via di Porta Ticinese this simple and traditional place presents all the classics in Milanese cuisine interpreted in a faithful and authentic way. In the summer you can also eat in the typical courtyard of a Milanese
casa di ringhiera.
