Just spent a long weekend in Milan with the missus and thought I could share our experiences as we were extremely happy when it came to food and wine during our trip. I cannot say that I made really any finds myself as all the places had come recommended on the British forum.
Overall I found Milan to be in some way un-Italian (perhaps the weather had something to do as previously we had only been in Italy between April and August), especially the way they are building skyscrapers there nowadays. Not the most charming of cities definitely but that does not mean that we did not enjoy it. We tend to walk around 15-20 kilometers a day when on holidays and here it was very easy to reach everything by foot - we took a taxi a couple of times due to weather getting quite bad but never gave the public transportation a go.
Our hotel (Windsor) turned out be both good value and well located for our needs. Nearby were several good restaurants and Eataly, which we fell in love with.
Wineshop:
Cantine Isola is located in a neighborhood where one would not necessarily expect to find one of the best wine shops ever, Chinatown. It is difficult to think what they are not stocking (when talking about iconic/cult Italian wines) and the prices are mostly excellent as well. Not everything is on the shelves but if you ask it is very likely that they have it downstairs. For example Giuseppe Rinaldi’s wines were nowhere to be found until I mentioned his Barbera being the absolute best for my palate. Sure enough he had that one and the Langhe Nebbiolo in the cellar and I bought one of each. He also dropped some serious knowledge on me, selling me a bottle of Terradora Taurasi by telling me that it is from the Mastroberardino brother who kept all the vineyards while the other one got the brand. Likewise he sold me a bottle of Sangiovese made by the former winemaker at Riecine, which should be as traditional as it gets, not unlike Montevertine.
They also have a very respectable selection of French wines (read: Burgundy), including a bunch of Chablis from Dauvissat and Raveneau. The prices for those are not bad either, I could not resist the temptation of 2014 Raveneau Fôrets at 80 €. While the owner was wrapping the bottles in bubble-wrap he instructed an employee to serve us some excellent coffee. Fantastic service all the way, I cannot wait to return.
Restaurants:
Bicerìn doubles as a restaurant and a wine shop. We arrived there a bit before our reservation to have a look at the selection. The door was closed but a very charming fellow (I believe the owner or one of them) let us in despite the place not being open yet. He was very eager to showcase their offerings and while doing so poured us free glasses of nice Franciacorta. Indeed the assortment is very interesting here with a healthy amount of back vintages. Unfortunately the retail prices are not great for the most part so while there were many bottles I would gladly own I was just not willing to pay the sticker price for them. I did buy one though, the 2009 Boscarelli Vino Nobile, which was actually very fairly priced.
Nevertheless, this is still an absolutely great establishment. While the retail prices are high, the restaurant prices to some extent are not really, as the mark-up was mostly around ten Euros. Due to this we had a superb bottle of Nebbiolo for less than 50 Euros: 2009 La Torretta Ghemme Il Motto. It is from volcanic soil and as elegant and complete a wine as they come with a great tannic grip. It was nothing short of fantastic with a plate of Umbrian salumi and a steak tartare (yes, we enjoy Italian meats ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
). This is the sort of place where the staff is highly knowledgeable about all the produce and everything is of the highest quality. If you are looking for uncomplicated excellence, you will find it here. It is a really small joint so a reservation is essential.
Usually the main piazza in the city center is not the place where one goes for culinary delights but Spazio Milan is an exception. Located on the fourth floor of Il Mercato del Duomo it is literally right next to the big one and luck was on our side as our table was by the window with a view. The cooking is on the lighter side, you will not get a plate full of polenta or risotto here. The wine list is not the thickest but you have plenty of good producers and the wines are priced very fairly. Unfortunately many of them are very young vintages so while a 2013 Burlotto Acclivi might be a great deal at 65 € I would really hesitate drinking it now. Fortunately there was the 2009 Castell’in Villa Chianti Classico Riserva available for 55 €, which is what we went with. Despite the vintage, 14,5 % ABV and the Riserva designation it turned out to be very bright and elegant, really well-suited to the restaurant’s menu. I was blown away by how well it paired with my started, a smoked mackerel, while less surprisingly it was also very good with our mains, braised lamb and wine-glazed pork neck with prunes. The service here was really professional and exemplary and all things considered this was another superb dinner.
The next day we had lunch at N’ombra de Vin, a spaceous cellar restaurant slash bar slash wine shop. It seems to be a highly popular place to go for cocktails or a glass of wine in the evening but at around lunch time on Sunday there was one table of people besides us. It would take a while for anyone to notice us, the staff were obviously in the middle of planning some future endeavors, but we were in no rush and I was naturally interested to have a look at their selection so we would patiently wait for the waiter to approach us. Everything was definitely on a good level when it comes to the food and the BTG wines, but they had some of the most uncomfortable chairs and really this seemed first and foremost like a place where you would come with a group of friends to have a good time. A cool location definitely with large selection of Italian wines and - if you have deep pockets as the prices are at least 1.5x compared to France - lots of iconic wines Burgundy. As a plus they had a stupidly good olive oil on the table to enjoy with their very tasty bread.
The main event of the evening was then Ratanà, very much a modern restaurant in the very much modern part of the city. One would never end up there by accident but certainly people have found it as the place was packed. Rightfully so, as it is a truly wonderful place if you are looking for small production wines at fantastic prices (and you can also buy them to go). Many Italian restaurants do not seem to have their winelist online but this one does and if you check it out you will notice that while exhaustingly long it has definitely been designed with a lot of thought and vision. For example, there is a whole page of Chenin Blancs and a good selection of grower Champagne, although the latter seemed to be in fashion in the city more generally.
Picking just one bottle here is a tough task but in the end I chose the 2010 Vallana Boca, a blend of Nebbiolo, Vespolina and Uva Rara. I had understood this to be a very traditional producer but I think that is almost an understatement. It is really as old school as it gets with moderate alcohol, a super high-toned red fruit and a hint of VA on the nose. Still young, it just kept improving over the dinner, while drinking still quite well with the food. My gf, always looking to get her cheese fix, decided to start with a cheese selection (it was listed as an appetizer!) which turned out to be one of the best we have experienced in Italy. My “veal’s head Milanese style terrine” was certainly unusual but very tasty. For the main we both had the über classic Osso buco with risotto Milanese which was thoroughly awesome but absolutely HUGE. I finished mine but could not dream of eating anything else after that. Fortunately they would have a liquore di Genepy on the list which felt like a gift from the sky. What I had decided already several weeks ahead was - given that the winelist was up to date - to buy two bottles of ArPePe to go. These bottles seem to be very elusive but here they were available at the best prices of the whole city. Grumello Buon Consiglio and Sassella Rocce Rosse, both from the 2007 vintage, were carefully packed by the very attentive waiter and made it all the way back home in one piece.
Some of the waiters at Ratanà were very young and clearly still just learning their craft when it comes to being relaxed and natural. However the service was very fast and professional otherwise and I was surprised that they brought the Riedel Sommeliers Bourgogne glasses for the Boca. I think the location, the decor and the lighting give this place a great atmosphere and I would love to go again, although to eat something a bit lighter perhaps.
On our last day we went for lunch to La Brisa. This one has a more upscale feel to it and certainly we could have felt a bit under-dressed as the clientele were mostly businessmen in nice suits. After the previous night’s heavy dinner we were looking to eat light so decided to have only the mains, Iberian suckling pig for both. However the waiter told that as this dish takes around 25 minutes to cook perhaps we would want to share a starter and recommended a plate of culatello that was then prepared with a meat slicer two meters from our table. Oh boy, am I glad that he did. It was some of the best charcuterie I have ever had and we were both practically in nirvana. The main course was absolutely delicious as well with the crisp skin borderline giving me goosebumps. The waiters were very professional and experienced here and by looking at what kinds of wines they were pouring (Giacomo Conterno, Montevertine etc.) next time a dinner here is a must. To wrap it up the coffee here was the best we had in Milan.
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