8 Best Restaurants in Milan, Italy

Your main problem at Pavè will be deciding what to order among rows of cakes, tarts, classic Italian brioches (with sweet fillings like cream and jam), and other pastries. When everything is this drool-worthy, your best strategy is to come with friends and share your favorites. The hip café and bakery with floor-to-ceiling windows is a favorite of locals who wait in line for a spot at weekend brunch and lunch. There's a second location, Pavè–Break, at Via della Commenda 25.

The café at this foodie paradise at its original 1883 outpost near the Duomo features Italian specialty foods such as excellent cheeses, charcuterie, vegetables in olive oil, seafood, and sandwiches. It also reinterprets classic dishes like Russian salad and pâté, which can be washed down with a fine selection of wines by the glass or a bottle from its cellar of global labels. You'll also find Peck at City Life near San Siro and in Porta Venezia.

Alternative describes more than the decor and name at Altriménti. But there are the scarlet velvet Three Wise Monkeys (See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil) to greet you, evocative bright prints from contemporary Italian artists, that same scarlet for walls, stairs, and cushions, and fluted cardboard stools for resting handbags table-side in the bright main dining room that can seat 30. But in a neighborhood not known for its culinary prowess, the team behind Altriménti (with an impressive culinary resume with guidance by renowned chef Eugenio Boer) has also created a seasonally changing menu and wine list that takes the best of Italian regions such as baccalà mantecato (mashed cod, Veneto), crusco pepper (crunchy red pepper, Basilicata), and polenta (Piedmont) to create direct dishes with complex flavors, as nettles, lemongrass, and lime also grace white discs served on white linens. Alongside slow-cooked meats, seared seafood, and house made ravioli, there is Lombardy's classic risotto carnaroli allo zafferano (saffron risotto) with beef jus and Piedmont's vitello tonato (veal filet with tuna sauce). Mixed-to-order gelato and sorbet make dessert worth saving room for. 

The 15 different types of daily breads along with tarts, croissants, and a decadent selection of other desserts have a French influence at this bakery with sidewalk tables and chairs and a viewing window into the bakers behind the scenes of it all. Grab an easy breakfast, lunch, or aperitif as you soak up the aroma of fresh-baked baguettes.

Dining at LùBar, which was started by three children of Milan fashion designer Luisa Beccaria and which is tucked into the side of the Galleria d’Arte Moderna, feels like eating inside a greenhouse—only with fashionable people among the trees and plants. The cozy, chic environs lend themselves perfectly to nibbling on small plates of modern Sicilian food—for lunch, an afternoon snack, or a light dinner.

Whether you stop for a cappuccino and one of their gigantic brioche (similar to a croissant) filled with jam, cream, or an unconventional salted-caramel for breakfast, an afternoon break with a selection of minicakes, or to eat a quick sandwich, any craving can be satisfied at Marlà—the acronym for the first names of the two owners, Marco Battaglia and Lavinia Franco. Keep in mind that you may not have room for dinner if you stop by this sea green–and-white modern café in the afternoon.

This enoteca serves wine by the glass and, in addition to the plates of salumi (Italian cold cuts) and cheese nibbles, has light food and not-so-light desserts. It's a great place for people-watching on Via San Marco, while indoors offers a more dimly lit, romantic setting; check out the impressive vaulted basement, where bottled wines and spirits are sold.

The Zàini family opened its chocolate factory here in 1913, on a side street off Corso Como. Today, its black-and-white marble-tile-floored and chandelier-lit café is a stop for coffee paired with a Zàini classic like Emilia (dark chocolate named after the family's nanny) or Boero (cherry cordial); or dozens of cakes and other sweets. There's a second location at Viale Piave 17, in Porta Venezia.