Milan Food Guide: Sharing My Best Eats Across The City

So you’re heading to Milan, Italy’s northern culinary powerhouse. Beyond its famous Duomo and fashion houses, this vibrant city is a paradise for food lovers, with endless choices around every corner. Want to know where to find the flakiest morning brioche, the tastiest pasta, and yes, the creamiest gelato in town? You’re in the right place.

PS: This isn’t your typical Milan Food Guide. I’m not here to list the traditional Milanese dishes you can easily Google—you already know about those. Instead, I’m sharing something more valuable: my personal food journey through nine days in the fashion capital. Let me take you through every restaurant, café, and gelateria I tried and share my honest opinions.

Because here’s the thing about eating in Milan (or any Italian city): the challenge isn’t finding food – it’s choosing where to eat among the endless options and avoiding tourist traps. That’s exactly what this guide will help you with.

To make it easy to plan your own food adventures, I’ve organized everything into three essential categories:

1. Breakfast
2. Lunch and Dinner
3. Snack (sweet & savory)

Consider this your insider tips from a food-loving friend who just got back from Milan and can’t wait to tell you where to eat!

Breakfast in Milan – Where To Go & Where To Avoid

These are the five breakfast spots I tried in Milan. I am listing them with my favorite at the top and the one I least recommend at the end. For each, I will tell you the location, what we ordered and how much we paid. You’ll also see an overall rating.

Cova Montenapoleone Cafe (8/10)

If you too love a historic cafe that takes you back in time, add this one to your old cafes list. 

Make sure you read my review of the oldest cafe in Florence (9/10) and Rome (7/10):

Florence Breakfast Guide
Rome Breakfast Guide

Location: 

It’s located in Via Montenapoleone, which makes it perfect to start your shopping day here! If you need help planning yours (Milan is a big shopping city!), read my Milan Shopping Guide (coming soon).

Service:

Service is exceptional, and you have the option to order and eat by the bar, or ask to sit down. We sat down both times we visited.

What to order:

I suggest trying a brioche here; it’s the best I ate in Milan, if you want an authentic flaky brioche as opposed to your classic cornetto.

Also, don’t miss their incredible budino di riso.

My husband recommends the panettone, so much so that he ate it twice. It’s huge, soft and fluffy, and has that fragrant panettone texture you would expect from a homemade one.

For drinks, I recommend the house lemon iced tea, which comes with a homemade syrup. It’s beautiful!

Price:

Our bill came to around €30 each time, which is a really good price, especially after our experience at Antico Caffe Greco!

Did this beat my favorite Italian cafe? No.

You can read about that one here.

Princi Milano (8/10)

This is the opposite of Cova cafe, yet I equally love it and recommend it. If you love a more casual and relaxed vibe, I urge you to try this one. However, it can get really busy, especially if you go at peak time on the weekend.

The pastries are delicious, and there’s so much to choose from. Plus, the whole experience of waiting in line and looking at the food is really beautiful.

However, I like a more tranquil sitting experience and hate the idea of not finding a spot and having to stand. That’s the only minus for me.

Location:

We went to the location closest to the Duomo on a Sunday at 9 am, so of course, it was busy! That’s in Via Speronari.

If you want a more relaxed experience, I suggest you try these locations – Largo Floppa & Via Cordusio.

What we ordered:

We each had a croissant, and they were delicious.

My husband tried the jam tart, and he loved it.

I went for the chocolate brioche but I don’t recommend it. It was nothing special.

The chocolate bread you see in the picture on the side was a freebie. It wasn’t that good, though.

Something I love about Milan, which you will be surprised by, is that most food places give you freebies. It happened at least 3 times.

Price:

Considering the amount we ordered, the price at €23 was fair in my opinion. However, when you compare it to the experience and location of Cova, you could say that was more worth it.

Starbucks Roastery Milan (8/10)

I placed this at number three, but it’s actually the one I am going to miss the most. It’s casual yet grand, the service is great, and the food is from Princi, so you get the best of both worlds.

I never thought Starbucks would make it on my recommended list, considering I never liked their drinks and food, but in Italy it’s a different story.

I am not sure whether everything is better because it’s in Italy, using Italian ingredients and made the Italian way, or whether it’s because it’s a Roastery so the entire experience seems elevated. It surely helps that most of their food comes from a local bakery!

Location:

There are other normal Starbucks throughout the city, but please please go to the main one in Piazza Cordusio. The line is never too long, and it’s so worth your time.

I suggest you order at the bar on your right from where you enter, and then sit behind it. We found places both times we went there (yes, I went twice!). 

What we ordered:

You can see what we ate each time we went below.

I had an iced matcha, and it was as delicious as my favorite spot back home! On the other hand, I cannot make myself drink a regular Starbucks matcha latte – neither cold nor hot, because it’s too sickly sweet and watery. That’s how much the Roastery elevates the experience.

As for food, I had the chocolate caramel tart the first time and the pistachio Veneziana the second. I recommend them both, although the Veneziana’s pistachio cream could be better!

Price:

I didn’t take a shot of the receipt, but it was normal Starbucks price – at around €25 total.

Motta Caffe

I really wanted to try their location inside the Galleria, but when we arrived just after 11 am they told us breakfast was over, and we could only have it standing at the bar. It was so hot inside with the heating we decided to skip it.

However, my husband tried their apple turnover at the station, and he really liked it. You can also see that the food looks really good in both locations.

Pinacoteca di Brera Cafe (6/10)

I don’t recommend having breakfast here. The choice is really limited, and the croissants we had were nothing special. However, the location is stunning, so you decide!

As for the price, I can’t remember exactly, but it was fair considering the location – something under €15.

Other Milan Breakfast Spots I Recommend

While I haven’t tried them yet, I really wanted to, so you can be the one who tries them first:

1. Giacomo Caffe Letterario – Turin-style old cafe with a relaxed vibe.

2. Cafezal Brera – gorgeous looking strawberry glazed croissants.

3. Ambrogia Il Forno – Kosher cafe with incredible baked goods.

4. Gelsomina – the third best place in Milan for panettone.

5. Tiemi – tiramisu flavored croissant.

6. Tipografia Alimentare – nice vibes and delicious-looking bakes.

7. Clea Pasticceria Culinaria – popular with the locals.

Many of these are far from the Duomo area and Brera, which is where we were staying, so we couldn’t make it there. I suggest you check if they are close to your accommodation.

Best Places To Eat In Milan For Lunch Or Dinner

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to love Milan’s food as much as I did, and that comes down to the restaurants we chose. A few were researched and planned, and others were spontaneous and unexpected. Let me share more about each. I will start with my top recommendation.

Please note, that most of the food we ate was not a local delicacy, but it was incredibly delicious and you can only get it in Milan.

Osteria del Gnocco Fritto (10/10)

I came across this restaurant while researching local Italians’ food recommendations in Milan. I watched an Italian share this spot, order, and eat his food, and I was sold!

It’s a restaurant serving Emilian cuisine, focusing on aperitivo food with their traditional fried gnocco, and authentic pasta dishes.

Location: Navigli

While it’s not located on the Navigli but on the side street, the ambiance is beautiful. Plus, once you see the food you won’t have eyes for anything else, believe me.

What we ordered:

We started with a basket of gnocco fritto – my first time trying it, and I can say I fell in love at first bite.

We enjoyed that with a plate of real Mortadella from Bologna, and my husband ordered some parmesan which came with chutney.

For the pasta course, I chose the pumpkin and amaretti stuffed ravioli cooked in butter and sage. They were otherworldly. My husband opted for lasagna, and it was great, though not as good as mine, but definitely better than the one I ate in Rome. 

Price & Service:

The service was amazing. Even without a booking, which is difficult in Milan, we were seated and served immediately. We opted to sit outside considering they were fully booked inside – although it was a simple Thursday in October. If that doesn’t tell you the restaurant is loved by the locals, I don’t know what does!

For all we ate, plus water and 2 Aperol spritz, we paid €76 – a really good price,  in my opinion!

Osteria Da Fortunata (9/10)

My second favorite spot in Milan was again not a Milanese restaurant. I am sure you’ve heard about this a lot, and so have I, hence why I never wanted to try it. I thought it was all Social Media influence but I was afraid it wasn’t really authentic. 

So what changed my mind?

I came across it in the street we were staying in, close to Brera but not as central as you would expect a very popular restaurant to be located in. So my thought was this: if it’s here, it must mean the locals love it too, not just the tourists. And that’s what made me want to try it. 

Inside, it was full of both locals and tourists, but the whole experience and the food were authentic and very pleasant. The pasta I chose was among the best I have eaten, although it was super filling.

Location: Moscova

I would have loved to eat in the one in Brera, especially the outdoor seating, but when I saw the unbelievably long queue, we decided to walk back to our apartment street, since we knew there was one there. That one had no waiting, although it was full to the brim!

What we ordered:

My husband had tagliatelle with boar ragu and I had gnocchi with regular ragu. They were both very tasty and huge portions. If you are someone who eats a lot, go for the gnocchi and you’ll be full. It’s also a good one to share after an antipasti platter. My husband ate his and then helped me with mine (ha ha).

Price & service:

I believe I paid around €45 for two pasta dishes and water.

The staff was very friendly, so much so that the guy that served us saw us again in the evening and said hello with a big smile. Italians are the best!

Mercato Centrale (8/10)

This is likely not a recommendation you’ll see when searching for best food in Milan, because it’s not a single restaurant but a whole market with food stalls. 

However, the convenience, ambiance, choice , and quality are so great that you really must go at least once. 

We went twice and were planning a third time, but we didn’t since we had to cancel our day trip to Verona.

You can see a full tour of all the stalls on my TikTok @alessiaitalianlife.

Location: Milano Centrale

Since it’s located underneath the train station, it’s really convenient for you to have dinner after coming back from a day trip like Lake Como. It’s open till midnight, so you can even have a late-night snack here – savory or sweet.

What we ordered

The first time we went, after our Como day trip, we both had pasta from the pasta stall. I immediately chose the meat ravioli with a creamy parmesan sauce – I love fresh stuffed pasta. My husband opted for the trofie with pesto and burrata. They were both delicious, so much so that I decided to recreate the ravioli.

The second time we went, we both fancied a main course, so I opted for charcoal grilled salmon and roasted potatoes, while my husband had the traditional Cotoletta Milanese with potatoes and salad.

I loved mine so much because the fish was fresh and cooked right then and there, and it had a beautiful charcoal taste that reminded me of my childhood, when my grandma would grill my fish on the Sicilian “fucularu” – which is a typical Italian small barbeque with charcoal.

I wouldn’t recommend the stall my husband chose. I immediately told him the other was better but he still went with that one, and regretted it after. Instead I suggest you have yours in the proper Cotoletta stall. There’s also the butcher section which likely sells it too.

For desserts, we tried the cookies, the lemon cake, and the pistachio pasticciotto and everything was delicious. I especially recommend the pasticciotto.

For drinks, we had the Aperol Spritz each time.

How it works:

First you browse the stalls and choose your favorite. Then you place your order. While it’s being prepared, the other person can order from another stall, and you can buy drinks from the main bar.

Then go pick your order and choose where to sit. Every stall has its sitting area, but there’s also a common area which looks onto the street and it’s really nice.

However, you can sit wherever you want, even if just one person orders from that stall, and the other one is bringing food from another spot.

Prices:

On day 1, we paid €27 for both pasta, €7 for an Aperol, and the usual for a coke. The cookie and cake were around €4 each. The total came to about €45, not bad.

On day 2, we paid €20 for my fish and potatoes, €15 for the cotoletta meal, and the pasticciotto was around €5. We also had an olive oil focaccia, at around that price. The total came to €60, but we ordered a lot.

Milan Pizza At Assaje (7/10)

This was just a 3-minute walk from our apartment, so we opted to have a takeaway on Sunday evening. 

The pizza was good, the service was great, and they gave us free starters, but it wasn’t the best pizza ever!

Location:

Largo la Floppa

What we ordered:

I chose the Cosacca – a Margherita without mozzarella but with pecorino cheese.

My husband went for the Scarpone – with eggplant and smoked provola.

The filling was good, but neither the tomato sauce nor the crust beats my favorite Neapolitan-style pizza with a Sicilian filling.

Price & service:

We paid only €21, and we were given free fried pizza bites. The woman that served us was really nice and we only waited 10 minutes for the pizza to be made.

I Sapori della Pasta (7/10)

If you Google “fresh pasta Milan” this is the spot that comes up. And since it happened to be just around the corner from our apartment I had to try it.

So how was it?

The owner was the typical nice Italian man whom you could speak to for hours.

The pasta looked beautiful. There was plenty of choice both for pasta and sauces. The portions were a good size, the taste was really nice, but it was a little pricey.

However, considering they are the most popular fresh pasta spot on the go in Milan, you can’t expect otherwise. They are also located in a fancy area of the city.

What we ordered:

I had tortellini with tomato sauce, although I wish I had opted for ragu.

My husband chose rigatoni with ragu.

You can see all the available options below, plus they have different pasta shapes every day.

Price:

We paid around €35 for 2 portions of pasta and one drink.

Milan Snacks – Street Food, Gelato & Fancy Pick Me Up

In this section, I will share all the snacks we ate in Milan, including the popular Milan street food, afternoon bites at Prada Cafe, and two famous gelato spots.

Luini Panzerotti (6/10)

Here’s another non-Milanese delicacy that’s very popular in the city. I hope you know that Panzerotti are actually from Puglia.

Everyone that goes to Milan tries them and recommends them, and since I love Apulian cuisine I had to try them.

What are my thoughts?

I can see why people recommend them, they are indeed addictive. But I also think they are overrated. I expected them to be much tastier.

My favorite filling was the zucchini and mozzarella, although I removed the latter because I really don’t like mozzarella.

However, I believe that only comes in whole grain flour, and I prefer the regular pastry. I was expecting the pastry itself to be nicer, but that’s coming from a Sicilian who grew up eating homemade focaccias, pizzas, the tastiest street food, etc.!

So should you try them? Of course, you should, especially considering one only costs €3. They are one of those things that you need to judge for yourself.

Spontini Pizza (7/10)

On the other hand, this one surprised me. I thought it was going to be nothing special, but on the contrary, I would eat it again.

We just had a Margherita slice to share, and I removed the mozzarella on mine. The pastry was fluffy with a crispy bottom, and the sauce was nicely sweet. 

We went to the one in Via Radegonda.

I recommend this, although at €5.70 it’s overpriced for just a slice.

Marchese 1824 inside Milan’s Galleria (7/10)

I already told you I love an old cafe with history, and this one has been in business since 1824, as the name suggests, so I had to try it. If you add to that that’s now owned and managed by the Prada group which made the whole experience more exciting. 

But was it worth it, and do I recommend it?

The location is stunning, the service is also good, and you get the chance to sit down in one of the busiest locations in Milan while enjoying a moment of peace and luxury.

The food is overpriced, and what I tried was not that great. I had a bacio di dama and a mini Sacher torte. My husband enjoyed his mixed berries tart.

I chose a bottled iced tea from Alto Adige, and it was lovely.

I recommend it to everyone who loves beautiful cafes. If you limit yourself to something small, the price is very reasonable, and you can stay as much as you like, and use the bathrooms, which makes it very convenient.

Ciacco Gelato (7/10)

My list of ice cream spots to try in Milan was very long, but because the weather turned out to be so rainy and chilly, we only had ice cream twice. This was our first one.

The queue usually tells how good the ice cream shop is, and I must say this was an exceptionally long wait. We were killing time before dinner, so we didn’t mind.

The ice cream was good and very cheap, and I recommend it. However, it wasn’t as special as my favorite Florence gelato – read more about that here.

I had chocolate and hazelnut, while my husband opted for stracciatella and another white flavor, which I don’t remember.

It only cost €6, and the place is really central – in Via Spadari.

Artico Gelato (6/10)

This was our treat after the Spontini pizza, and again it was very conveniently located just a 6-minute walk from Spontini, in Via Dogana. 

I can’t remember the price but it was not expensive, I believe slightly more than Ciacco. This time I had pistachio and lemon, but none of them were incredible. My husband had stracciatella and a yogurt flavor. He said this was his favorite stracciatella of the trip.

Want To Know More About Milan?

I hope you enjoyed this Milan food guide and find it useful to go through all the food we ate and how we rate it.

If you need more help planning your Milan trip, here are other useful resources on my blog:

Milan Fashion

What to Wear in Milan in October

Milan Fall Winter Street Style

The Perfect Milan Shopping Itinerary

Milan Sightseeing

How to See Milan in One Day

Best Milan Neighborhood – Brera

Milan Day Trips

Milan to Bergamo

That’s all for this guide. But before you go, can you please leave a heart and share this with a friend? Thank you so much!

Arrivederci,
Alessia.