On a mission to find the perfect traditional Milanese trattoria, we decided to try La Pesa, one of…read morethe most sought after places for risotto con ossobuco and cotoletta. The menu is actually not strictly Milanese, they have items that belong to other regional traditions like sciatt or polenta taragna, fried cheese balls and cheese polenta from Valtellina. We didn't complain about this discrepancy, we actually enjoyed both dishes even if not traditional from Milan. Then we got risotto alla milanese con ossobuco, the symbol of Milanese cuisine, and it was really really good. The risotto was creamy, buttery and delicious, the ossobuco "melt in your mouth" tender and with a lot of delicious bone marrow in the bone. Fantastic. Risotto ai funghi porcini freschi was very good too. The tagliatelle al ragù di cinghiale (boar) were very good, but the tagliatelle were a bit too tough, which is very strange for fresh pasta. It felt like the fresh pasta was left to dry out and then it was not cooked enough to rehydrate it. Whatever, the ragù was delicious. Finally the mondeghili, typical Milanese fried meat balls, although delicious, were not authentic, at least according to the expert in the group. Anyway, we enjoyed the food, the cute ambiance and the service. Recommended.

Warning: don't go here for the food. They probably shouldn't even serve food…read more You'll be served by a nice old lady who doesn't speak a word of English. Your food will be a combination of deli-meats on a plate with some microwaved bean-pasta and freezer-burned meatballs. I don't think they have a working stove at this restaurant. The house wine comes from a 5L box or bucket or bathtub or something, but it wasn't that offensive. Be sure to clean your plate or you will get interrogated - we snuck outside and secretly dispose of a whole meatball. The interior is an unsolvable paradox. When you look one direction, you feel like you're transported to the handsome 1950's with the bar construction, faema espresso machine, and the interesting stone floor. But there's an element of third-world-country: the stained, hole-ridden tablecloth, the tattered sheet dividing the restaurant, a light bulb decorated by crepe paper wrapped around it. The bathrooms were described to me as something between a hole in the ground and a toilet. It's probably going to be completely empty there - except for a man watching TV behind the divider. However, there's something strangely "romantic" about de Lina in the modern metropolis of Milan. It's a safe-place from the chaotic outside world where you and your dining partner will be forced to rough it for a couple hours. Think if you could take entertainment and inverse it... for EUR 35 for two people, what a way to spend a night. And remember... be ready to clean your plate... by any means possible.

Our first choice was shut and given the streets were full of hipsters left over from the furniture…read moredesign week this was the next on the list. Service was friendly, encouraged our extremely poor Italian and interacted well. I had prawns and vegetables to start and then the tagleata both acceptable without being outstanding. I have noticed a distinct lack of seasoning this trip and it must be the meals rather than me, although my head is full of flu, as others meals seem fine. To furnish the semifredo which was not too sweet, so just right. My daughters and wife were also happy with their meals, although my daughters did say the toilet, which was downstairs, was scary, given they had spent nearly an hour on Abercrombie and Fitch today, which was darker and full of scary half dressed people I wasn't sure what they were on about. The waiter recommended a nice red from Tuscany (second time in Milan so I am not sure if even the locals don't think much of the local reds. It gets 4 stars for good not great food, but great service.