We visited Osteria Via Pré after it was suggested to us by our host in Milano as one of the finest…read morerestaurants in the area. Even though we were pretty late (around 10pm when the Osteria is originally scheduled to close) we were kindly greeted and served.
The restaurant is situated in a lovely street that branches right off Porta Genova. The street is filled with small restaurants and cafés and was teeming with people at the time. Also, there's the river promenade at Naviglio Grande just a mere couple 100 metres away. Osteria Via Pré itself fits right in there because it is a small, cozy restaurant with only a couple of tables and a bar inside, while most of its chairs and tables are located outside, facing the street.
We had a very attentive, nice waiter who conversed with us in Italian, English and German and generally gave us the feeling that he was there for us whenever we wanted something.
For appetizers we shared a Foccaccia which was filled with molten cheese. Absolutely delicious though the serving was a little small for two people. In any event, I think it's a positive thing that the appetizer actually left us craving more (food).
For the main course both of us ate Lasagne alla Genovese.
Frankly, I've never had Lasagne with pesto this green and refreshing. As far as pestos go, this one was absolutely amazing. Rich with herbal aromas, not to oily but just the perfect consistency. The lasagne was housemade and also perfectly al dente.
The housewine we had (red one) was to our liking though by no means spectacular.
Even after we had finished, the waiter kept an eye on us and our needs, served us a free bottle of water and chatted with us about this and that. In this regard, the mediterranean kind of mentality and atmosphere were really carried across positively.
In terms of prices, Osteria Via Pré falls right into the Milano standard. Good restaurants in nice locations like this always demand prices like this in Milano, so I think if you're in Milano and you want to have a good meal, it's not reasonable to skip this one. It's as pricy as most others, offers great food, service and the location is probably more lovely and romantic than most of the crammed city center.