We walked by this place as we were going from the train station to our hotel and noted how old school fancy it looked. It turns out it's been open since 1899, though with much humbler trattoria origins. Now, it's got a sort of Gatsby steakhouse feel with lots of businessmen and Americans because they/we are the only ones willing to pay the upcharge. That said, it was a nice setting and a chance to try some more traditional Milanese dishes near the hotel for an unplanned dinner (reservations are online via the fork). On par with the setting, they do expect you to dress more nicely (no jackets required but maybe not a t shirt).
I started with the world's largest aperol spritz, and we got a Rosso Di Moltalcino - a bit young but excellent, especially for the price.
They started us with:
- A cold fish amuse
- Bread, focaccia, sesame crackers with salted parsley butter and saffron butter.
Onto food -
- Veal tonnato: traditional veal in tuna sauce. The veal was sliced super thin and was just barely cooked, very tender
- Risotto Milanese: finally a place that doesn't force you to get a portion for 2! It had a great texture, saffron, and a veal stock
- Tagliolini with porcini, parmesan fondue, black truffle - perfect for the fall
- Veal ossobucco: cooked down nicely with truffled mashed potatoes (the lemon zest was a bit unexpected)
- Spinach side: I just needed some vegetables, but they did a nice job on this
They end your meal with some nice petit fours: caramel Italian cookie, strawberry and mango pate de fruit, and chocolate.
Service was formal and polite, appropriate for the setting.
Pricing is definitely high by Italian standards, but it was a nice setting and was certainly cheaper than what you would pay in the US. This was not my regular style - would I have preferred a small Milanese trattoria where they speak no English? Possibly. But after a long few days of being out while traveling, it was a nice dinner. read more