Our weekend escape to Milan continues with more food and, finally, some misses and near disasters, oh, and also cultural activities! We ended up having some indulgingly good times with our F&B, a visit to Teatro alla Scala and then some. A perfect weekend getaway.

Antica Trattoria della Pesa, viale Pasubio 10, 20154 Milan

Antica Trattoria della Pesa was another restaurant I booked in advance because I really wanted to eat here. And it was a good call because a) it was full of Italians again and b) the food ended up surpassing my expectations.

We both opted for pasta dishes for our Saturday lunch and my ravioli alla nonna (can’t remember the exact name) was just exceptional. This was singlehandedly the best plate of pasta I have ever had. I think. The sauce might have been a bit separated but goddamn it was SO DAMN GOOD. Ravioli were super light and delicate, and that sauce gave the pasta a boost of richness. That crispy sage on the top shot me straight to the moon. It might not look like it, but this dish was a miracle of form, texture and flavour.

Matas had another pasta dish that I cannot recall the name of. It was pretty good as well, just nowhere as good as what I had. I mean, I would happily go there again just to eat those ravioli and, you know what, I just might!

I was told zabaione is a must-try dessert in Milan, so we HAD to get it. It came out warm and I was not particularly impressed. I have no problem eating whipped/raw eggs but the texture and taste of this did not inspire me. The sugar cookies were good though.

Ieva’s seal of approval granted. No doubt about that.

Cafezal Torrefazione, via Solferino 27, 20121 Milan

And if you were looking forward for a disaster to struck us, this was it. After visiting Andy Warhol’s exhibition at a former tram factory, now an art space, we found ourselves roaming Chinatown looking for a cup of coffee. This café popped up on Google Maps with a rating of 4.6 and we did not think twice about.

This ended up being the single worst cup of coffee I have ever had. I sniffed at it and left it sitting there because there was absolutely no way I would drink it. It reeked of being a weird mix of burnt and acidic, and after having a sip, Matas confirmed that it was undrinkable.

I have nothing against Japandi (Japanese Scandinavian) hipsters that were running the place looking like they are better than anyone else but this place gets no seal of approval and I would be very hard pressed to give this another chance. Ever. That liquid death. Yuck.

Luna Rossa, via Broletto 26, 20121 Milan

On another note, Luna Rosa is what happens when you try to be “spontaneous”. Basically, you end up eating very average pizza. But let’s start at the beginning when Matas decided to include seeing Teatro alla Scala on our otherwise culturally light itinerary. We ended up getting tickets to the premier of Salome, a role played by a Lithuanian soprano no less!

All of this last minute theatre-going meant that we had little choice for that pre-threatre dinner. We had to resort to the tried and tested (just not always working) strategu of just going to get a random pizza and while it did not backfire per se, it was nowhere near any good.

This random pizzeria was also the only place I managed to score an Aperol spritz which was decidedly not too bad as we really skimped on aperitivo hour over our weekend. Anyway, drinks aside, the pizzas were TOO DAMN CHEESY and all that cheese coagulated into a thick mess and ended up being rather sad.

Luna Rosa or any other random pizzeria? Do not do this to yourself. Cannot recommend.

Mag Cafe, ripa di Porta Ticinese 43, 20143 Milan

Mag Cafe is a well known name around the block. Café at the daytime, it transforms into an intimate venue serving cocktails. It is also the place to be, if you want to get a reservation at one of the best speakeasy style bars on this side of the world, 1930.

We had cocktails at Mag last year when we also got one of those elusive invitations to 1930, hence, it was a no brainer we would try to get in there again. Well, we ended up going to Mag twice and showed no invitation for it. Mag cocktails are decent and, most importantly, interesting without being too-much-novelty but, to be honest, they are nothing crazily amazing. If I remember correctly, they were on average a tad tastier a year ago in January 2022.

Anyway, the reason to go to Mag is to get an invitation to 1930 which we did not succeed at all, so that was a bummer. Overall, the cocktails are good enough, there is a chance to get invited for actually exceptional cocktails, hence, an irresolute seal of approval has to be given for that potential.

Salsamenteria di Parma, via S. Pietro All’Orto 9, 20121 Milan

So this one would have ended in a complete, total and utter disaster if I had not booked it via email / text message beforehand because… they were fully booked and turned every single person without the reservation around. This was Sunday lunchtime and finding a decent place for lunch without any reservation would have proved impossible.

We also had a run for our money because the person that was seating the tables did not have our name on the list, did not speak English and was actively getting ready to throw us out while I scrambled on my phone to find the text message / email (I had no idea which one). It ended up being an email with a very clear “Confermato!” and she had no other choice but to begrudgingly seat us. I call this a win!

Again, when in doubt order Lambrusco (but also there is never any doubt when Lambrusco is on the menu). I found it quite cute that the drinks were served in clay bowls. Also, we drank so many bowls that ordering a bottle would have made more sense but hindsight is a woman scorned (a bitch, hindsight is a bitch).

Anyway, I guess I was confused about the term salumi. In my mind salumi is more or less saliami sausage (e.g., when I order mixed salumi platter I imagine I will get a mix of different cured saliami sausages). Well, that did not happen. Our mixed salumi platter contained all sorts of prosciutto and all sorts of cheese. We happily if a tad dubitably consumed the offering but we were not exactly satisfied. We also ordered some polenta fritta and it was light, crispy and worked well with the melted cheese on top. But that’s besides the point.

The point being that when the first platter does not satisfy you, you order another one. This one did. Again, it consisted mostly of various prosciutto cuts but it did have some other cured (and also barely cured) sausages and NOW we were happy and satisfied.

Definite seal of approval but do make sure to get a reservation to avoid the potential disappointment AND bad service.

Bonus: sights of Milan

Teatro alla Scala is definitely worth a visit if you can score some decently priced tickets. Do not, and I ask you, do not the the back row tickets on the third balcony. Our seats were an utter agony to withstand. The seats were so tiny that you had to rub elbows with your fellow row-mates and it was impossible to just sit back and relax because your back had to be so rigid in order to not fall off of your chair. There was absolutely no view, of course and you had to either stand or sit so far in the front of your seat that you got leg cramps. DO. NOT. RECOMMEND. Do not be a silly cheap-ass where it’s not worth it! Anyway, this staging of Salome was truly phenomenal. I am in no way an opera fan but I appreciated this modern iteration of the classic. 100% recommend.

We also ended up seeing an exhibition of Andy Warhol’s works. Nicely curated and quite rich in the selected works, I particularly liked his picture series of his contemporary artists, actors and especially the drag queens of New York City. Definitely worth a stop. Fabbrico del Vapore, the ex-tram, ex-train factory is also a very interesting location. If you manage to catch it, there is a fresh market on Saturday mornings.

And here’s a few more beautiful city views from around Milan. Again, not my favourite city in Italy but such a breath of fresh air after Zürich. I will never understand the reason people willingly move to live there. But that’s me.