Al Cortile

“It’s all about feeling… it’s an instant”… says a famous Italian song. In fact, it is always about that special feeling, chemistry. That thing that makes some relationships special, whether they be love or friendship. Or what makes some places unique in our eyes, as if they were home to us, even when we are in other parts of the world. After being at Al Cortile, I can’t help but think of it all the time., it’s like a magnet. I have the urge to go out, every night, and immerse myself in this secret corner of Milan, just like the first time.

I’m talking about a little oasis, a courtyard hidden among warehouses and blocks of homes. Once you get to Al Cortile in via Giovenale 7, you walk along a dirt road and at a certain point turn left, passing an old rusty door. Here a hallway lit by a blue LED light will guide you into another area – mostly demolished – where old Spanish walls survive even the newest cement. Rickety balconies with laundry out to dry alternate with bushes of lavender and jasmine. Perfumes. Sounds underfoot. Silence all around.

Well, having walked with eyes turned upwards and hearts full of surprise, arrive at Al Cortile, the restaurant established by Desirèe Nardone, head of the Haute cuisine school “Food Genius Academy“. It is here the best students of the Haute Cuisine and Pastry course come, having completed their studies, to join the kitchen team. Having started life as a temporary restaurant, during Expo 2015 in Milan, today is an essential meeting point, an hidden and gourmet courtyard more fascinating than you can imagine.

At the opening I tasted the Sciura Lella aperitif: a menu with tapas with typically Roman flavors but also with some Milanese touches. To taste all the focacce made of mother yeast, the carbonara supplì or one of the must of Sciura Lella that is the artichoke in three times served with panko, lemon zest, mint and parsley on a cream of potatoes and mint.

From 7 PM to 9 PM, from monday to saturday, Al Cortile awaits you for a tasty aperitif and then until 2 AM for dinner o for an after dinner cocktail prepared behind the new and majestic bar counter. The atmosphere goes hand in hand with the fibrillation of the taste pupils in a crescendo of surprise and emotion. Al Cortile is the right place to feel surrounded by taste and passion. The new menu is rich and ambitious, the presentation of dishes is refined. The background sound is always alternative but never disturbing. Take a seat on one of the Chesterfield sofa and enjoy the experience.