Après-Coup

The entrance of Après-Coup resembles a secret passage: this bistrot and art venue in the silent via Privata della Braida is a few steps away from the busy Porta Romana but well sheltered from the chaos of the city. A precious treasure chest elegantly hidden that has so much to tell and can’t wait to do it, with sophisticated jazz sounds, theater performances and an evocative card inspired by the cultural movements and the avant-garde of the “short century”.

Après-Coup was born from a David Ponzecchi’s idea, who would like to give to the contemporary Milan a space where it’s possible to live – and to relive – the time, restoring its dignity and meaning. In a city that moves so fast, why let beautiful things go unnoticed and get out of hand? Après-Coup collects them all: in the bistro, vintage furniture dates back to the 1920s; the context is finely decorated with antiques that heat the atmosphere, giving to the environment a unique and characteristic charm, that nostalgically resembles that one of a literary café.

At Après-Coup tea is sipped in a precious vintage porcelain and the light lunch is chic combined with bakelite cutlery; on paper, “Astrattismo all’ora di pranzo” (Abstractionism at lunchtime) pays a tribute to the great Kandinsky; and if the dish of “Uova al tegame senza il tegame” (Eggs in the pan without the pan) will confuse the mind invading it with surrealist thoughts, to support the boldest fantasies will provide the comfortable – as well as very elegant – sofas in brocade.

We have chosen Après-Coup for an aperitivo, combining the delicious dishes of the cuisine with a Crémant de Bourgogne, a pleasant surprise. In addition to the boiled spelt salad topped with fresh tomato and lime sauce, we enjoyed the canapes of rocket and mint pesto with shrimp, a more refined proposal, not a classic for a Milanese aperitivo. The list of cocktails is interesting, infact drinks are grouped in different thematic areas: the 1920s France has seduced me with a Kir Royale, not bad for a Tuesday night.

Après-Coup is therefore a bistro/proscenium, art gallery and even a fashion boutique: Spazio Nur, in fact, is the ultra chic corner entirely dedicated to the fashion where Tahereh Toluian, passionate about fashion and design, offers an exclusive collection of clothes, bijoux and accessories.

An eclectic space with an artistic soul, a place where you can breathe refinement and culture, that was born from the desire to reinterpret in a modern key the beauty of the last century to make it usable to the city of Milan, which, frantic and impatient, would take the risk to never stop. And it would be a huge mistake. After all, David’s wife is a psychoanalyst and knows it well: après-coup means reworking the memories of the past, bringing them to the light of the present experience, giving them new meanings; then, dear Milanese, it’s time to cross the secret passage to bring back the past and restore its value.