Giacomo Arengario

If you’ve already begun the evening with an aperitif at the Terrazza Aperol, just across the street, you’ve no doubt noticed the Arengario, a ’30s building, that with Art Déco architecture stands out as the real focal point of Piazza Duomo. By no mistake, it’s the seat of the Museo del Novecento, the period to which it pays homage. Here you can find one of the most charming restaurants of the city: Giacomo Arengario.

As you step off the elevator that lifts you to the restaurant you can literally smell the special evening ahead. To really take it all in and savor every moment you kind of feel like sitting in one of the little couches in the hall near the bar and start off by ordering some bubbly. It’s the dehor though, that really makes all the difference: the huge lobby facing the Duomo, thanks to an iron and glass structure, creates an awesome visual effect. Gracefully floating on the most elegant balcony in Milan, you feel like you own the town.

The restaurant hall completes the picture, with ceiling mouldings and liberty style décor. Then there’s the gallery with a large counter space where you can eat (on a lunch break, maybe?). From here you can admire the unending work that goes into such quality: a team of tireless chefs that cater to you in a huge kitchen, the only modern part of this retrò space.

About the food. We’re talking about one of Giacomo’s restaurants here. One name – a guarantee for the capital’s foodies. Sea crudités and shrimp tagliolini or shrimp tartar, mullet fillet and oysters? Catapulting a menu worthy of Portofino all the way here is no small feat.

Not to mention the desserts delivered straight from the namesake patisserie in Via Sottocorno: if fashion week is nowhere in sight just indulge a little and ask for the famous “bomba” (bomb)! Now that’s a flavor explosion!