Bon Wei 
Al Mercante 
Maybe summer evenings make you exploring more your city, not just for eating well, a fundamental aspect, but also to enjoy the outdoors time in a garden, on a rooftop or inside a court. Il Chiostro di Andrea, placed in front of the Court of Milan, is the restaurant of Chiostri di San Barnaba, created in 2014, with the aim of offering an excellent food in a unique place: a real cloister of the 15th century, where romance, tradition and culinary innovation matches in perfect harmony.
A secret place in Milan, romantic arches where white curtains, soft lights, majestic trees take place: an almost fairytale atmosphere where you can taste the “sgagnini” of the chef Andrea Alfieri, which from the Milanese dialect can be translated as “tastings”, in this case, with generous portions and a high rate of creativity.
Each dish can be ordered individually from the menu, but the greedy ones can choose the “Tris di Sgagnini” or, if it’s hard to please, the “Poker of Sgnagnini”, which is made by 4 dishes. For both dishes the options can be chosen freely: in fact, if the different first ones have intrigued you, no one forbids you to have 3 times only first courses, only seconds or the starters. Same logic for poker, but desserts must be ordered separately.
There are many creations that deserve to be tried. For example, the crunchy pumpkin flower stuffed with potatoes, spring onion with smoked burrata cream or the spaghettoni of Monograno Matt Felicetti (onion ash, hazelnut cream, mountain butter) but also the belly of pork, aubergine parmigiana, grilled red onions and port sauce. For those who wish the light options, the perfect ones are the tomato gazpacho with burrata stracciatella, basil water and flame mackerel. You may also find: the millefeuille of grilled vegetables and goat cheese, also tempura and soy sauce and ginger.
A good lunch or a delicious dinner must be finished worthily and Il Chiostro di Andrea fortunately has a lot of delicious desserts, unconventional just like all the dishes on the menu: try the hazelnut biscuit, mascarpone mousse, zabaglione foam and cocoa crisp or peaches with lemon thyme, almond crumble, cinnamon ice cream and raspberry coulis.
If the outdoor area is certainly the bright star of the restaurant, and the name itself is a confirmation, the “sgagnini” of the chef Alfieri has no seasonal limits because the restaurant offers well-kept rooms where white walls and tablecloths optical contrast with chairs and floors in very dark shades; all illuminated by chandeliers with an industrial taste.
Il Chiostro di Andrea worth to be experienced, maybe on a beautiful summer evening, it’s the right place for those who wants enjoying the beauty and timeless traditions, but don’t want to give up creativity and innovation.
