La Briciola

The story begins about forty years ago in via Solferino 25 Via Marsala. Located in Brera, the artistic heart of the city, it is framed in times past and creates an almost surreal atmosphere. Gianni started very early on to challenge his fate and follow his intuitions. The idea was to create a second home, a cozy place to meet, starting from something “small but essential”. La Briciola, a well-known restaurant in the heart of Brera, became just that.

A whirlwind of colored lights, affectionately kitsch furniture, lighted trees and an atmosphere that recall the colors and the warmth of Christmas, as if time had stopped. To welcome you, past the entrance, is the protangonist: Giovanni Battista Valveri, now only Gianni for everyone, or even better “The Gianni della Briciola”. At his side, chef Massimo Micheli and the room manager Stefania Valsecchi.

La Briciola is a story of hard work, but above all of goals, studded with a second opening – now twenty years – in Santo Domingo and a more recent Milanese twin, La Briciola Mare, which focuses on fish specialties. The key to success was in addition to cooking, the ability to re-invent itself over the years, but above all that of telling oneself. Before Instagram and before the blogs, La Briciola has established itself as the paramount place to be in Milan, thanks to its position, a bit of healthy word of mouth and the public of habitué more or less known.

The kitchen, under the supervision of chef Micheli, offers traditional Milanese and Mediterranean dishes as the landlord defines it, in an “imaginative” way. You will then find the risottos, among them the very Milanese rice with cubes of Parma ham, durum wheat spaghetti with Corbara tomato and truffle gnocchi.  The tartare and the conspicuous list of carpaccio stand out on the menu, which you can taste in dozens of variations: raw, parboiled, of meat and fish. For the more traditionalists, Florentine steak and the most classic of the evergreen: the Milanese cotoletta. The assortment of culinary proposals is accompanied by that of the cellar, which houses over 3000 labels for 500 different varieties of wines.

The bill, thanks to the location, the atmosphere and the choice of quality raw materials, is one for special occasions, but persevere and trust this advice: leave a little space for dessert. Whether it be Tiramisu, Catalan cream or chocolate cake, it does not matter. La Briciola knows how to sweeten the goodbye and give you the happy ending. Along with the dessert chosen, colorful jars filled with gummy candies, macaroons, chocolate meringues and licorice will be brought to your table.