Rita & Cocktails

There are some common place sayings about Milan, and debunking them every once in a while is not only nice but necessary. One of these is that Milan is only a city of style, with little substance and quality, Especially in some areas. Well, for those of you in search of cocktails as an art form, for example, you can think again. Go to the Navigli and more precisely to ripa di Porta Ticinese, turn on via Fumagalli after the ponte di Ferro, and enter the Rita & Cocktails. Settle down on the porch or at the counter (if you’re really hard core). Open the card and go ahead and gawk. Yeah, because simply reading the cocktails and the menu will make you fall in love with this place.

Born in 2002 when the happy hour routine was in full swing everywhere, the guys at Rita – Edoardo and Fabio behind the counter and Gianluca in the kitchen – always stood out: the honorary cocktails, whose names have often been inspired by the barmen’s travels around the world, are made with fresh and natural ingredients (nothing lyophilized), carefully selected primary ingredients (from grappa, to whiskey, bourbon, gin and rum, everything is hand picked) and are accompanied by simple tarts, vegetables in olive oil marinade and small tastes of finger food directly from the kitchen.

Rita & Cocktail is listed in the Italian Top 10 of cocktail bars, today it’s probably one of the most reliable destinations in the city if you want a really good drink, and the public carries on singing its success. The Gin Zen is phenomenal (in the variation vodka zen, for those that prefer it): a cocktail with crushed ice, gin, fresh crushed ginger, lime and soda. But there are quite a few cocktails that have contended for the title over the years, like the Why Mango served in jelly jars.

The place has changed a lot over the past thirteen years. Initially a small locale tight and long, full to the brim with bottles and hardly any space for a human being, over time has gotten bigger, with the acquisition of the place next door, and in more recent years the addition of a nice dehors with windows on the sidewalk.

The guys greet you as if you’re always there, every night, you’ll feel like you’re a friend they’ve been waiting for. You can eat great hamburgers, with meat from the Massironi butcher (in the nearby via Corsico) or club sandwhiches. The menu is completed by barley salads and a few other carefully chosen plates. Prices are slightly higher than the average in the area, but absolutely justified!

There are some common sayings, about Milan. And some not so common places. Like this one. So go on… a MargaRita for me! Who wants to join me?