Whether your trip to Milan involves a sophisticated business dinner or a traditional lunch with friends, Jennifer Sharp has the venue
Milan is an austere city which doesn't waste its time on tourists – leave that to Venice and Rome. Milan is about making money. The city may be the design and fashion capital of Italy but these are global brands and the sharp-suited crowds carry laptops rather than sunscreen. It is home to Italy's finance industry, the publishing and advertising business and Mr Berlusconi's media empire – it's a player.
But it's also a sociable place and serious business is done in restaurants and bars rather than by email. While New York and London have financial centres far away from the bright lights and major shopping areas, Milan has them jumbled together. Corporate headquarters and office blocks are shoulder to shoulder with flagship stores. Bankers, lawyers, tycoons, ad men and editors share the street with impossibly thin models and trophy wives on shopping sprees.
Here is a selection of Milan's landmark restaurants, ranging from serious gastronomy to cucina della nonna, your granny's cooking.
Cracco-Peck
Via Victor Hugo 4
Tel +39 2 876 774
Handsome Carlo Cracco is the poster boy of Milan cuisine and this is a foodie mecca, as well as the place for business entertaining – witness the sleek limos lined up outside the door and the calm, formal atmosphere. The interior is sleek and minimalist, with light cherry-wood panelling, leather chairs, statement flowers and an airy staircase leading to the restaurant downstairs. It's a bold menu serving traditional Italian food alongside Cracco's playful take on classic dishes – imagine Le Gavroche and The Fat Duck in the same room. The 10-course experimental menu (Euros 130) is a succession of clever surprises such as an oyster in a warm chocolate and salt crust; tiny "nuvole" or clouds of airy egg white eaten by hand with asparagus and black truffle; and baked veal kidney with sea urchins and white morels. Cracco-Peck is highly rated by all the best Italian guides and has two Michelin stars. Not bad for a place that opened in 2001.
Da Bice
Via Borgospesso 12
Tel +39 2 7600 2572
With its tartan carpet, old-fashioned décor and uncompromising Tuscan menu, you'd expect Bice to have no place in this bustling modern city. Wrong – it's a landmark, a magnet and enormous fun. Founded by the original Beatrice Ruggeri (Bice is a nickname) in 1926, the restaurant moved to its new address in the swanky shopping district in 1939. It is still run by the family, two very stylish granddaughters Roberta and Beatrice (whose husband Vincenzo Mazzone is the chef). The food remains hearty Tuscan style with inevitable Milanese favourites such
as osso buco and risotto finding a place. Lighter lunchtime set menus are popular, with two courses, a glass of wine and coffee costing around Euros 20-30.
Trussardi alla Scala
Piazza della Scala 5
Tel +39 2 8068 8295
This first-floor restaurant and ground-floor café was until recently known as Marino alla Scala, but being next door to the Trussardi headquarters and boutique, there was no doubt about the owner. In June 2006, it was reborn under its true identity and it's a huge hit with the business community and fashionistas, as well as music lovers heading for the opera nearby. It's a corner site and both levels have masses of natural light and crisp modern décor. The café is best for a quick lunch or snack before the performance, while the restaurant is more for a leisurely gastronomic good time. It's a large confident space with red walls, parquet floors, sleek leather armchairs and lots of sofas for lounging and checking out the talent. The chef is Andrea Berton, a young Italian with an impressive CV and a promising future. Like Carlo Cracco, he's not afraid to experiment with traditional cooking, and the appearance of a dish must delight the diner as much as the taste. There is a free-standing wine cellar with more than 500 international top label. The restaurant is closed Saturday lunchtimes and Sundays, and the café on Sundays.
The hotel scene
Four Seasons and Park Hyatt
Milan has seen a sudden surge of smart hotels that have become destinations for locals and the business crowd. Hotel restaurants haven't quite caught the city's mood but the bars are ideal place for a spot of entertaining and socialising.
Four Seasons, on the site of a 15th-century convent, is slap-bang in the middle of the ultra-smart area where couture houses and hedge funds collide. The Foyer bar is a meeting place for Milan's power-brokers and the informal Veranda restaurant is a great place for drinks and light meals while looking out over the magical garden that was once the cloisters. Via Gesu 8; tel +39 2 77 088
The Park Hyatt opened at the end of 2003 with a clutch of advantages including position (right beside the landmark Galleria Vittorio Emmanuel 11 with the original Prada shop); chic modern design by Ed Tuttle who also created the Park Hyatt Vendome in Paris; a chi-chi restaurant, the Park Bar with floor to ceiling windows, and a spa; plus, there's a secret weapon, the general manager. Claudio Ceccarelli used to be in charge of the Villa d'Este, Italy's premier resort on Lake Como. He's as thick as thieves with Milan's high society and has created an extraordinary atmosphere in the hotel. For ultimate dining, order a private dinner in one of the top floor suites overlooking the Piazza del Duomo. Via Tommaso Grossi 1; tel +39 2 8821 1234
Designer eating
Milan fashion designers do more than fill our wardrobes – they design our homes, create our perfumes and feed us. In Milan, Armani rules and you'll find Giorgio's collaboration with Nobu at Armani Nobu, Via Pisoni 1 +39 2 6231 2645; less scary prices at Armani Caffè (tel +39 2 7231 8680) and the trendy lounge bar Armani Privé (tel +39 2 6231 2655) – both of which have a separate entrance at Via Alessandro Manzoni 31.
Or you could try the Martini Bar, located in a courtyard behind the Dolce & Gabbana menswear store. It's a circular space over two storeys with black leather seating, black lacquer and mosaic floor featuring a dramatic dragon – your angry bank manager perhaps? (Corso Venezia 15; tel +39 2 7601 1154).
The Gucci Caffè in the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele 11 is the first Gucci boutique in the world and serves a non-intoxicating but delicious selection of tea, coffee and designer pastries. Tel +39 2 859 7991.
Roberto Cavalli is best known for his extravagant designs and dressing Victoria Beckham, as well as most of summertime St Tropez. Try Just Cavalli Bar and Just Cavalli Café for a non-stop, over-the-top experience of outlandish design, glamorous people, loud music, gorgeous staff and indifferent service. Absolutely Irresistible.
Viale Camoens; tel +39 2 311 817.
Back to basics
Unlike London, where the hip crowd will only be seen in the latest hot destination, the Milanese have a soft spot for more traditional places that haven't changed for decades
Trattoria Milanese
Via Santa Marta 11
Tel +39 2 8645 1991
A thoroughly unreconstructed trattoria run by Giuseppe Villa's family since 1913 and, it is rumoured, the menu hasn't changed for half a century. It's very popular with the locals because, alongside the usual polite cutlets and pasta, you'll find other delicacies such as mondeghili (a fried cake comprised of minced beef, Milan sausage, liverwurst, parsley, breadcrumbs and Parmesan) and unusual offal-like calves brains and nervetti – tendons with all the rubbery allure of chicken feet. There's a very good regional Italian wine list and retro puddings such as warm zabaglione (a light custard-like dessert made with Marsala wine). The décor is deliciously old-fashioned, with football scarves and photos of sporting heroes, while the walls are decorated with trophy heads of game animals, some of which are so small and harmless they look like domestic pets.
Latteria San Marco
Via San Marco 24
Tel +39 2 659 7653
It's like eating in your mother's kitchen
in this small family restaurant that serves homely Italian food. There are just ten tables and no reservations, but you won't mind waiting in the quiet street packed with antique shops – everyone does.
Peck
9 Via Spadari
Tel +39 2 802 3161
This immense superior deli is in a world of its own, with three floors dedicated to the finest food, wines, prepared meals, gifts, and an elegant café. Think Dean & DeLuca or Fortnum & Mason with an extra glossy edge. The tearoom has wicker chairs, bone china, starched white linen and an upmarket clientele in furs and bespoke tailoring. Peck has bankrolled Carlo Cracco in the hugely successful Cracco-Peck restaurant nearby.
