Every time I go back to my hometown Milan, I always have a list of places that I want to check out, and when I say places, I really mean restaurants because food is life. Therefore, I gathered a short list of fairly new, trendy restaurants that serve pretty and tasty food for all your #foodporn needs.

Warning: this post might cause impulsive booking of trips to Milan (unless you’re lucky enough to live in one of the greatest cities in the whole world).

 

Macha Café

In my opinion, Macha Café in Milan is the king of pretty eats. From the food to the décor, the entire restaurant is so Instagram worthy. It is not uncommon to see Italian celebrities and influencers hanging out there or posting about this place (cough cough… Chiara Ferragni). However, they are not all about the looks, because the food is surprisingly delicious too. They serve anything matcha, plus some sushi, bowls, desserts and a lot of avocado based dishes!

I have been to Macha Café twice before, once this past winter and once about two weeks ago while I was in Milan. On these occasions, I’ve had the chance to try the avocado toast, the matcha pancakes, the hot macha green tea, the iced matcha latte with almond milk, and the salmon sushi bowl. Last time we went, my brother also got an avocado burger that was almost too pretty to eat. Here it is, along with other pictures of the food and the (small!) restaurant:

They’re also super active on Instagram which I love since I’m a social media addict. Go check them out.

 

Miscusi

Okay my fellow pasta lovers, you might want to sit down for this, because I’m about to show you the world just like Aladdin did with Jasmine. Miscusi is a “fast food” for homemade pasta.

Be careful though, don’t jump to conclusions right away: fast food doesn’t necessarily mean unhealthy or frozen food: these guys make homemade pasta daily and they even literally have a mill in their kitchen to grind their own wheat. This is probably the freshest pasta you’ll ever have.

Here’s how it works: you go up to the counter, you choose one of their pastas (so many options: spaghetti, paccheri, rigatoni, caserecce, orecchiette, tagliatelle… my mouth is watering), then you choose the sauce you want and the cheese or extras that you want to add. You can pick a classic such as the timeless cacio e pepe, the ragù Bolognese, the carbonara, etc. or you can create your own: fancy a plate of pasta with pesto alla Genovese and mozzarella di bufala? Anything is possible at Miscusi. Walnut pesto + ricotta cheese? You got it. Tomato sauce, pistachios and fresh burrata cheese? Sure thing.

I went to Miscusi about a week ago and really had a lovely experience there. I ordered spaghetti with bottarga di muggine – which you really have to try you never have before. It’s fish roe and I know that that does not sound appealing but oh lord, it’s delicious – and parsley flavored oil. My friend Giulia (yes, the one who came to Vienna with me, I can’t get rid of her) ordered some paccheri with tomato sauce, burrata cheese and pistachios. Enough with the talk, just look at this beauties:

Overall Miscusi is a really lovely place and if you’re ever in Milan, I highly suggest you try it out! (since they love all of their international customers, they even have an English menu so now you really don’t have an excuse!)

 

Pescaria

The first thing that I am going to say about this place is that you’re probably going to have to wait in line, but it is worth it! I’ve been to Pescaria twice, and got lucky both of the times because the line formed right after I ordered my food and sat down. The restaurant is located in a neighborhood full of offices and workspaces, therefore so many people choose to spend their lunch break at Pescaria (ahhh, la pausa pranzo).

Pescaria sells the freshest crudo and fried fish and seafood you can find in Milan. There’s a saying on how Milan has the freshest fish and seafood you can find in all of Italy; I’m not sure whether that’s true or not – Milanese people like to think so because they’re proud of their city, although cities located directly on the sea probably have fresher seafood? Once I find that out, I’ll let y’all know. However, Pescaria definitely has some of the freshest fish and seafood I’ve ever had. You can literally taste the freshness. That is their specialty, and these guys who came to Milan from the region of Puglia (where they opened the original Pescaria location in Polignano A Mare) take it very seriously. You can order panini, salads, literally any kind of fried seafood, fish tartare, actual fish dishes, oysters and so on. They also have daily specials and a lot of wine options.

Last time I was here was last week – my brother and I ordered a small focaccina with salmon and mozzarella di bufala, as well as two panini: mine had tuna tartare, burrata cheese, fresh tomato slices, basil pesto and capers-flavored oil in it. My brother’s had salmon tartare, mozzarella, a little zucchini-spinach-tomato medley, avocado and almond-flavored oil. Everything was utterly delicious.

Other than the food, the coastal décor inside of the small restaurant is just delightful. Some pics for your enjoyment:

Feat. the infamous line outside.

They are also very popular on Instagram, check them out for a taste of Puglia all year long.

 

Grom

Okay, I lied, Grom is not a “new” place, and it’s also a gelateria and not a restaurant. However, if you know me, you know how obsessed I am with this place. I mean, how could I not? Not only their gelato is delicious, but it is also made with fresh, seasonal ingredients! Their flavors are seasonal too, and based on the time of the year they also offer hot chocolate or granita.

And their whipped cream, oh the whipped cream! It is the best whipped cream I have ever had. I always forget how good it is, and then I eat it and wow. So dense, so sweet, so fresh!

Best part about Grom for all my fellow travelers: it is NOT only located in Milan! There are actually several Grom located in more than 40 cities around Italy AND outside of Italy too! You can find them in places like Nice, Dubai, Osaka, Paris, Hong Kong and even in the states: in Malibu (yes I am also singing the Miley Cyrus song while typing this), Hollywood and NYC. Sadly, we’re in the Midwest and we’re not entitled to some bomb whipped cream. Sad.

My brother is not exactly the best hand model, but I think this cone speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

 

That is all I can say about the Milan food scene and my newly found places to eat in Milan for now! Is there anything from this list that you really want to try? Let me know in the comments below!