Milan Guide

Located in the city center (Brera), the family-owned spot has been a wonderland of alcohol since 1952. You can find everything you need to make the season a bit brighter, including prosecco, champagne, wine and every kind of liquor.

This not-so-secret speakeasy is where to go to find inventive cocktails until late in the Porta Romana area.

Good weather garden hunters should head straight to the Bulgari Hotel’s lush summertime terrace, where all the chicest Milanese go for their evening spritzes.

A tropical greenhouse serving Sicilian treats – what more could you want? LuBar lives next to the Gallery of Modern Art, making this a no-duh day out for beauty-seekers in Milan.

Italy has finally found its way onto the third wave coffee train with Cafezal, a Brazilian-style roastery on via Solferino with pop-colored interiors by local design firm Studiopepe.

Brera Pinacoteca art gallery is even chicer now with the addition of Caffe Fernanda, set in the former ticket office designed by Piero Portaluppi.

Those looking for a drinks menu as colorful as a Dolce & Gabbana cocktail dress, should head to Dry. We love the French 75 and the Hanky Panky and the crispy flatbreads are a lifesaver when you’re already half way through your second.

Owned by the two charming grandsons of historic patisserie family Alemagna, centrally located and divinely decorated by of-the-moment architect Vincenzo de Cotiis, T’A does first-rate modern Italian cuisine for lunch and dinner and desserts that will destroy your diet plans. It’s a crime to skip the homemade chocolates with your afternoon macchiato. Sweetening the deal is their first shop of T’a-branded artisan chocolates inside the Bistrot.

Milan has a loyal following when it comes to posh accommodation but just as new seasons welcome new designers, there’s another player in the luxury hotel game. We love the new Mandarin Oriental not just for the sleek design but for the bar, set to become the new late-night hotspot in town. Delicious cocktails and bouncing DJ sets—all enjoyed in the lush garden—will make you feel miles outside of the city.

Drop into high-end smoke shop Giacomo Tabaccheria. The Tabaccheria is the newest addition to Giacomo’s Sottocorno Empire, adding a cozy, wood-and marble-lined nook alongside the fancy-pants restaurant, casual bistro, and opulent pastry shops that already rule the block. Grab a coffee or a glass of wine, pick up a cigar plus packaged delicacies, hot snacks, and a pastry. Come anytime– it’s open all day long 8am to midnight, 365 days a year.

Swirl & Stand up with your Espresso at Café Sissi. Cucchi. Cova. Marchesi. We love them all but we have a soft spot for Sissi, tucked away just slightly outside the bullseye of Milan’s city center. Nowhere else in the world could a cafe with light pink walls and tables covered in lacy doilies attract a mainstay crowd of hot Italian men and gossipping older ladies at the same time. Those who take their caffeine and their nicotine very seriously will appreciate the back garden that is open year-round.

Nurse an evening Aperol Spritz at Bulloni. This aperitivo spot is so real-deal Milanese that they close at 9pm– in other words, it’s for aperitivo and basta! We’re talking classic chips and olives here– not the dinner spread of new school bars. But they’ve been stirring the best spritzes in town since 1933, with an original Futurist mosaic behind the bar and a huge selection of Italian wines.

Juices and smoothies cropped up in Milan a few seasons ago but nowhere, we repeat, nowhere knows the fundamental difference between a blender and a Vitamix. Nestled a few blocks from Armani-land is VitaminChic, opened up by a French-born, L.A.-based Goddess of Health. This neat and clean take-away spot has an armory of herbs and ingredients to tackle those Fashion Week ailments. The list of options is longer than a Philip Plein runway and they’ve got hot soups and detox deliveries to boot.

If gin’s your thing, book it over to the only spot in Milan cooking up their own sauce.This good-looking Isola micro-distillery has plenty of other booze lining the shelves,and the cocktail list is no slouch– just make sure you pick from the menu, as leaving your order up to the bartender tends to stick you with a super-sized bill.

We cannot find a single fault with this tiny, modern wine bar, a passion project started by four Italian buddies. Everything’s simple here, from the minimal utilitarian décor to the curated selection of Italian wines (almost all of the bubbly variety), including our big fave Franciacorta (Italy’s answer to champagne) flowing by the glass.

Stop the presses! Kale has come to Milan, and it’s in a variety of plates. Open from breakfast through dinner, this vegan rarity serves uber-healthy foods including a spaghetti substitute, zoodles, made from zucchini. Beyond the wide range of herbal teas, they even sell coal to add to your water for a total cleansing situation.