Where to eat in Isola: the best places we've tried

Isola is one of the most rewarding neighborhoods for anyone after elegant restaurants, good Italian food or ethnic cuisine.

In six years we’ve tried plenty of places, even though bars, restaurants and other spots here tend to turn over often. That feeling of getting home, finding the fridge empty and dreaming of a good pizza, a ramen or a burger down the street — we’ve had it plenty of times. Or a satisfying breakfast on the weekend, an aperitivo at sunset or a gelato for an afternoon snack, or after dinner, walking through the streets of the area or under the Bosco Verticale.

Isola offers all this and much more, and on this page we’ve gathered the best places in the neighborhood where we’ve personally eaten, or that have the best reputation among locals.

Breakfast

Dooolce Lab is called Lab for a reason: they genuinely experiment with all sorts of pastries and cakes. I come here before work even when I’m rushing, because they’re quick, and their pain au chocolat puts me in a good mood.

Tre Chiacchiere is a tea room, and the name says it all. It’s the place for the days when Milan is grayer than usual: a custard-filled pastry and a hot tea, very cozy. The savory options are excellent too.

Dolzeto is the calm of a Sunday morning, sitting at a table with a cappuccino and a few Venetian pastries, sweet or savory. I’ve tried their signature dish, a toasted sandwich made with pandoro instead of bread and artisanal mustard: unique, and delicious.

Momo is the priciest of the three. You go for the sheer number of cakes and cookies, with flavors you don’t find everywhere, and it sets you up with energy from early in the morning. I had the banana bread and felt instantly like I was on the other side of the world. It’s at piazzale Tito Minniti 5.

Aroma Napoletano makes the biggest cornetto in all of Milan. I’ve never tried it, it’s too much for my morning appetite, but we’ve had the regular-sized one several times and the pastry is superb. Being good Neapolitans, they work at any hour, not just in the morning.

Fiuri sells flowers and coffee in the same place. I can only come out of there smiling and full of ideas: then again, what would you expect from putting colorful flowers and the smell of coffee together?

Lunch

Italian

Berberè does a lunch menu at €12, which is very good news for our wallets. Neapolitan pizza with a thick crust, in a very minimal room. When it comes to Neapolitan pizza there are only two for me: margherita, or sausage and friarielli greens. For the rest I’m waiting for your recommendations. It’s at via Sebenico 21.

Trattoria da Tomaso is the kind of trattoria that has sadly disappeared from Milan: a bit rough around the edges, but it gives you good food at a genuinely fair price, €17 at lunch. The outdoor seating is faultless, and inside you take a real step back in time. We haven’t tried it yet, but we won’t wait long. You’ll find it at via Gaetano de Castillia 20, if you can get a table.

Porco Brado is fast food, entirely Italian and made on the premises, and for this one we’ve already planned your afternoon: get the sandwich and eat it in the BAM park, five minutes away on foot. I’ve had the pulled pork one and it really delivers: for the size of it, it gives you exactly the energy you need to keep going around Milan. It’s at via Jacopo Dal Verme 17.

Pizzeria Naturale we mention for the quality of the pizza and of the other dishes — I’ve tried several risottos and vegan mains, all very good — but above all for where it is: you’re right next to Porta Nuova, still with the feel of the old Milan of the balcony houses and a view of the new center’s skyscrapers. There’s a pizza of the month every month, so let yourself be surprised. The service isn’t always the fastest, so make it a lunch you take slowly. It’s at via Gaetano de Castillia 24.

Miscusi is one of the reasons we Italians are known around the world as pasta eaters. Endless pasta shapes and sauces, with set dishes on the menu and dishes you build yourself, in the style of a small red-checked trattoria. I’ve tried a great many of them — on pasta, I’m team short shapes forever — and our favorites are walnut sauce, carbonara, tricolore and gricia. We often finish with their tiramisù. It’s at via Sebenico 28.

International

Opà Opà is the right place if you want to try Greek food and you’re not too fancy about it. Jacopo and I love it: genuinely fair prices and a very varied menu. We’re especially fond of the falafel pita and the fried feta. It’s the quick, tasty lunch break you need between one walk and the next. You’ll find it at via Luigi Porro Lambertenghi 19.

Ça Va Sans Dire telegraphs the mood of this little spot in the heart of the neighborhood right in its name: with a handful of ingredients it takes your mind to Paris, and with the beautiful buildings of via Volturno around you it really does feel like the capital of love. It’s at via Garigliano 8.

Aperitivo

Frida is one of the best-known places in Isola, for its industrial mood and for the concept. You’ll find a huge number of cocktails and generous, good aperitivo spreads. I’ve been often when there were a lot of us, because it’s very roomy. It’s at via Antonio Pollaiuolo 3.

Café Gorille does unusual, excellent cocktails, served with a simple aperitivo that doesn’t smother the taste of the drink. The outdoor seating is lovely and looks onto the BAM and the Bosco Verticale. It’s at via Gaetano de Castillia 20.

La Prosciutteria is a genuinely special aperitivo spot, and if you order the large sharing board it turns into dinner. Delicious, generous and full of character, thoroughly Tuscan and very photogenic: well worth it. They also pour excellent wines to go with it. You’ll find it at piazzale Segrino 1.

Momo gets a mention for aperitivo too, because theirs is different from the usual — much more vegetable-led — and I love it: crunching on vegetables while you drink a cocktail is the right balance for not feeling guilty about yet another Milanese aperitivo.

Lucky Bar we mention because in Isola it’s an institution. Very simple and spartan, with no-frills aperitivo, but the atmosphere and the number of people who stop by make for a genuinely nice mood. It’s at via Luigi Porro Lambertenghi 20.

Organics SkyGarden @Cielo: to watch a spectacular sunset over the Porta Nuova and Isola skyscrapers from a rooftop, this is the easiest place to get to and the most affordable; a generous, good aperitivo, surrounded by greenery and very casual. I’ve tried it and I loved it.

Dinner

Pizza

Sorbillo is where I go when I want comfort food, on the nights when you’re running late or you want something that really satisfies. To me it’s the best Neapolitan pizza in Milan: I always get Gino Sorbillo’s margherita, which is delicious. It’s at via Pietro Borsieri 25.

Casa Biga is a high-end pizzeria, with quality ingredients and a very cool room. Prices are on the high side, but it’s worth it. It’s directly across from our loft, so it’s perfect if you want to stay close to home: you’ll find it at via Antonio Pollaiuolo 9.

Pizzeria Capuano’s is another Neapolitan place — in Milan it’s quicker to list the ones that aren’t — and a very good one, in a room that feels like an actual kitchen. The cart-wheel-sized pizza is well worth it. It’s at via Pietro Borsieri 27.

Burgers

Burgez is an all-Italian operation and I could eat at least five at a time. Smaller portions, but genuinely good and juicy: they’re all excellent. It works for a quick lunch too. It’s at via Carmagnola 8.

Hamerica’s has a seriously tempting menu and generous portions. Try the sweet potato fries, they’re wonderful. It’s at via Pietro Borsieri 14.

Sberla is proper fast food, very simple but good. Nothing spectacular either way, and honest prices. You’ll find it at via Pietro Borsieri 29.

Cotoletta and Milanese cooking

Stelvio does the classic orecchia d’elefante, the bone-in veal cutlet pounded thin, and theirs is genuinely enormous and delicious. Share it, because on your own you’ll struggle to finish it.

Anche is the cheapest way to try several versions of the cotoletta alla milanese, though made with pork. Excellent, and the room is very welcoming: try the one with mixed leaves and mustard.

Bela Tusa is a classic Milanese trattoria, with higher prices but a very warm, intimate room. Try the risotto. It’s at via Pietro Borsieri 26.

Da Martino is the local’s local. If the places above aren’t enough for your cotoletta, this one is deeply of the neighborhood, and the owner can be gruff, but his cotoletta and his prices are worth a great deal. One warning: they don’t speak English.

Ratanà has a Michelin mention, and here too you can try the real cotoletta, about as original as it gets. Everyone says it’s excellent and very expensive. I still have to try it, but I’ll get there sooner or later. To have the cotoletta you need to order it in advance, so booking the table well ahead is strongly recommended.

International

Casa Ramen is the most famous in Milan, minimal and genuinely superb. It puts your soul back together.

Mitu is the first Colombian fine-dining restaurant in Italy. The setting is striking and it takes you on a journey through the culture and the cooking of an extraordinary country. It also has very private outdoor seating surrounded by greenery. One small note: it’s next to Frida and piazzale Archinto, so once you step out after dinner you’ll be right in the middle of the neighborhood’s buzzing nightlife.

Takumi Milan is the right place if you want a lively, faintly East Asian setting. Huge, tasty portions, give it a try.

After dinner

BOB has been named the best cocktail bar in Milan, and we have it right here in Isola: lucky us. The ice cubes with the logo on them already win you over, but it’s the unusual cocktails, with ingredients from all over the world, that are the reason to go.

WAO Isola is a place strung with little lights that make everything more magical, far more low-key than BOB: a quiet evening and simple cocktails that do the job perfectly well.

Pandenus has a top-marks setting and expensive prices, but a genuinely lovely mood for finishing the evening properly. Very good cocktails.

Blue Note isn’t only a place to drink. If you buy a ticket for the show it becomes a wonderful experience, and it’s well worth it: I’ve written about it in what to see in Isola.

Gluten-free and vegan

For gluten-free the two reference points are Sorbillo, which has a dedicated dough, and L’Isola Senza Glutine, which is entirely celiac-friendly.

On vegan food it’s simpler: options are almost everywhere by now, and in the places on this page I’ve never had trouble finding them. At Pizzeria Naturale I’ve tried several vegan mains and they’re good.

Gelato

Gelato is expensive in Milan, everywhere. But there are places worth stopping for, and in Isola these are they.

Mancuso is, to me, one of the best gelatos in the city. There are only three shops — one in Isola, one in Chinatown and one near Magenta — and this one looks straight out at the Bosco Verticale. My favorite flavors are fiordilatte and hazelnut: yes, I know, I’m a traditionalist, but I think those are the flavors that tell you whether the gelato is genuinely good. If one evening you’d rather not go out, they’ve made a kit for assembling Sicilian cannoli at home, fresh ricotta included: a real treat. It’s at via Gaetano de Castillia 20.

Borsieri is one of the last gelaterie in Milan that hasn’t turned into a chain: there’s a single shop, in the heart of our Isola. The gelato is very good, and I’ve often tried their other creations too, like semifreddi, affogati and ice cream sandwiches. Worth a try.

QB has a piece of my heart, because there was a shop near where I lived during university and its tubs of gelato saw me through nearly every exam. Here there are few flavors, honest ones, genuinely made on the premises: every lick goes straight to the heart.

Artico has an enormous number of flavors, good ones too. As you’ll have gathered, I’m not the right person to recommend the adventurous ones, but if you’re braver than me they’re worth trying.