11 of the Most Beautiful Restaurants in Milan

With design-world heavyweights descending on Milan this month for Salone del Mobile, the city’s dining scene offers a variety of places for the well-heeled masses to eat in style. Here, we’ve rounded up eleven of the most sophisticated restaurants that are bound to impress even the most discerning tastemakers.

1. Beefbar

To craft Beefbar Milano, located inside Milan’s incredible chapel of the former Archiepiscopal Seminary, interior designers and architects Emil Humbert and Christophe Poyet of the firm Humbert & Poyet took inspiration from the chic aesthetic of 1940s and ’60s Milanese style. Honoring the house of worship’s original architecture, the firm incorporated a rich color palette through shades of black, green, white, and burgundy, which pop against the space’s terrazzo flooring and dark walnut panelling. Furnishings such as Verde Alpi marble tables and chairs made by late architect Vico Magistretti fill the space, while bronze and frosted glass Asterios lamps crafted by Humbert and Poyet themselves hang overhead. An eclectic group of artworks joins triptych sconces by designer Ignazio Gardella on the wall. 

2. Trattoria del Ciumbia

Located in the fashion capital’s Brera district, stylish restaurant Trattoria del Ciumbia brings an elevated yet classic old-fashioned ambiance to innovative cuisine. Designed by Dimorestudio, rich red walls envelop the eatery, which boasts multiple spaces, including a ground-level private dining room, where velvet curtains in plum and burgundy shades provide a chic backdrop for thoughtful design pieces by top artisans, including original Carimate chairs by Vico Magistretti. Flos’ striking Splugen Bräuhanging lamps illuminate a Dimoremilano retro glass table and an aperitif area accompanied with a pewter counter with inserted brass profiled vitrine, as well as a central terrace, which looks out to multiple rooms.

3. Langosteria Montenapoleone & Private Restaurant

Serving as the crowning jewel atop the city’s Palazzo Fendi,  multilevel dining destination Langosteria Montenapoleone marks one of the most ambitious dining destinations in the city. Inside the 1930s building, originally designed by Italian architect Emilio Lancia, which has been provided an elevated refresh courtesy of the Fendi Architecture Department, a variety of different dining options await. One floor houses Langosteria, a 160-seat restaurant bringing classic elegance through the use of Italian walnut panelling with pops of brass and stone surfaces. Below Langosteria, Pepe provides a new perspective to the restaurant group’s dining ethos, highlighting counter-style service and immersive cooking through an open layout kitchen.

Another exciting venture for the food group, and perhaps one of the most exclusive dining experiences in the city, the Private Room is a completely personalized experience specifically made to suit any diner’s fancy. The room, designed by Giuseppe Porcelli, provides a sleek and intimate backdrop dotted with artful touches, including large-scale murals and plush red furnishings throughout.

4. Boeucc Restaurant

Catering to traditional Milanese cuisine, the historic Boeucc restaurant has come a long way since it was founded as an inn in 1696. Currently located at Piazza Belgioso, the space includes arched ceilings with chandeliers, large draped windows, and a collection of modern and contemporary artworks on its walls.

5. Il Salumaio di Montenapoleone

Thanks to its gorgeous Renaissance tiled courtyard in the middle of Milan, Il Salumaio di Montenapoleone is one of the city’s best spots for alfresco dining. The interiors of the restaurant’s main rooms are equally stunning, with dark walnut paneling in the private dining rooms plus viewing spaces in the kitchen to watch the master chefs at work.

6. Giacomo Bistrot

Giacomo Bistrot, designed by Roberto Peregalli and Laura Sartori Rimini, brings together the essence of French bistros and 19th-century literary clubs with its opulent interiors. The dark-stained wood, floor-to-ceiling bookcases, and antique decor create an intimate space that immediately transports diners back in time to a more luxurious era.

7. LùBar

The Sicilian restaurant created by siblings Lucilla, Lucrezia, and Ludovico Bonaccorsi features 17th-century Baroque architecture as well as luscious palms, cacti, and ficus trees throughout the dining area, along with a mix of charming accents like twinkling lights and a worn wooden bar imported from Berlin.

8. Palazzo Parigi

Italian neoclassical elegance is juxtaposed with contemporary flair in the dining room of the Palazzo Parigi. Hand-painted ceilings and works of art from the 17th through 19th centuries set the mood, along with remarkable glass “tunnels” and “tubes” that bring courses from the kitchen to be finished by a chef in the center of the room.

9. Il Ristorante Niko Romito

The Bulgari Hotel’s airy Il Ristorante Niko Romito, helmed by Michelin-starred chef Niko Romito, is effortlessly chic, with its stylish wood-and-leather banquettes. In warmer months guests can have meals served at il Gazebo, a discreet setting off of the hotel’s garden.

10. Ristorante Torre

Ristorante Torre, designed by Rem Koolhaas with Chris van Duijn and Federico Pompignoli from OMA, has art and design pieces befitting its location in the Fondazione Prada. Eero Saarinen chairs as well as original furnishings from New York’s Four Seasons Restaurant and works of art by Carsten Höller, William N. Copley, Jeff Koons, Goshka Macuga, and John Wesley.

11. Ristorante Cracco

Ristorante Cracco, created by Michelin-starred chef Carlo Cracco, is located within the historic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. In addition to the main restaurant, the space features a café, patisserie, wine bar, private lounge, and chocolaterie. The four-story eatery was designed by the renowned Italian firm Studio Peregalli. Custom wallpaper and gilded accents within the interior reflect the magnificent architecture of the Galleria.

Ashley Petras contributed to this report.