Tipografia Alimentare joins a handful of new restaurants north of Loreto (NoLo), and it’s well positioned with outdoor tables along the Martesana canal. At breakfast, the counter-service cafeteria serves whole-grain pastries like cardamom buns with coffee from top Italian microroasters. Lunch and dinner bring table service, along with a menu of seasonal comfort food: warm root vegetable salads, slow-cooked bean soups, and charcuterie boards paired with natural Italian wines. On Fridays, their talented bakers flex their talents with sweet and savory maritozzi (sweet buns). [$$]

Altatto’s ethereal spin on vegetarian fine dining is a pleasant break from Milan’s meaty fare, but don’t expect the highly conceptual menu to be a snooze. The two chef partners — Sara Nicolosi and Cinzia de Lauri — met at Joia, where they worked with Michelin-starred chef Pietro Leemann. In the warm, spartan interior or in the hidden outdoor courtyard, you’ll find a rotating vegetarian tasting menu with dishes like crispy porcino mushrooms with wild foraged herbs, or buckwheat gnocchetti with sweet potato slow-cooked in clay. The chefs deploy an element of surprise in every course, and pair meals with a selective list of natural wines. [$$-$$$]

Uruguayan chef Juan Lema, who named Trattoria Mirta after his mother, puts his own spin on traditional northern Italian dishes. In winter, try the squash in saor, enriched with raisins and pine nuts. Better yet, stop by in warmer months for the cotolette in carpione, a vinegar-marinated variation on the cult classic Milanese. [$$]

Berberè pizzeria prizes quality of ingredients over labels like “bio” (the EU-version of organic). The shop is known for letting guests choose from three different doughs: classic, a blend of einkorn and farro, or hydrolysis-based dough that doesn’t use yeast. The topping combinations are demure and elegant: Fried eggplant goes with smoked ricotta, basil, and tomato; coppa with stracciatella, fior di latte cheese, and orange-infused oil. The pizzas skew on the smaller side, so it’s best to order one and a half pies per person. [$-$$]

The owners, including actor Antonio Albanese, opened Ratanà in a fin-de-siecle villa located in the middle of a once run-down neighborhood. Chef Cesare Battisti offers a creative spin on local cuisine, with a menu that changes seasonally: Think traditional northern Italian risotto, squash blossoms with basil pesto, and game hen accompanied by lemon-glazed scallions for summer. That said, if you are looking for pure Milanese fare, it has that too: The saffron-infused risotto and osso buco are available year round. Don’t forget to ask for mondeghili (Milanese meatballs) as an appetizer. [$$$]

Chef Andrea Berton trained under the revered founder of new Italian cuisine, Gualtiero Marchesi, before expanding his repertoire in London and then Monaco under the guidance of Alain Ducasse. At his own restaurant, Berton earned a Michelin star in 2014 after less than two years open, with gorgeous dishes, flawless technique, and minimal ingredients. The chef is known for his deep passion for brodo, or “broth,” so you can expect dishes like tender grilled beef sirloin and smoked potato cannoli paired with grappa-sprayed beef broth, and cod tripe with Trasimeno beans bathed in prosciutto broth. [$$$$]

This 126-year-old wine shop is located on Chinatown’s bustling main thoroughfare. Although Cantine Isola sells more than 1,500 wines by the bottle, it’s best to stop in and savor the by-the-glass selection while snacking on crostini, charcuterie, and aged cheese passed around by the friendly bar staff. Go early to guarantee a seat before the Milanese masses spill out of the bar into an entire sidewalk scene. Tuesdays are poetry nights. [$]

Third-generation butcher Walter Sirtori and textile entrepreneur Hujian “Agie” Zhou joined forces to open this ravioleria (literally a “dumpling shop”) right next to Sirtori’s butcher shop. All of the Chinese dumplings are prepared on the premises, and come filled with whatever cuts of beef or pork Sirtori’s supplier has handy. Their version of jianbing is the ultimate snack after a few glasses of wine across the street at Cantine Isola. [$]

Like other young Milanese refashioning the dining scene with tech, the team at Il Mannarino are redefining what “made in Italy” means with their digital-forward butcher shop. The shop offers rapid delivery around town alongside a restaurant focused on Puglian cuisine. Tempting starters include the bombetta (rolls of capocollo di maiale stuffed with artichokes, or whatever is in season, and baked to order), smashed broad beans and chicory smothered in extra-virgin olive oil, and slow-cooked meatballs (also available vacuum-packed). Locals pile into the four locations around the city for a momentary escape to Puglia. [$$-$$$]

This high-end restaurant has a well-rounded menu of Japanese dishes, but is primarily known for its sushi and sashimi selection, which is best appreciated at the counter. There, chef Yoshinobu Kurio is happy to offer off-menu suggestions of nigiri or maki, such as langoustine tempura or temaki made with raw red shrimp and avocado. Yoshinobu’s fish-to-rice ratio in the nigiri deserves a mention, too: The fish always completely cloaks the rice base. [$$$]

A popular lunch spot in Porta Venezia, Nún is a counter-service restaurant with customizable twists on Middle Eastern wraps and pitas, including sabich stuffed with fried eggplant, and 100 percent Italian chicken shawarma with pomegranate syrup and spicy harissa. Vegan and vegetarian options are high points, especially the falafel dishes, which are made from scratch and come with an array of add-ons like feta, kalamata olives, sliced beets, capers, and smoky tahini. A second location near Navigli is more convenient for the south side of the city. [$-$$]

This Brera neighborhood mainstay doesn’t take reservations for its eight tables set among kitschy decor, so diners compete for a spot to sample the daily menu, which is heavy on vegetable sides. If you’re lucky enough to find a seat, look for the crudaiola, a cold vegetable soup, or focus your meal on primi courses, like testaroli (triangular-shaped pasta) with zucchini, eggplant, and salted ricotta. Chef Arturo Maggi, who has owned the place since 1965, claims to cook a good portion of his dishes in a silver pan, which he alleges makes the food particularly digestible. [$$]

Porta Venezia has multiple well-established Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants, but Adulis is a local favorite for its dark, ornate interior, music, and small selection of Champagne. Choose between injera plates of lamb, beef, chicken, or fish with spicy berbere seasoning. The mixed vegetables are also served on spongy injera pancakes, hearty with cabbage, chickpeas, lentils and cooked greens. [$$]

Third-generation chef Michele De Liguoro named Rovello 18 after the address of his family’s fine dining restaurant Da Pierino, a Michelin-starred destination in the 1950s. De Liguoro isn’t chasing a star at Rovello 18, instead offering a more casual answer to Da Pierino. The homey yet upscale osteria fare includes pasta paired with creamy broccoli rabe, clams, and bottarga, as well as crispy risotto al salto topped with Lombard taleggio. At lunch, shoppers along Via Garibaldi and nearby office workers crowd in to enjoy seasonal antipasti, including sauteed artichokes, puntarelle salad, and grilled peppers tonnati (caper-spiked tuna sauce). Rovello 18 is also a wine destination: Its collection of over 800 bottles is replete with microproducers and crucial bottles from Italy and France. [$$$]

Owned by husband-and-wife duo Sissi and Zig Faye, Pasticceria Sissi is an old-school Milanese bakery with pink walls and a well-balanced selection of sweet and savory pastries. The staff fills croissants with custard right on site, and if the weather allows, you should enjoy your sweet snack in the backyard. That said, Sissi is at its best during Carnevale, when the Fayes make holiday-specific treats like chiacchiere, crunchy rectangles of fried dough doused in powdered sugar. [$]

Among Milan’s melting pot of regional Italian dishes, check out the superlative Neapolitan pizza fritta (fried pizza) at Zia Esterina Sorbillo, the ultimate cheap eat just a few minutes from Piazza Duomo. The puffy, long-fermented, fried-to-order dough is best filled with meats like salami, cicoli (fried pork fat), or prosciutto. For purists, there’s tomato, cheese, and black pepper, with the simple combination of ricotta and provola di bufala that will more than satisfy. Rip off the top of the glossy pocket and squeeze up the gooey, cheesy center. Extra napkins are vital. [$]

Pizzerias are leading Milan’s steady flow of new restaurant openings, expanding the city’s offerings to include the full spectrum of regional Italian styles, most notably Neapolitan. At Da Zero, a transplant from Cilento, locals line up for Neapolitan pies set apart with high-quality ingredients from southern Campania: menaica anchovies, cacioricotta goat cheese, Palinuro tuna, and ammaccata olives. Long-fermented dough baked in a wood-burning dome results in thin, puffy-edged pies that beg to be consumed on the spot. Da Zero opened a second location in Brera after sustained success at the original spot tucked away on Via Bernardino Luini. [$$]

Across town from its 10-year-old all-day cafe-cum-bakery/laboratory, Pavé’s gelateria churns some of the most exquisite gelato in Italy. The shop is committed to seasonal, meticulous sourcing, and sugar is applied lightly in the classic cream- and fruit-based varieties of gelato and granita. The sleek, minimal shop design matches the small-batch philosophy, too. Intense Piedmont hazelnut, fair-trade chocolate, and Bronte pistachio are among the traditional options, but experimental flavors, including ricotta, limone with olive, and white chocolate with lime and salt, rotate in and out. [$]

Aya Yamamoto, born in Tokyo and raised in Milan, opened this homey Japanese restaurant to serve “Grandma’s vegetables.” That broadly translates into a focus on items not normally seen at the city’s roughly 400 Japanese restaurants, which mostly stick to maki and California rolls. There’s lots of meat, from ka-ree (Japanese pork curry) to donburi steak, and salmon, both grilled and in sashimi. The vegetarian options are many, rich, and the most unique for Milan; try the seaweed salad and potato salad with Japanese mayonnaise. [$$]

Langosteria is a temple to seafood, especially crustaceans. Since the first location opened in 2007, followed by a bistro nearby in 2012 and a cafe in the city center in 2016, Langosteria has established itself as a stronghold in the Milanese seafood scene, and rightfully so. With raw fish platters (make sure you choose the one with shrimp from Mazara del Vallo), seafood-topped pastas, and Catalan-style main courses, Langosteria manages to deliver an upscale experience without the cold formality usually associated with high-end seafood restaurants. [$$$]

Tucked away behind Basilica de Sant’Eustorgio, Enoteca Naturale’s large outdoor yard is full of Milanese drinking natural wine and snacking on house-made focaccia or small plates of lamb, artichoke, and creamy cicerchie beans. With over 300 labels, their natural wine collection is the largest in the city. If you need a good reason to drink more great wine, the bar donates some of its profits to its garden space cohabitant, a nonprofit organization that offers free high-quality medical treatment to the poor. Reserve online for a table at aperitivo or dinner. [$$]

Macelleria Popolare’s counter is a top destination for chefs and diners searching for Italian street foods of yesteryear. Tongue, spleen, tripe, lampredotto (the cow’s fourth stomach), chopped heart, and fried brains are paired with prodigal butcher Giuseppe Zen’s daily choice of wines. Picky eaters can stick to meatballs fried in gargantuan breadcrumbs or select some cheeses from the stall in the Darsena market nearby. Order and sit outside at the picnic tables overlooking the canal. [$$-$$$]

28 Posti is a respite from the young crowds that gather on the cobblestones outside bars along the canals in Navigli. Owner Silvia Orazi’s mother welcomes guests to the small restaurant, with a delightful interior that allows the modern food and natural wines to shine. Young chef Marco Ambrosino works in the windowed kitchen in full view, as he aims to celebrate multiculturalism, biodiversity, and Mediterranean gastronomy. Inspired by his hometown, chiajozza — canocchia raw shrimp, red cabbage salad, sea urchin ice cream, and pine oil — won Identità Golose’s dish of the year in 2016 and remains a menu signature. [$$$]

Trippa (tripe) comes up a lot on the menu by chef Diego Rossi, who trained with Dolomites-based chef Norbert Niederkofler. The menu changes according to availability, but, as a general rule, the chef repurposes “peasant” cuisine: a risotto comes topped with silene, an herb known for its sweet and mild flavor, or a soup with nettle and cicerchia (a local legume that used to be a pantry staple but fell out of favor). Simplicity is key: Rossi never uses more than four ingredients for a dish. Trippa may be the hardest reservation to get in town, though, and online reservations open at midnight CET a week in advance. Set your alarm. [$$$]

In 2019, Enrico Bartolini’s restaurant at the MUDEC museum became the first in the city to achieve three Michelin stars. Bartolini first made his mark abroad, in the kitchens of Paolo Petrini in Paris and Mark Page in London, before returning to work in Italy at Le Robinie restaurant, where he was awarded his first Michelin star at 29. Fresh spaghetti, toasted lemon, squid, whiskey, caviar, grilled artichoke, black garlic, and beef marrow are some of the highlights on the nine-course tasting menu, which will set you back 550 euros, including wine pairings. [$$$$]

People have been flocking to Rita for craft cocktails since 2002, way before mixology was common parlance in urban areas. While most Milanese bars try to cash in with lackluster happy hour deals, Rita concocts creative drinks, such as the Saffron Bastard, a vodka sour variation enriched by cardamom tincture and saffron sugar. The bar’s signature cocktail, Cazzi Tuoi (which translates to something like, “That’s your fucking business, not mine”) comes with vodka, lemon juice, lychee liqueur, and a dash of cranberry-vanilla liqueur. The complimentary small bites (common currency in Italian bars) include a selection of healthyish tartines and crudites. [$$]

In 2015, the Prada family opened the Fondazione Prada museum to showcase the family’s extensive art collection. The multibuilding complex became a contemporary art destination, attracting visitors to a former gin distillery on the southern edge of the city. Diners came too for the celebrated Bar Luce, designed by Wes Anderson with trompe-l’oeil wall decorations and pinball machines. But head for the bar’s more mature sibling, its upscale restaurant. Torre (“tower”) opened in 2018 on the sixth floor of the newest building. The restaurant boasts one of the city’s most stunning dining spaces, decorated with works by Lucio Fontana and John Baldessari, as well as an expansive triangular terrace ideal for sunset aperitivi. Young Livorno-born chef Lorenzo Lunghi serves modern Milanese fare and seafood dishes influenced by Tuscan coastal cuisine. Freshly baked bread and sweets come from Marchesi, Milan’s most celebrated antica pasticceria, which the Prada family purchased in 2015 and expanded into a mini-franchise. [$$$]

While many Italian drinkers steadfastly adhere to terroir and agrarian tradition, Cantina Urbana’s microwinery just outside Milan’s center is successfully pushing against those boundaries. Taking inspiration from New York’s Brooklyn Winery, lively entrepreneur and founder Michele Rimpici caters to a new crop of drinkers with an alternative space for winemaking and tasting in an urban setting. With grapes from the regions of Oltrepò Pavese, Valpolicella, and the slopes of Mount Etna, Cantina Urbana ages wines in steel, amphorae, and wooden barrels. Along with bottles for purchase, the winery offers visitor tastings and tours. There are also hyperlocal aperitivo snacks, charcuterie boards abundant with Lombard cheeses and salumi, and no-frills cicchetti that make for a filling aperitivo to stave off hunger before dinner. [$$]