Hidden Gems: Milan Insider Guide with Bea Bongiasca

For breakfast or coffee

My favorite place for breakfast is Loste Café. It has a limited, but perfect, selection of pastries and unlike most places in Milan, it has oat milk for your coffee.

Favorite museum for first-timers

When Fondazione Prada opened in 2015 in the south of the city, it immediately became the most relevant destination for art and design in Milan. It was designed by Rem Koolhaas and even just the space itself is worth visiting, along with its Wes Anderson-inspired café and cosmopolitan restaurant located in the ‘tower.’

Favorite neighborhood to wander

My favorite neighborhood is Chinatown, which is in Via Paolo Sarpi, because it has karaoke rooms, wine bars and dim sum spots. In recent years it has also become a pedestrian street making it very buzzy during weekends and in the evenings for aperitivo.

A favorite shop

Biffi in Porta Genova. It has a really colorful selection that I really appreciate as well as more indie and fun brands.

Grabbing dinner with a local friend

Lately we have been going to a fusion Italian Japanese restaurant called Bentoteca. It used to be a one-Michelin-star restaurant by chef Yoji Tokuyoshi, who transformed it into a more casual dining experience during Covid. It was so successful that it is still in that format now, but it expanded it to an even bigger space.

Dining with out of town friends

One place I like to take my friends from out of town is Trattoria del Pescatore, a Sardinian fish restaurant with amazing appetizers and huge portions of Astice alla Catalana and lobster pasta.

Favorite wellness ritual in the city

My favorite spa, because let’s be honest that is the only real ritual you can find in a city, is the Armani Hotel. It is very beautiful because unlike other spas in Milan it is on the top floor of Armani’s building and has 360 views on the city with great natural lighting.

Favorite film set in Milan

Miracolo a Milano, directed by the famous director Vittorio De Sica. It is an iconic black and white movie that came out in 1951 and shows Milan in a magic realism setting which is what makes it so special, especially given when it was released.