Dan and I found ourselves with one night in Milan, Italy last September after spending a week in Bolzano, (highly recommended Italian city!), Oktoberfest, and Innsbruck. Why Milan on that itinerary one may ask? Emirates flights from JFK to Milan, sole reason.
In any case, we have been to Milan a few times, and I always find eating in Milan a little odd. While Milan has excellent food and offerings from all over the world (similar to New York), I want what I think of as Italian food (i.e. Southern Italian food!) in Italy. And well, good southern Italian food is not super easy to find in Milan. As such, I branched out and scoured the internet for a good Milanese restaurant. I discovered Ratanà, which has apparently already been discovered by many, many people (LOL), and I made a dinner reservation. No pressure! In any case, our meal turned out to be really delicious and Ratanà even served a bottle of wine from the town where Dan’s great grandfather was born, Lessona!
Ratanà’s outside seating area. We ate indoors.
Ratanà is located on the edge of a park, BAM Tree Library Milan, close to Bosco Verticale. A trendy little area. But then again, all of Milan is pretty trendy.
Ratanà’s menu.
Ratanà offers indoor and outdoor seating, and I suggest an advance reservation. Ratanà’s vibe is modern Milanese. Guests are seated around wine racks with luxurious red menus. And on the menu, Ratanà describes its cuisine as “creative” Milanese and Lombard cuisine by chef Cesare Battisti. In addition to the food, Ratanà has a large wine selection and tasty cocktails. The food menu changes seasonally, but there are a few staples that are often on the menu in some form (like the meatballs and the risotto).
The Flaminguito cocktail.
We began our meal with cocktails; the Flaminguito for me. It was just too close to my name not to try. The Flaminguito is basically a play on a margarita. We paired our cocktails with Mondeghili, or Milanese style meatballs. A surprise to me; these were not the traditional ball shaped meatballs I am used to. Rather, these were thing oval balls of meat fried in bread and served with no sauce. Our order came with about six meatballs. These meatballs were actually really good. A great start to the meal!
Mondeghili, or Milan meatballs.
Our second course was probably both of our favorite (we split everything!) – an ossobuco croquette! As described, this course was a rather large croquette made with ossobuco, a Milanese specialty! The croquette was topped with a pesto-y sauce and a aioli sauce, and it was incredible.
Ossobuco croquette.
One more pic because this was so good!
Next up was another big winner – ravioli topped with a pear and fig sauce and also Gorgonzola fondue. This dish was extremely decadent, but also incredibly tasty. It came in second only to the osso buco croquette. And no, this restaurant is not for those on a diet.
The pear and fig ravioli in fondue sauce.
A close up of the ravioli.
We ended our savory portion of the meal with another traditional Milanese dish, risotto! This dish was called Risotto alla vecchia Milano, or Old Milan risotto, and it was served with saffron, bone marrow, gremolada, and roast sauce. This dish was quite tasty, but also quite large. Keep that in mind when ordering. Risotto is not my favorite Italian dish, but this one was particularly good with the bone marrow and gremolada.
Risotto alla vecchia Milano.
We ordered a glass of amaro before dessert in an attempt to digest enough to actually order dessert. Also, the bar cart was just too cute not to order an amaro!
The beautiful bar cart at Ratanà.
A branded amaro glass.
Our decision was successful. We ended our meal with a dessert that consisted of some gelato, cake bites and seasonal fruit. We both preferred the savory portion of our dinner, but perhaps because we were just too stuffed at this point.
Our dessert at Ratanà.
I cannot end our post without calling our the wine that we drink. A 2011 Bramaterra from Lessona. I had always thought Lessona wine was white and not great, but this red was really, really good. It was particularly special because, as I mentioned in the beginning, Dan’s great grandfather was from Lessona in Piedmont. A very exciting find!
Our wine from the town where Dan’s great grandfather was born, Lessona!
While we ordered a la carte, Ratanà offers five course tasting menus for 70 euro per person, plus an additional 25 euro for a 3 wine pairing and 45 euro for a five wine pairing.
STEAL OUR DINNER
Ristorante Ratanà: Via G. de Castillia 28, 20124 Milano. Reservations recommended. Open 12:00 – 14:30 and 19:00 – 23:00 daily.
ON A BUDGET
If you are on a budget or just looking for a more casual dining experience, try Luini Panzerotti. Luini is a Milan institution very close to the Duomo. You can read about it here.