La Gioia

Overall pleasant visit, food was nice and ambiance was good. I went with a friend and we both thought the lobster pasta was the best dish! Pasta was perfectly cooked, generous lobster meat and great taste overall. The rest of the dishes were good in our opinion but nothing special. Just be prepared to order at least one dish each minimum.

So, basically I fell in the TikTok/Social Media trap. Bear with me: - before going to Milan, of course I did some research to see where to eat, especially for my birthday. And this location appeared several times - made a reservation a few weeks ahead, with NO posibility to choose inside seating, but wrote a message saying it is my birthday and it would be nice to stay inside - after confirming the reservation for 4-5 times the expectations went waaaay higher - we arrived on time and asked if there is any chance to stay inside and I was told NO even before finishing my sentence - we were fitted outside inside the sidewalk built terrace at the table right next to the entrance. Very cramped, barely had space to stay comfortable at the table, and tilted in an angle since this is a sidewalk and not perfectly straight. Also, there was a very big but sad artificial plant next to us - the heater above the table was so intense that I had to put my phones in the pocket since they were getting very HOT, as well for my head - Also, since we are in the era of social media we would have liked to take some photos/videos of the food, but everything turned purple on camera because of the red heater above - service was good, the waiter was kind - THE FOOD: appetizers were Vitello tonato and a langoustine carpaccio with avocado (around 50 euros together) - the tartar had a VERY think layer of the seafood and my vittelo resembled the one you can buy at any supermarket sliced. And I had some vittelo tonato in my life so trust me, I know how it should be - for the main courses we had: Milanese risotto (which was good, nothing to complain) and Tajarin al tartuffo - which was very dry, small portion. Asked for parmesan which was very weird texture, therefore I asked if it was parmesan at all. The answer was that they grate it there. Makes no sense since I grate my own also, and it looks/tastes good. This was "clumpy". The wine was also good. - IN CONCLUSION: this is WAY overrated. For a table for 2 which was around 170 euros with no desert and the setup we dined, I can clasify it as a tourist trap. I still don't get who is sitting inside, since it's not at option.

The best meal we had in Milan. The food was absolutely to die for. The starters were all amazing, the aubergine parmigiana was out of this world, and the Pata Negra was delicious. Followed by the Cacio e pepe which I couldn’t recommend enough. Another guest had the Ragu, I tried a bite of this and I wish we could have come back again as it was so good! Don’t even get me started on the hazelnut tiramisu - incredible. Not only was the food amazing, the waiters were all incredibly welcoming and helpful with their recommendations. The atmosphere was also great, the lighting and the decor makes for a great setting. I’d encourage anyone to visit!

The food was good but not fantastic. The restaurant’s interior is super nice and the bathrooms are vintage. We sat outdoors. The service was extremely slow, and the waiters forgot our order, tables that ordered the same platters after us, got their food before us, pasta was very cold. Waiters were polite which is not very common in Italy.