la vecchia latteria (milan)

There are lots of new places to eat near the Duomo in Milan. The openings of Eats and Mercato del Duomo provide multi level, stylish, high end food emporiums where you can find just about anything from cornetti to arrancini any time of the day. But one of my favorite places in the center of town is about as far away in feeling from a food emporium as you can get.

Located in an ex-latteria dating from 1885 (which explains all the white tiles) La Vecchia Latteria is a  tiny space that was converted into a simple, straightforward organic vegetarian restaurant by the Notari family in the 1950’s. The restaurant is unpretentious, family run, and deliciously healthy.

Although they have a large menu, filled with pasta, risotto and salads, what most people go for are their justifiably famous combination platters. The Misto Forno comes in 3 sizes, which are billed as Medio (for 1), Normale (for 1) and the Misto Forno (for 2). Since I was there on my own I ordered the smallest, which was way more than enough. What was on it? It changes daily, but features tapas sized portions of their specialities. Tortine, or baked casseroles, are their mainstay. My platter came with heaping portions of tortino di scarola, tortino di coste e patate (swiss chard and potatoes) and incredibly rich timballo di zucchini. My frittelle was a deep fried and breaded ball of cauliflower and broccoli and I’m not 100% sure what they did to the carrots, but they were the sweetest, most flavorful I’ve had in ages. Everything was a mixture of flavors and textures and it was fun (and satisfying) to have a taste of their greatest hits.

My only regret was not being able to taste the Misto Ferri, which is an assortment of cheeses cooked on a griddle and served topped with things like tomatoes, olives and other vegetables.

The desserts, all home made, looked (and smelled) delicious, especially an apple strudel that had just come out of the oven.

If you’re looking for fancy and cutting edge, you can certainly head to those new food emporiums in the Duomo’s shadow. But if what you want is a plate full of organic vegetables, cooked with care and served in a simple setting, then La Vecchia Latteria is probably more your style.

Alla Vecchia Latteria
Via dell’Unione 6
+39.02.874.401

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