Image by Alessandra Gesuelli

This pub is near the popular area of Viale Monte Nero, that recently became stylish and full of cosy bars. The place is special because of the wonderful selection of craft beers. The best are raw beers from Italian producers, I suggest in particular beers from the famous Birrificio Lambrate and from lesser known but emerging microbreweries from Milan and Lombardy such as l’Orso Verde.

Habitués meet in this lively bar to relax, chat before clubbing in Porta Romana or after going to the Colosseo cinema in piazza delle Cinque Giornate.

I really like the happy hour. For 4.50 euro from 19:00 to 21:00 you can have a pint of beer and a tagliere with slices of pizza and snacks. If you feel hungry you can splash 6.00 euro for a tasty selection of salumi. The music is good and so is the service: friendly and bilingual. The place is great but be careful: no wine is served in this beer lovers heaven!

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Hop | Bars | Happy hour € 4.50
viale Regina Margherita 4 | Porta Romana | +390254122690
Mon – Fri 12:30 – 15:00 & 18:30 – 02:00, Sat – Sun 18:30 – 02:00

Image by Alessandra Gesuelli

What about a coffee break while shopping in Milan? Torrefazione Il Caffè Ambrosiano is an institution on the central Corso Buenos Aires 20.

This torrefazione serves excellent espresso and cappuccino. In the morning I go to have breakfast there with cornetti. There are no tables to seat inside, you just stand up and have your coffee!

It’s also a deli that sells different coffee blend, chocolate bars, truffles and sweets. The same little company also owns another shop in corso XXII Marzo 18 and two outside the city.

During Christmas festivities it’s a great place to go for a gift. In this little café I can buy hampers with coffee and sweet delicatessen and they are not so expensive compared to others. The coffee is blended in the Italian traditional way. During spring and summer it serves excellent caffè freddo or shakerato.

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Torrefazione Caffè Ambrosiano | Bars, Coffee & tea | Espresso € 0.90
Corso Buenos Aires 20 | Centrale/Greco | +390229525069
07:00 – 20:00 daily

Image by Alessandra Gesuelli

Milan doesn’t show off its beauty. The best places I’ve ever seen in this city were hidden in some courtyards of historical buildings. This is what happened when I first visited Teatro Grassi, the new space of Piccolo Teatro Strehler in via Rovello near piazza Cordusio, 5 minutes walk from the Duomo.

One year ago they reopened the Teatro Grassi as a new space of the famous Milan Cultural Institution Piccolo Teatro. The entrance is near the wonderful courtyard of Palazzo Carmignola.

Palazzo Carmignola’s courtyard has a cafeteria inside where I like to have a coffee or a snack before a show, a bookshop, rooms for meetings, and workshops with famous actors or directors. They also host art exhibitions. The cafè has recently launched an aperitivo from 18:00 every day, if you want to go is better to book, if you just show up and ask for a table, you won’t find one. Trust me! This place is really becoming very popular now.

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Piccolo Teatro Grassi | Bars | Coffee € 0.90
via Rovello 2 | Centro | +390242411889
Courtyard 08:00 – 22:00 daily

Image by Audrey Smith

Don’t get confused by the name, Nidaba theatre is not a theatre but a live music pub. Just right in Navigli area you can find one of the few easy going live music pubs in town.

The place is small and cosy and you’ll be surprised by how many musicians they can stuff onto the extremely tiny stage!

The main advantage of this pub is that you have music 7 nights a week, you don’t have to pay any entrance and a beer is 6 euros, the normal standard in the area.

The atmosphere is hot and dark, sweaty i would say, as i imagine jazz clubs should be in New Orleans. But it is not just about jazz, one of the good points of this place is that every day you can have different kinds of music and you can have fun like I did with a fantastic Irish music group or an amazing 50′s American rock and roll band (it seemed like they were from the tv series “Happy Days”!).

A nice place if you want to do something different and escape from the often poshy Milan atmosphere… check out the website for what’s coming up!

Music usually kicks of around 22:00 – 23:00.

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Nidaba Theatre | Bars, Music | Beer € 6.00
Via E. Gola 12 | Ticinese/Genova | +390289408657
21:30 – 02:00 daily | Closed in August | Music 22:00

Image by Audrey Smith

This bar is just a few minutes away from Piazza Duomo but as it is tucked away in a small street you may not find it. Although, I must say I’m always surprised by how many do!

A good place for a post shopping or Scala drink without the exorbitant prices you can find around the Duomo. It’s not a place that gets really busy later during week days so it’s a great place to enjoy a quiet drink and chat with friends. Although it can get full with the banking crowd from 19:00 – 21:00.

On the weekends it can get a little more interesting with a DJ playing Top 40 music and very strong cocktails. These strong cocktails have seen some people getting a little excited and getting up and dancing on the bar! It generally kicks on till 02:00 – 03:00 depending on the owner’s mood!

It’s a great place if you want to organize a big group get together such as a birthday.

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Victoria Cafè | Bars, Music | Drink € 6.00
Via Clerici 1 | Centro | +39028053598
18:00 – late daily