Coffee & tea

A few days ago it was a rainy and cold afternoon in Milano. I was having a walk with a friend and we had this longing for a cup of tea and a slice of cake. I thought about this cute place on the Naviglio Grande called Nero Fondente. Their window is always full of beautiful fresh cakes that seem to tell you “come in and taste me!”.

The place is small and cosy, there is a little mezzanine and from the big window you can see the canal. The apple pie I had was delicious and still warm cause they had just got it from the oven. Everything there is home made and fresh. I can’t say which is the best period to go to Nero Fondente, since when it’s cold outside you can find a warm atmosphere, but in summer you can also stay just outside and have a fresh drink. I would say the style is country-chic and the service very accurate.

They are open daily, from early in the morning until late at night so you can walk in any time.

One day I was walking in one of my favourite streets in Milano when my attention was caught by a new window. I looked inside and I saw a cute café, very New York style. I kept it in mind and on the first occasion I went there to have breakfast with a friend of mine.

That’s bakery opened in October and it’s specialized in cupcakes. I had the chance to speak to the owner and he told me his story. He’s from Naples and he has been living in Milan for a few years working for a restaurant. On a trip to London he ran into a pastry shop in South Kensinghton and for the first time he tasted a cupcake. He was impressed by the beauty of this sweet so he asked for the recipe.

Noticing that cupcakes would have been new for Milano, he took the risk of opening this new café and judging by the number of people sitting at his tables you can say the risk was worth.

He offers cakes, brownies, cookies, special teas and coffees but also hamburgers. You can stay there, where the atmosphere is really nice, from the colors on the walls to the music, or take away. Or you can just stare at the window with the colourful little cupcakes, each of which looks like a piece of food art!

The challenge: can you tell what the “red velvet” one tastes like?!

You’re staying in Milano over the weekend, you wake up late on Sunday morning and you have a longing for a place where to have a long breakfast which slowly becomes a lunch: you definitely want to go to Anadima.

This lovely place is close to Naviglio Pavese, one of the famous canals of Milano. It’s a restaurant which offers a great buffet on Saturdays and Sundays. Even if it’s a total white space, the atmosphere is warm and homey and the furniture is nice with a few original details. The brunch buffet is very rich: you can have home made delicious cakes, pancakes with maple syrup, rice or pasta and different sorts of meat, fish and pies. Everything is fresh and really tasty.

The atmosphere is very intimate and relaxed, you can stay there as long as you feel like. What I like the most is the little mezzanine where some tables are, where you can have a view all over the place through the beautiful bricks arch.Just a tip: I would suggest to make a reservation, it’s likely full as it’s not that big.

Caffè della Pusterla is one of the cafés I usually choose when I want to take my time and have breakfast leafing through a magazine.

It’s always open, every day – any hour, very central, quiet and cosy. You can breathe the tradition in the wooden chairs and tables, black and white pictures of old Milano, antique signs and objects. The kitchen is always open, that means you can eat whenever you want. They offer simple dishes, a good selection of wines and desserts and a light buffet in the happy hour time.

The entrance is under a bower which creates an intimate atmosphere even if it faces a quite noisy street. Since at this café it’s very simple feeling at ease, clients can be really different: from students who work on their laptops, to couples with babies, from young people reading a book, to groups of people having a beer.

Botega caffè cacao is mainly a very refined pastry and coffee shop. But not only. Furnished like an American café from the sixties, in this place you can have a sweet breakfast, or a tasty and healthy lunch or just a good coffee in the afternoon. At least you have to try one of the many variation of the Italian cappuccino the list offers.

At the first bite you can taste that the food is fresh and homemade. You can take your time and enjoy your slice of cake at the table or you can just step in and buy a stick of chocolate or a packet of coffee.

Facing one of the main street of Brera neighbourhood and with two floors, each detail of this place is take care of, from what you eat to what you see. Hard to say if I like the food or the atmosphere the most!

For lunch you can make up your own menu and spend less than 10 euro having a main dish, water, coffee and dessert. Even if this place is often very crowded, waiters are really nice: one time I had lunch with a couple of friends and we had such a homey feeling that we stayed there more than 3 hours and nobody asked us to leave.