Bar Luce — Restaurant in Milan

BAR LUCE was designed by American film director Wes Anderson in 2015, Bar Luce recreates the atmosphere of a typical Milanese cafè.

As explained by Anderson, “the approach I used to design this bar is exactly the opposite I usually use for the set designs of my movies. I tried to make it a bar you’d like to go to five times a week. When I was really young I wanted to be an architect, and this chance I’ve been given to pretend to be a real one is a childhood fantasy come true!”.

Bar Luce was conceived by the film director as “a space for real life with numerous good spots for eating, drinking, talking, reading, etc. While I do think it would make a pretty good movie set, I think it would be an even better place to write a movie. I tried to make it a bar I would want to spend my own non-fictional afternoons in.”

The café is located at the entrance building of Fondazione Prada. The range of colors, the formica furniture, the seats, the floor, and the wood wall panels are reminiscent of Italian popular culture and aesthetics from the 1950s and 1960s, echoing artistic decisions Anderson made for his short film Castello Cavalcanti (2013). The arched ceiling and the patterned decoration for the top half of the bar’s walls, recreate a ‘miniature’ version of the vaulted glass roof and the decorations of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, one of Milan’s symbolic buildings. Other iconographic sources have been equally inspirational, notably two masterpieces of Italian Neorealism, both set in Milan: Miracolo a Milano, 1951 (Miracle in Milan) by Vittorio De Sica and Rocco e i suoi fratelli, 1960 (Rocco and His Brothers) by Luchino Visconti.

The bar, accessible from the internal spaces of Fondazione Prada and from Via Orobia, has become one of the new highlights of the...

2 stars for design & decor & fantastic cocktails. That’s the highlight of our experience because anything related to good customer service or Covid rules that make any sense, is non existent here. The employees, from the host to the servers, act like they own a Prada store & that their customers are all Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. They were condescending from the moment we arrived on a Saturday afternoon, telling us there was no available seating inside, although only 2 tables were occupied. They sighted Covid rules which they grossly exaggerated seemingly to be able to tell customers they were too full (all 2 inside tables). The 3 outside tables were offered instead in the dead heat under the burning sun with an awning which they had retracted ensuring the tables were extra uncomfortable. We asked them to let us know when an inside table became available considering it was hotter than Hades outside. They agreed but proceeded to sit 2 other parties inside the air conditioned dining room while we looked on from what seemed like the depths of the earth’s crust. At least for a few moments, the sun gifted us a few inches of shade.

Outside, we had to constantly call the server whenever we wanted to order, you know, to spend more money. Would’ve also been nice to get napkins with our hors d'oeuvres & desserts. After ordering the second round, we were never acknowledged after that. In fact, our order never came either. Every time we interacted with the waiters, they seemed bothered. We couldn’t leave fast enough. Drinks & snacks were delicious but too bad we won’t be returning to enjoy them again. At least we got a...

Saturday morning spent in total relaxation on our last day visiting Milan. Before the foundation opened, we stopped at Bar Luce for breakfast—an eccentric bar with a retro atmosphere designed by Wes Anderson. Everything looked beautiful, carefully curated down to the smallest detail, with pastel colors in perfect Anderson style. Unfortunately, that’s where the positive side ended... Not knowing how the service worked, we asked the girl at the bar, who, struggling with the language, simply pointed us to the cashier while repeating “ticket” several times. Once at the cashier, the girl finally explained how things worked and we decided to sit on the sofas. Back at the counter, we ordered two latte macchiato, but the girl asked us again to show the receipt. Later, we realized the drinks were served without ice, even though we had requested it earlier at the cashier. When we politely asked if it was possible to add some ice, the barista reacted with visible irritation, sighed, asked something to her colleague at the register, then added the ice. In Italian, she even told us to “wake up” and say things beforehand so as not to waste her time. All of this happened while the bar was nearly empty, with just a few tables occupied. I believe that customer care, kindness, and good manners are the very basics for anyone working with the public. I honestly wonder how it is possible that in such an elegant bar, such rude staff can...