La Griglia di Varrone — Restaurant in Milan

We had dinner here tonight, and unfortunately, it fell well short of expectations. I chose this place after comparing it to several other steakhouses in Milan, as it seemed popular among locals. However, as the only English-speaking guests in the room, we never felt particularly welcome.

Our experience began on the wrong note. We were the first table of the evening, yet our waiter, who spoke fluent English, seemed rushed as if there were tables lining up. He recommended one of the most expensive steaks, which I didn’t mind if it was high quality, but the process felt hurried. Without asking about sides or wine pairings, he quickly took our order, only to inform us later that our chosen steak was unavailable. He suggested another T-bone steak, far larger than we could eat, as the only alternative. I agreed, but had to chase him down just to order a bottle of wine.

The food was equally disappointing. The beef tartare was bland, relying on pesto and confit sauce to compensate for its lack of flavor. For a dish showcasing high-quality beef, this felt like a failure. Then came the steak – grilled “Al Sangue” as requested, but incredibly fatty, with the fat-to-lean ratio at an unacceptable 50/50. Oh, please don’t tell me this is how steaks look like in Italy, because it is simply different. If this was the only option, they should have told us beforehand.

The service worsened as the evening went on. After ordering wine, our waiter vanished, leaving us to request assistance from various staff members. I waited 20 minutes for a draft beer, only to see idle bar staff completely unaware of the order. Frustrated, I asked to cancel the beer and settle the bill, at which point the waiter claimed the beer was “just about to come,” a lie so obvious it was laughable.

To be fair, many locals continued to arrive throughout the evening, so perhaps we were just unlucky tonight with our unlucky food and more unlucky service. However, based on our experience, I wouldn’t recommend this place. It wasn’t a huge disaster, but it was well below what you’d expect from a reputable steakhouse,...

Food: 4 | Service: 2 | Ambience: 2

Highlights: The meat is good, and so are the purees, but nothing exceptional. Good wine selection.

Lowlights: Basic things: No one asked us about how we wanted our meat done, and there was no salt and pepper on the table. 😮 Never seen that before at a steakhouse! Luckily the meat came medium rare, which is how we like ours, but still they should've asked.

Service: When we arrived, the hostess wasn't at her spot. However, there were 3 waiters close by and they kept there just staring at us. Then I decided to ask them about our table, and, in a quite rude way, they told me to go back to the front door. On top of that, we were sitting close to the hostess' desk and she was listening to super loud audios on her cell phone, really bothering us with the noise. The line phone also rang a lot of times, and the volume was incredibly loud. Finally, we saw someone going through other tables explaining the menu, but no one bothered to come to ours and do that.

The food: We ordered a T-bone, which was brought to the table already cut. In all my previous experiences in steakhouses, the meat is cut in front of the customer, so we can see that the whole piece we paid for is there. To be honest, I really felt like it was too little meat for a T-bone, so it made me wonder if they actually brought us the whole piece. We also got as a side a puree with truffles, that had a microscopic portion of not even fresh truffles on top. But the price was double than the regular purees, which made us feel like idiots. Finally, we ordered a cheesecake which was not a cheesecake - it was a...

This restaurant has an upscale atmosphere, with an attentive and professional wait staff. They have various cuts of dry aging loins of beef that are visible in the case, and the kitchen grills with open flames are visible on the way to be seated. They specialize in international breeds, such as Angus and Wagyu. We started with a selection of Tartare of Piemonte beef, which were made in three different ways. Each was distinct and flavorful. We also had an amuse buche of Macaroons with paté that we're amazing. The macaroons had a semisweet softness similar to brioche bread that is sometimes an accompaniment to Paté such a Foie Gras. As a Secondo, We had a tagliere with several cuts of Angus that were all delicious and cooked to perfection. This was accompanied by a sampling of three types of Purè (mashed potatoes) that the restaurant specializes in. We also had some cooked greens along with the Purè.

The Wine list has an extensive selection of Italian wines, but is predominantly comprised of Tuscan wines, which is expected for an establishment such as this.

I would highly recommend this restaurant for locals...