Ristorante Nabucco — Restaurant in Milan

Short version - food was fine, waitstaff was polite. Experience was completely soured by the maître’d.

It has taken me a couple of attempts at writing this review, because I wanted to be measured and clear in what I wanted to say. Nabucco is not a welcoming place for people of colour. And it boils down to the maître’d. He was quite cold, aloof and most times wouldn’t even make eye contact, preferring to look at the street or the buildings next door while we were talking to him to place our order. We barely got an acknowledgment (only grunts) and our smiles were met with a stony expression. (Note: we were the only brown POC patrons in this establishment.)

Now I would’ve put it down to different people, different strokes - not everyone is friendly all the time, nor should they’ve to be - and that’s understandable. But what WAS hard to reconcile was the stark contrast with which he treated other patrons who were white - he was more jovial and welcoming. He was a completely different man to the American patron on the next table; all smiles and jokes. (Note: we are seasoned travellers and not had this experience anywhere else.)

Now for the food: we had the Milanese-style tripe and veal ravioli. Both dishes were flavourful with good portion sizes. But the maître’d’s behaviour impacted our dining experience and we didn’t want to stay for dessert.

In a world where we are all having conversations about meaningful inclusivity and what that looks like in 2022 truly, I am sad to conclude: nothing Nabucco offers can wipe off the taste of its disappointing service towards people of colour (at least not without genuine self-reflection by Nabucco management on its customer service). Until then, enjoy other bars and dining options that Brera has to offer which are far more welcoming and with...

Disappointing Experience – Not Tourist-Friendly

I visited this restaurant with my mom and sister, initially thinking it might be a nice belated birthday dinner for my mom. While the food was decent(but not great) the service left a lot to be desired and ultimately ruined the experience.

We were seated downstairs, where the staff felt unwelcoming from the beginning. Because of this, I didn’t feel comfortable asking about ordering anything extra for my mom’s birthday. Toward the end of the meal — when we told the server we wouldn’t be having dessert, he barely acknowledged us, and then we sat for another 15 minutes with no check and no explanation.

When I asked another staff member, he told us to wait, and eventually, our original server returned — not to our table, but to another one. Only after I flagged him down again did he tell us we had to pay upstairs at the counter. None of this was communicated clearly, even though we asked three different times.

At the counter, I mentioned the poor service, and the staff brushed it off, saying it’s “common in Milan” because they can’t use the card reader downstairs — something they never explained during the meal. To make matters worse, they gave me the wrong bill with an extra item on it. When I pointed it out, there was no apology — just a silent correction while smiling and chatting with another staff member.

Unfortunately, this experience felt dismissive and disrespectful, especially as tourists. I would not recommend this place — especially if you’re visiting Milan and looking for a warm, welcoming dining experience. There are many...

This place seems to try to give a sophisticated twist to the dishes but it falls short. To start with the positivea; the pulpo starter was delicious and would recommend it. Furthermore, the location is great and the atmosphere is nice. However as downsides; the price quality ratio is bad and most of the dishes are objectively not that great. For example, the pasta with vongole. I’ve eaten this dish many times in different cities in Italy, but never was it so fishy as this dish. The pasta was much too strong regarding the fish taste, rendering me nauseous. Furthermore, the crocker steak tasted like absolutely nothing. The other dishes were decent at best. The tiramisu was meh. Lastly, I do not recommend the cheese platter. I have never gotten such a disappointing cheese platter for such a high price. We expected an impressive platter for 25 euros (normally in expensive restaurants it will range around the 15/20 euros). However, there were only three types of cheeses thrown on the plate, which flopped about. No explanation about them either. The menu said it would include mustards but as you can see these aren’t included. As last item, which is a small thing; we felt it was a bit strange that they offered us a shot of limoncello (which is typically on the house, especially after an expensive dinner), but they charged us while they did not do so (as we heard) to other groups. Also, the tables around us received a small bite beforehand while we were rushed. Personally it was disappointing and would...