Trattoria della Gloria — Restaurant in Milan

The service was exceptional and the quality of the food was very high. The waiters were very friendly and knowledgeable as well as multilingual. The venue was quaint and clean although we were seated very close to another table who ended up smoking and making dinner unpleasant.

My only real complaint is that it should be clearly advertised as non-traditional and out-of-the-ordinary. While I applaud the chef's abilities and creativity, I didn't find the flavors terribly appealing. Every course was just different enough from what one would expect, and had me thinking, "well, that was different." I feel like the menu would be more suited to a bougie uptown five-star hotel than a neighborhood trattoria.

My only reason for posting this review is so others aren't as surprised as I was by the unique menu. Despite the chef's obvious talents, I wouldn't go there again, unless I could see the menu ahead of time, which is currently...

The stand out meal from our trip to Milan! Why anyone would eat at one of those restaurants on the Navigli when this is nearby boggles my mind. I started with anchovies and dandelion and the we both went for the Polenta with Porcini mushrooms with blue cheese. And we shared a dessert of ganache with hazelnuts. The wine list is in the head of the maitre de and you tell him the wine you like and he makes a few suggestions based on availability on price and away you go! About 70% locals eating there (and it was packed) which says a lot about the quality and value of the food. Chatted to the Maitre de and he was saying the menu is kept short so as to stay seasonal and to keep waste down. All the staff seemed to be genuinely enjoying their jobs and invested in the restaurant which was amazing. Cannot recommend this restaurant...

The chefs know what they are doing and have some good ideas, especially when it comes to playing with the Italian tradition. Unfortunately this is marred by an excessively short menu – only a handful of dishes, meaning that if you are more than two people you'll have to duplicate orders. And they play the usual trick of most "new" Milan venues: small, hunger-defying portions of humble ingredients (beans, potatoes, cheap fish varieties etc) at high prices. Finally, the wine markup is unforgivable: with all the amazing and good-valued barberas out there, we were recommended an undrinkable 'natural' one at over 40 euros. The resulting bill was at the level of the city's premium restaurants, but of course without the same service or variety, and without even a...