Before writing my review, I need to consider what I'm reviewing. No fancy, white tablecloth restaurant (in fact, there are NO tablecloths), but a cafeteria in the true American - and Italian - sense of the word, with trays, a food line, and a cashier at the end of it. This is a place where people who work come to eat lunch, be they tradesmen, real estate agents, lawyers, nurses, or anyone just looking for good, inexpensive - cf, "cheap" - food. With that in mind, and considering that such a place was just what I was seeking in trendy, fashionista Milano, I've no problem giving it 5 stars and my highest recommendation.
To the basics described above, add some unique Italian touches: a wide variety of waters, soft drinks, beer, wine, tea, and coffee; perfectly cooked pasta - no overcooked noodles of any kind in this lunch spot; and well-prepared salads and entrees at a great price. Today, I had a mixed salad full of chopped chicken and seafood, a good sized plate of trofie, potatoes, and peas in a just-spicy-enough tomato sauce, a custard dessert dusted with shaved chocolate, two pieces of fresh baked bread, and coffee - all for E9,50. Had I opted for a second course, I could have chose from roast beef, cutlets alla parmigiana, and two other dishes that looked like chicken cacciatore. Sides of cauliflower, potatoes, and rice were also available; the choices change daily, as in most cafeterias. You are not going to leave here hungry, let alone broke.
Contrary to what others have written, coffee isn't the only thing brought to your table: soon after I was seated, a waitress delivered salt, pepper, olive oil, and two types of vinegar to me with a pleasant smile and greeting. When I went up to the coffee bar to get some ice for my water, the woman behind it greeted and served me with similar grace. Because I arrived only half an hour before the 1500 closing time, I was eventually the only person still eating, but the staff never hurried me into finishing up and leaving. As for the noise that some have complained of, to me the sound of people talking with animation over their lunch break is a pleasant respite from harshly throbbing rap, mundane Muzak, or trance-inducing New Age pablum. Translation: I did not find the noise level, which I'd call average, at all bothersome.
Come here and enjoy your meal, as you will if you like good, honest Italian food, w/o all the bleating about "sustainability," "local sourcing," "giving back" - who goes around just taking things in the first place? - and all the other trappings of sanctimonious, self-serving nonsense. Come here to see why, even with the simplest of foods, Italians add a touch and quality of preparation and service that is uniquely their own. And, after you have come and eaten here, go with the knowledge that you have tasted some genuinely good, traditional Italian food, not some now tiresome, overdone, revisionist reworking of a classic cuisine that needs only the hand of a skilled cook to bring out its best anywhere you're fortunate to find it. read more
