Milan

I've had Milan bookmarked for a while, so I decided to knock this one off my list by myself and not wait around for someone to try the place with me. I arrived around 5:30pm on a Sunday. I honestly didn't have any expectations of the restaurant. After reading reviews of the place, I understood that it was classy and upscale. What pleasantly surprised me was that this kind of restaurant was located in an unassuming strip mall albeit one where I frequent for bagels. How I never noticed Milan is beyond me!

The restaurant was very pretty. I found my way to the lighted marble bar and sat myself. I thought I was going to have a quiet, solo dinner, but I ended up making a friend with another local woman. She told me how much she adored the restaurant, and I got to experience why.

Overall customer service was great. Food came out in a timely manner. Setty was my bartender/server, and she was friendly, attentive, and helpful. I relied on her suggestions, and she really came through on the recs. I enjoyed everything I had.

I was going to get a glass of wine, but I couldn't help myself when I saw the cocktail called The Italian Greyhound. Not only was it made by my favorite spirit (gin), but it's named after my favorite breed obviously (I have an Iggy). The drink was sweet and refreshing.

The Polpo Alla Griglia had a perfectly grilled octopus over a cream sauce. I also enjoyed the squid ink gnocchi, which were deep fried. The squid ink flavor was subtle, but I loved how it spruced up the gnocchi. The gnocchi were crispy on the outside but soft and tender on the inside, which was a different take to traditional gnocchi.

Gnudi E Fungi was my main dish. I figured that this would be on the lighter side as it only had 3 dumplings and mushrooms, but it was more filling than I thought because of its rich sauce. The plump ricotta and parmesan dumplings were tasty and unique.

Milan's pistachio Panna Cotta was the best panna cotta I've ever had. Period. The panna cotta cream was smooth and silky.

Found this place in a random plaza (plenty of suburbia parking lot space) via Yelp and decided to give it a try. Walked in for an early dinner at 4:30p (OMAD!) and it was empty. Decor was pleasant aside from a strong bleach smell across the restaurant probably from drenching the bathrooms in cleaning supplies and not airing out in time for dinner service. The bar area is visually appealing, open-aired, chic and bright.

Service was great, food was beautifully presented. Here's what we ordered:

ANTIPASTI - Appetizer:
24 POLPO ALLÁ GRIGLIA
Grilled Spanish octopus, squid ink gnocchi with a bagna cauda sauce
- loved this dish, was perfect to start off our meal and share.

25 PAPPARDELLE PREZZEMOLATE
Slow braised pork in Pinot Grigio, poricini and ricotta salata in a San Marzano tomato sauce
- flavor was wonderful but the pasta were soggy and ended up all clumped in stuck piles which reminded me of cheung fun (rice noodle wraps for shrimp, pork, beef) at dim sum lol!

48 ORECCHIA DI ELEFANTE
Milanese breaded veal chop, Chef's salad
- meat had great flavor, large thin cut. bone-in presentation was fun.

43 OSSOBUCCO DI AGNELLO
Slow braised lamb shank, turips, polenta taragna
- we custom added a duck egg to this dish (+$5 = $48 plate) and it was decadent, good call.

15 BANCHIERE
Piggy Back | Angostura | Orange Bitters | Carpano Antica
- this was a fabulous drink!

12 TARTUFO
Italian truffle mousse | Mocha
- delicious, combination of ingredients was great and all the flavors + fresh fruit were solid accompaniments.

9 House-Made Limoncello
- very good and not too sweet like commercial brands.

We had a great time and I would bring friends here again!

Came here for a Monday date night. We didn't make a reservation, but there was plenty of open seating. Service was good.

We ordered the special spinach salad (with candied pecans, strawberry, orange, yellow nectarine and fruity dressing) to share. They divided it into two plates for us. We each were able to get a pretty decent portion! It was, however, underwhelming. Didn't taste elevated for such a pricey restaurant. I could have made it for myself at home. None of the ingredients were anything special. I actually think I do have all the ingredients in my own fridge if I wanted to make it at home.

For myself, I ordered the lobster basil pasta with vodka sauce (which was also a special). It was excellent! The pasta was al dented, the lobster pieces were delicious, and the sauce was flavorful but not too heavy.

The portion sizes were very respectable and larger than I expected for a fancy restaurant. Since I only tried specials, I think I would come back to check out the regular menu.

And they have warm bread upon request!! Loved that. It was served with some olive oil and balsamic.

Excellent surprise in Willow Glen

Caught up with a colleague and landed on Milan in Willow Glen. Hadn't heard of it, but very glad we visited.

Had the Burrata, Ossobucco, Pappardelle, Tartufo, and Panna Cotta between us. Prosecco for her, as well. Everything was well cooked and food quality was enjoyable. The pork and porcini in the Pappardelle elicited "mmmm"s. My Ossobucco was cooked perfectly with the marrow flavor in the shank just right. The truffle mousse was very nice.

A quiet gem not to miss...

Went to Milan this week for a friends birthday - and if you are looking for a super cute Italian restaurant with awesome service this is the place for you! The interiors here are super cute and parking was quite plentiful. Once our party had gotten here, we all sat down and got:

* beef carpaccio - this was the special that day and came with toasted bread and thin slices of juicy beef which was awesome

* burrata pugliese - this was a yummy cheesy plate of awesome goodies - the cheese was fresh and came with really fresh beets which I loved. The sauce in the bottom was also delicious!

* spaghetti carbonara - this was very light and yummy but I felt it was missing something a little! Overall though, creamy and flavorful

* seafood special - we got this seafood special pasta with salmon, shrimp and calamari, and this was yummy with squid ink pasta! Portions were good as well, however this was $40! So if you are getting a special worth asking the price!

Overall, really good service and a nice spot to visit if you are craving yummy Italian food!

Great food, good drinks, amazing ambiance!

We had a reservation but it wasn't too busy. Sat at the bar and the bread they give you while you wait was sooo soft and yummy! I wanted to ask for more when it was all gone, possible the best complimentary bread I've had at a restaurant. I really enjoyed the pasta here but my friend favored the chicken dish she got. We got the panna cotta for dessert and it was delicious!! All the staff were very amiable! Inside is so pretty it's definitely an instagramable location.

We had a party of about 20 in a private room. Classy place, great service. All of the food was amazing, the specials, salmon, fettuccine, lasagna, apps - calamari, charcuterie board, meatballs, etc. all on point! Parking available in lot. We'll be back!

My partner made a reservation here for our anniversary dinner. The ambiance of this place was pretty nice, the lights are dimmed a bit when we first got inside. More lights turned on once it got darker outside.

We ordered a sampler of the cheeses with dippings (appetizer), Risotto alla Milanese, and a Filet mignon. The cheese sampler with the dips were a bit of a let down for me. I only liked one out of the three cheeses. My partner actually grew to like most of the cheeses. The dips were good. The Risotto alla Milanese was good, but I felt like they could have put more seasoning in it; other than that it was a simple seafood noodle type of dish. My partner got the Filet mignon, he said it was good . Just a tad dry near the end.

We were in no rush to hurry and leave, but I felt like the wait time for our foods--main entrees--took a good while. We were the first few to get there by opening. The appetizer came out within 10 minutes.

Overall, I would go again to try other dishes they have on the menu. Just hoping the wait time for the food isn't as long--the only downside here.

Tried a new place in the neighborhood and it was awesome. I love Italian food and well made Italian food has been super rare in my experience lately which is why when I saw Milan on Yelp, I couldn't wait to try it.

Came here on a Monday evening - things were quiet with couple of tables occupied. We made a reservation but didn't need to due to it being a weekday. The place looked really clean and beautiful and had a great vibe.

The staff was very friendly and welcoming. They don't have a kids menu but they made the most amazing Alfredo pasta for my kid. I loved how flexible they were with their offerings for a child. My kid has never finished a bowl like he did this one :)

We ordered some amazing adult food as well along with some Pinot - the buratta with beets tasted phenomenal. We tried the lamb shank and the gnudi mushroom pasta. The lamb was soft but was a little dry on the outside - this probably changes on a day to day basis. The gnudi was ok. The mushrooms and sauce was great but gnudi itself was ok - together they tasted good.

I am happy to come back here anytime and recommend others to stop by for a good Italian meal!

Came here for a birthday dinner and it was such a good experience! Would 100% come back again for my Italian food cravings.

First impression, the interior was so romantic and elegant.

Service was top notch our waiter was very attentive and made me and my boyfriend laugh a lot lol.

Calamari: 10/10 so yummy, perfectly crisp and juicy and rlly good portion.

Lobster squid ink pasta: 8/10 this was a special they had and it was sooo creamy and delicious. Plentiful amount of lobster and it also comes deshelled which is perfect for those lazy eaters like me lol. Docking down a couple points because the creaminess got a bit too heavy afterwards.

Seafood pasta: 7.5/10 this was my boyfriend's dish and he rlly liked it! Seafood was very flavorful and well cooked. For me it was a bit dry for my liking and could have used more sauce.

Italian custard 7.5/10 this was pretty good and a very cute dessert to end your meal. Custard was a whipped cream texture and was nicely sweetened. Served with strawberry jam and peach sorbet. Docking this down because I thought the strawberry jam was too sweet for my liking.