Posted on 30th June 2009

Arguably the best seafood restaurant in Milan, Il Sambuco keeps delighting Milaneses with its refined seafood cuisine since its opening in 1993.

Situated at the edge of Milan’s Chinatown, at ground floor of the Hotel Hermitage, Il Sambuco (in Italian the name of a shrub that grows in the lands of the Delta del Po, the Adriatic region from which the cuisine takes inspiration) welcomes visitors with a genuinely pleasant atmosphere, elegant and relaxed at the same time.

The menu is very well structured, with several starters, a selection of fresh pastas and risotti, a dozen main courses and some traditional desserts.

I would recommend to start with a mixed platter of starters, both cold and hot, since there is not a single starter that stands out, but several starters, such as tuna tartare, marinated salmon with smoked salt and citrus fruits, or even the shrimps salad, which deserve a bite.

At main course, one obvious choice is to go with the exquisite (but obscenely expensive, 50 Euro) deep fried fish, one of the bests you can have in Milan beyond any reasonable doubt.

If spending fifty euros for a single dish appalls you, there are many other viable alternatives, including fresh, home-made pasta dishes (in particular, the buckwheat pasta with amberjack fish, asparagus, anchovy sauce at 18 Eur) or even more reasonably priced main courses, such as the delicious grilled cod-fish with stuffed ravioli (30 Eur) or the fantastic salad with white beans, scampi tails and sweet onions (35 Eur), a dish which is both extremely tasty and refreshing.

In any case, expect the freshest ingredients and a top notch preparation and presentation.

The line-up of desserts includes some of the most traditional Italian desserts, including a truly yummy Cassata.

However, paradoxically enough, the plat fort here is no seafood. On Mondays, starting from October until the end of winter season, Il Sambuco offers a selection of mixed boiled meats, a typical Northern Italian dish.

I can’t really say how good it is, saying it is the best bollito misto I have ever had in my life would be the very banality, but that’s about it. No wonder that Monday nights at Il Sambuco have become immensely popular among Milanese foodies, don’t forget to book in advance to try it.

Thumbs up to the Maccanti family, who runs the place, for keeping the highest standards time after time at Il Sambuco.

Address: Via Messina, 10 (at Hotel Hermitage) – 20154 Milano

Tel.: 02.33610333

Website: http://www.ilsambuco.it/