Not far away from the Milan’s iconic landmark, Duomo di Milano, and adjacent

to the Italian departmental store, la Rinascente, is a restaurant highly popular with the Milanese. Fresco & Cimmino is a pizzeria, restaurant and bar. I discovered this place by chance many years ago and since then, I’ve been returning to Fresco & Cimmino every year.

Fresco & Cimmino is packed throughout the day. My last visit was close to 10pm and the restaurant was still packed with diners. This is no surprise especially when they serve great food at very affordable prices. Who, in his/her right mind, would reject such a great value proposition?

I chose to give the pizza a miss when I last visited the restaurant. It’s a decision that I regret till today. When I was there, many diners actually ordered the pizza. I was concerned that I couldn’t finish the entire pizza and decided to give it a miss. Wrong move. So don’t make the same mistake!

Meat lovers will enjoy the delectable Meatballs with Ragu Sauce. Although it is a main course, the portion is good for two to share as an appetiser. The tasty tomato-based ragu sauce adds so much more flavour to the tender meatballs. The lightly seasoned potato is a nice side to the meatballs.

The Spaghetti with Lobster is a must-have for all seafood lovers. Even though the lobster is frozen, it still tastes good. But it is the luscious seafood-based sauce that ultimately makes the pasta dish a star. The sauce is so appetising that it’s hard to fault this pasta dish. The Spaghetti with Lobster is executed so well that seafood lovers will make repeated visits to Fresco & Cimmino just to eat this.

It is unfortunate that the Chicken Breast Escalope with White Wine is a letdown. The chicken meat tastes bland and the white wine sauce has a thick buttery taste, which I really don’t like. I had to add lots of pepper and salt just to finish the chicken.

Thank goodness, the desserts saved the night! The gelato with espresso is heavenly! If you are one of those who can’t have caffeine in the evening, I would strongly recommend you return in the afternoon to have this sinfully good dessert. The Pastry Cream and Cherry Puff should go down well with people who enjoy cream puff. I enjoy the flaky crust most.

Fresco & Cimmino is a mid-tier restaurant that serves good value-for-money food. It’s simple and accessible to most people. For tourists, sometimes, this is exactly what we want. Good value and great taste.

Fresco & Cimmino
Tel. +39 0297374869
www.frescoecimmino.it