It is rare that people would associate seafood with Milanese cuisine. Hence, I’m surprised that there is actually a really good seafood restaurant in Milan, Italy. Opened for less than nine months, Il Pesciolone has made a name for itself and fast becoming the place for mouthwatering seafood in this fashion capital.

Located in the heart of Isola, Il Pesciolone (The Big Fish in English), is packed to the brim on a Saturday night. My Italian friends and I arrived at the restaurant at 9pm and we had to wait for a while before we got our seats. We were busy taking picture of the decorative fish items hanging from the ceiling while we waited for our table.

Il Pesciolone serves mainly seafood so don’t come to this restaurant expecting to see other meat dishes because they do not have any. Since it’s a party of five, we ordered quite a number of dishes to share.

We started with three different appetisers, Mussels and Clams with Olive Oil, Fried Octopus, and Fried Seafood. These appetisers were simply gorgeous. The Mussels and Clams with Olive Oil are delicious even though it’s simply cooked with olive oil and seasoned with a little salt and lemon. The shellfish was so fresh that it didn’t require much effort to spruce up this dish. I could tell from my friends’ faces that they really enjoyed every bite.

The Fried Octopus with Capers, Olives, Tomatoes, Rosemary and White Wine, is out of this world. The octopus was succulent and the flavour was simply excellent with the use of common Mediterranean ingredients such as the capers, olives, tomatoes and rosemary.

But my favourite has to be the Fried Seafood that consists of squids and anchovies. The seafood is sliced thinly and coated with flour before it’s fried till a golden brown. All you need is a dash of lemon juice to bring out the delectable taste of the fried squid and anchovies. It was so good that we had to fight over the last piece!

For the pasta dish, we had the Pasta Pappardelle with Swordfish, Clams, Shrimps and Cream Sauce, and Pasta Pappardelle with Redfish and Tomatoes. The pasta was executed perfectly in true Italian style – al dente. It was firm yet every piece of pasta was coated evenly with a thin layer of the sauce in which it was cooked with. I particularly enjoyed the Pasta Pappardelle with Redfish and Tomatoes because the sauce is lighter and it compliments the broader flat pasta nicely. Having said that, the Pasta Pappardelle with Swordfish, Clams, Shrimps and Cream Sauce was equally good. It’s not overly creamy, hence, it doesn’t come across as too heavy.

But the star attraction for that night was the Fish of the Day, Flounder fish, grilled with olive oil and parsley. Served in a steel iron hot plate, the fish is simply prepared but the taste is nothing short of extraordinary. The fish meat was firm and fresh and it tasted greatly with its light seasoning.

As usual, a meal is not complete with a good course of dessert. The Mixed Berries with Mascarpone Cheese is a simple dessert of topping a bowl of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries with a scoop of ultra smooth mascarpone cheese. Those who love mascarpone cheese will enjoy this thoroughly. The waitress was so kind to offer us extra cheese when she saw us cleaning the cheese off faster than the berries.

The Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese has an interesting twist to the traditional carrot cake. Instead of a slice, the carrot cake is executed to look like two pieces of carrot cake cookies with a layer of cream cheese in between them. More cream cheese and walnuts were added on top of the ‘cake’. This cake is soft and it’s great for those who are conscious of their weights.

Il Pesciolone is definitely a must-visit restaurant if you love seafood. It’s no surprise that it has become a popular place for the locals and international visitors.

Il Pesciolone
via Pietro Borsieri,
27
, 20159 Milan
tel. +39 02 3956 6010
www.ilpesciolone.it