Diners outside the Il Marchesino restaurant.

©Stephanie Ong/Lonely Planet

Il Marchesino

Duomo & San Babila


Gualtiero Marchesi, one of Italy’s most revered chefs, presides over a traditional dining room at La Scala. Chairs upholstered in deep crimson evoke the concert hall, as do musical notes cascading across white china. The menu is similarly traditional: baccalà (cod) with baked polenta, vitello tonnato (veal with tuna mayonnaise) and saffron risotto served with a garnish of real gold-leaf.


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