If you’re looking for a restaurant in Milan to celebrate a special occasion, impress someone, splurge or just because you want to feel like a fancypants, it’s Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia. Not to overuse the word special, but it sums up the restaurant perfectly. It’s such an authentically Milan experience that a meal here should be on everyone’s Milanese bucket list.
Aimo Moroni came to Milan from Tuscany just after World War II and opened a restaurant on the spot where Aimo e Nadia now stands in 1962. It eventually became Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia stands in that very same spot today.
Sitting on a non-descript residential street in what seems the land off yonder, Aimo e Nadia is worth the schlep to this “non-hip” part of town. I’ll never forget the feeling walking into the resaurant for the first time. It was one of those I-can’t-believe-I’m-really-here moments. The minimal white décor serves as a blank slate for the splashes of colors Paolo Ferrari’s artwork.
Today, Aimo e Nadia no longer cook, their daughter Stefania took over the family business and chefs Fabio Pisani and Alessandro Negrini serve elegant Italian regional Italian menu with influences from Aimo’s native Tuscany, but you’ll find nods to all the diverse regions there. Octogenarian Aimo makes regular dining room rounds.
A classic dish that Aimo put on the menu more than 40 years ago is the spring onion spaghetti and it’s on the Grand Tour of Italy tasting menu, but if you ask nicely, they will let you have it a la carte. Another dreamy item is the Etrurian soup, a seasonal minestrone so perfect, pure, vibrant and comforting. (The dessert menu offers a sweet version.)
The vast wine list spans the globe and features well known labels, obscure ancient varietals, biodynamic bottles and several of Italy’s finest.
Spring onion spaghetti photo: Brambilla Serani
