Milan Restaurant Review: Ristorante Giacomo and Cocktails at the Armani Hotel

Rounding out my recent trip in Italy, we spent our last two nights staying at the Park Hyatt Milan. For our first night we had tickets to the Beyonce concert so we got a quick bite to eat beforehand at the hotel and had a few drinks before heading over to the Mediolanum Forum. For our second night in Milan and our final night in Italy, we wanted to go to one last nice dinner to indulge in some more delicious Italian food.

I took a reader’s recommendation and decided on having dinner at Ristorante Giacomo. As many reviews say, Giacomo is “the place to see and be seen” and I would have to agree since we were sitting right next to famous fashion designer and TV star Michael Kors for the duration of our meal.

Designed by the famous Italian architect Renzo Mongiardino, the restaurant had a nice casual atmosphere with good energy. While the staff was friendly and accommodating, they barely spoke English so it was hard to communicate with them, and our order got a bit mixed up at one point with a starter platter of oysters coming after the first course instead of as an aperitif, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying a delicious meal.

I started my meal off with a light shrimp and onion chowder. There was a ton of shrimp in the dish and it had a really great rich flavor thanks to the onion. It was both hearty but also light.

Next we ordered a plate of oysters, which were amazing. I am a big fan of oysters, but can be picky about the type and size. These were perfect and really fresh – the presentation was simple with just some lemon wedges for seasoning, but they didn’t need anything else.

For my main course I chose the lobster that came with tomato, onions, and mixed greens. Northern Italy is known for heavier, creamy dishes, but this was just delicious with fresh lobster meet, crunch spring greens and a light dressing that just all worked together beautifully.

We also decided to order the monkfish as a table, and that was the showstopper. It was presented to the table whole so we could inspect the fish and then our server dished it out tableside in individual portions for us. It was a fun little piece of old-school dining showmanship, and the fish itself was tender, juicy and in a delicious sauce with cherry tomatoes and olives.

Towards the end of our meal, our waiter came around with a towering dessert cart laden with all kinds of tarts, pies, cakes, cookies and fresh fruit.

Even though we were pretty full, the desserts looked too good too pass up, so I ordered a piece of the custard pie that was topped with fresh blackberries and raspberries. It was rich, but also light (well, for a dessert) and was the perfect way to cap off the meal.

Finally, before being served the bill, we were also given a complimentary plate of petits fours, which were all really tasty, including a mini custard tart with berries and a little chocolate ganache bite. Overall it ended up being about 100 EUR a head after several dishes and some decent wine, definitely on the more expensive side but I thoroughly enjoyed each of the courses and would highly recommend dining here.

Once we were through with dinner we made our way over to the Armani Hotel on Via Manzoni for a night cap. Again, this was pricier than most places with drinks being around 15 EUR each but we only stayed for a little bit to see what it was like.  The hotel is know for its elegant homegrown Italian fashion-inspired style, diligent service and swinging nightlife scene in the bar. The hotel has 95 guest rooms and suites, and the nightly rate of a standard room is about 495 EUR ($650) per night, so it’s definitely a splurge, but if you’re going to Milan, why not stay in the city’s premier fashion hotel?

After such a great weekend getting to experience Florence and Milan, ending our trip with a nice meal and a few drinks at a chic hotel was perfect, though I was surprised how empty the bar was- there was just one other table in the huge place.

I look forward to my next trip to Italy, though I’m not sure what part I would like to visit next. I always love taking suggestions from my readers so feel free to comment below with your favorite Italian destinations!