PAPER MOON GIARDINO

MILAN FASHION WEEK’S RESTAURANT

Paper Moon Giardino is probably the only restaurant you will ever see during Milan fashion week boasting a queue of Gucci-clad, Birkin-armed, impatient high-society denizens, knocking on the door before opening hour strikes. The place is a feast for the eyes, the stomach and the soul.

Afavourite with locals and tourists alike, Paper Moon restaurants have been a family affair since 1977, with several venues around the world. Yet the jewel in the crown, to our mind, is Paper Moon Giardino. Opened in 2018, it faired through the pandemic unscathed. And it’s no wonder. The place is a feast for the eyes, the stomach and the soul.

The building, a former residence of a noble family, is a sprawling high-ceilinged, frescoed haven, designed by Hong Kong powerhouse ab concept, who made a point of preserving the original layout in order to create an atmosphere of cosiness and home, combining traditional elements of Italian architecture with effortlessly elegant modern furnishings in tones of lunar-grey, silver and white.

Past the bar foyer (where we recommend you pit stop for a signature Negroni), you’ll find yourself in the parlour room, presided over by a wall collage of golden age film stars… and Timothée Chalamet; to the left, through the velvet-clad Grand Salon, is a former library, where the bookshelf is now a wine cabinet boasting the finest Italian vineyards. We recommend you go for the small producer, like Bruzzone, an exquisite Tuscan red to pair with the signature veal Milanese, or Robespierre, a mouth-watering seared sirloin with rosemary and peppercorn. In the warmer season, on the terrace – secluded by an ivy-laced walled garden – you can delight yourself with luncheon over a crispy Sicilian white, and the all-star favourite, Battuto di Gamberi Rossi, pounded red shrimp served with red apple puree: a ‘marmalade from the sea’ as one regular gushingly dubbed it. And their grilled scampi, delivered straight from Genoa, is unrivalled. But these are only the beginnings of a gastronomic fantasy menu that showcases forty exquisite dishes, catering to every conceivable palate, whether gourmand, vegan or carnivore, or the native Milanese, ever-demanding of only the finest quality - something in which Paper Moon Giardino excels with elan.