In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The places named for risotto alla milanese by the most of the publishers counted are Ratanà (23), Masuelli San Marco (17), Trippa (9), and Antica Trattoria della Pesa and Trattoria del Nuovo Macello (7 each). The dish is saffron risotto with bone marrow, and it comes alongside ossobuco. For a cheaper plate, go at lunch on a weekday: Ratanà’s schiscëta is €24 and Trattoria del Nuovo Macello’s working lunch is €23. Trippa is closed on Saturdays and Sundays and the Pesa on Sundays. Or book a class: the pasta and tiramisu classad is from €39.50 (GetYourGuide).
📊 The evidence behind this guide. Nothing here is ranked on one visit. The counts are the publishers, among 654 list pages from 2022 on, that name the place within a few lines of the dish: 103 English-language publishers and 49 Italian-language publishers, the English and Italian counts shown apart. Milan-only guide sites without a named newsroom, tour operators, directories and the venues’ own sites are not counted. How the guides are made
What the dish is
Risotto alla milanese is risotto with saffron and bone marrow, midollo di bue, called riso giallo in Milan. It is eaten as a first course or served with ossobuco, veal shank cut across the bone and braised. The earliest recipe tied to it is a 16th-century story of a Flemish glass-painter at work on the Duomo’s windows, and the name “risotto alla milanese giallo” appears in Luraschi’s 1829 cookbook. The classic recipe uses bone marrow, so ask if you do not eat meat.
Risotto alla milanese with an ossobuco on top, the way the two are served together. Photo: pier, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Cotoletta alla milanese is veal, breaded and fried in butter. The traditional form is a bone-in loin chop, and a thinner boneless cutlet is the newer variant. Cassoeula is the winter stew of pork and cabbage.
The places named for risotto alla milanese
| Place | Sources | English | Italian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ratanà | 23 | 17 | 6 |
| Masuelli San Marco | 17 | 11 | 6 |
| Trippa | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| Antica Trattoria della Pesa | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| Trattoria del Nuovo Macello | 7 | 3 | 4 |
The English lists send visitors to Ratanà, 17 publishers against 6 in Italian. The Italian lists name Trattoria del Nuovo Macello slightly more often than the English ones, 4 against 3.
The restaurants
Ratanà
Via Gaetano de Castillia 28, Isola · open every day, lunch and dinner · kitchen 12:00 to 16:00 and 18:00 to 23:30 · Michelin Selected · Cited for risotto by 23 sources (17 English, 6 Italian) · ratana.it
Cesare Battisti cooks Milanese and Lombard dishes as the city eats them now, with the menu changing as ingredients come and go. It is also the place the lists name most for ossobuco (14: 9 English, 5 Italian). On weekdays the schiscëta at lunch is a single dish with a glass of wine, water and coffee for €24, and the tasting menu is €85 without drinks. Commenters on Reddit’s r/milano say dinner is always full, so book.
Masuelli San Marco
Viale Umbria 80 · Slow Food Chiocciola · Cited for risotto by 17 sources (11 English, 6 Italian)
A family trattoria in the south of the city that is named first for cotoletta (13: 8 English, 5 Italian) and second for risotto (17) and for ossobuco (13). Slow Food’s Osterie d’Italia 2026 gives it the Chiocciola, its snail mark.
Antica Trattoria della Pesa
Viale Pasubio 10 · Monday to Saturday, lunch 12:30 to 14:30 and dinner 19:00 to 23:00, closed Sunday · Cited for risotto by 7 sources (5 English, 2 Italian) · anticatrattoriadellapesa.com
Open since 1880 in the building where goods through the old Porta Comasina were weighed for the toll. The menu lists risotto alla milanese, risotto al salto and the risotto of the day, ossobuco with risotto alla milanese, costoletta alla milanese and cazzoeula with polenta. The room keeps its majolica stoves and old signs.
Trattoria del Nuovo Macello
Via Cesare Lombroso 20 · Monday to Friday working lunch €23 · Michelin Selected · Slow Food Chiocciola · Cited for risotto by 7 sources (3 English, 4 Italian)
The Italian lists name it for cotoletta, 9 against 2 in English, and for ossobuco (9: 3 English, 6 Italian). It holds both a Chiocciola and a place in the Michelin Guide. The working lunch is the cheap way in.
Trippa
Via Giorgio Vasari 1, Porta Romana · Monday to Thursday 19:15 to 23:30, Friday 12:30 to 14:30 and 19:15 to 23:30, closed Saturday and Sunday · Michelin Bib Gourmand · Cited for risotto by 9 sources (7 English, 2 Italian) · trippamilano.it
A trattoria whose menu changes every day. It is closed all weekend, and the kitchen stops at 22:30 on weekday evenings.
Osteria Conchetta
Via Conchetta 8, near the Naviglio Pavese · Tuesday to Friday dinner 19:00 to 23:00, Saturday and Sunday lunch 12:30 to 14:30 and dinner 19:30 to 23:00 · osteriaconchetta.it
The restaurant that commenters on Reddit’s r/milano pick for cotoletta, in a thread where they chose between it, Osteria Brunello and two others. Its menu runs from brasato and risotti to cassoeula and ossobuco.
Cotoletta and ossobuco
| Place | Cotoletta | English | Italian | Ossobuco | English | Italian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masuelli San Marco | 13 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 9 | 4 |
| Ratanà | 8 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 5 |
| Trattoria del Nuovo Macello | 9 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| Antica Osteria il Ronchettino | 8 | 1 | 7 | |||
| Osteria Brunello | 8 | 3 | 5 | |||
| Antica Trattoria della Pesa | 7 | 5 | 2 |
Antica Osteria il Ronchettino is at Via Lelio Basso 9 and Michelin Selected, and the Italian lists name it for cotoletta (7 against 1 in English).
Plan the rest
Where to eat in Milan has the counts for every kind of food, aperitivo in Milan covers the early evening and panettone the Christmas cake. Milan food tours compares the guided walks and the pasta classes, and 3 days in Milan fits a long lunch to the sights.
Common questions
What is risotto alla milanese?
Risotto made with saffron and bone marrow, called riso giallo, yellow rice, in Milan. It can be eaten on its own or served as the side for ossobuco, the braised veal shank.
Where do the most lists send you for risotto alla milanese?
Ratanà, named for the dish by 23 of the publishers counted (17 English, 6 Italian), then Masuelli San Marco with 17, Trippa with 9, and Antica Trattoria della Pesa and Trattoria del Nuovo Macello with 7 each.
What is risotto al salto?
Risotto alla milanese fried in a pan the next day into a crisp cake. Antica Trattoria della Pesa lists it on its menu, and also with sautéed kidney.
Is risotto alla milanese vegetarian?
The classic recipe uses bone marrow, so ask before you order.
Where can I eat a cheaper lunch of Milanese cooking?
On weekdays at lunch. Ratanà's schiscëta, a single dish with a glass of wine, water and coffee, is €24, and Trattoria del Nuovo Macello's working lunch is €23, Monday to Friday.
Where do I eat cotoletta alla milanese?
The lists name Masuelli San Marco most often, with 13 publishers, then Trattoria del Nuovo Macello with 9, and Antica Osteria il Ronchettino and Osteria Brunello with 8 each. Commenters on Reddit's r/milano pick Osteria Conchetta and Trattoria del Nuovo Macello.
