Good Asian food in Milan goes well past Via Paolo Sarpi. It runs from a street window in Chinatown to a fourteen-seat edomae bar in Porta Venezia, and the bill can be tiny or very large. Hand-folded ravioli eaten on the pavement sit at the bottom, ramen, dim sum and Sichuan rooms fall in the middle, and polished Chinese and Japanese tables take the top. Our picks below cover every level.
The short list
9 places, in the order they appear below.
- 1Ravioleria SarpiRavioli eaten standingPrice band: €Chinatown
- 2Le Nove ScodelleFiery Sichuan noodlesPrice band: €€NoLo
- 3Casa RamenTonkotsu ramenPrice band: €€Isola
- 4Mu DimsumSoup dumplings in a groupPrice band: €€Centrale
- 5Ba RestaurantCantonese with tea or winePrice band: €€€De Angeli
- 6BentotecaItalian-Japanese small platesPrice band: €€€Porta Genova
- 7Sushi Matsu OmakaseEdomae omakasePrice band: €€€€Porta Venezia
- 8Gong Oriental AttitudePeking duck ordered aheadPrice band: €€€€Porta Venezia
- 9Wicky's Innovative Japanese CuisineJapanese and Sri Lankan tastingPrice band: €€€€Centro
How much does an Asian meal in Milan cost?
The cheapest way in is a plate of ravioli fried to order and eaten on your feet in Chinatown. Noodle shops, dumpling houses and Sichuan kitchens land in the middle band. A step above come the refined Cantonese and Italian-Japanese rooms, and at the top are a glossy Chinese dining room and tasting bars where the chef sets most or all of the meal.
The table sorts our picks by band. The bands are relative, not exact, running from € (cheapest) to €€€€ (highest), so you can match the meal to your budget.
Where to eat cheap Chinese food in Milan
The bill stays lowest at a street window on Via Paolo Sarpi, where you eat standing up. If you want to sit down and still spend little, go to the Sichuan kitchen near Loreto. Hand-made noodles, dumplings and chilli-heavy plates come out to long shared tables.
At Ravioleria Sarpi the ravioli are folded by hand in front of you, filled with good Italian meat and fried or steamed to order. Watch for a fresh batch coming off the pan, order the fried pork ravioli and the cumin bread, and eat them standing on the pavement with everyone else.
Ravioleria Sarpi
Hours: Mon 10:30–15:00, 16:00–22:00 · Tue 10:00–15:00, 16:00–22:00 · Wed 10:30–15:00, 16:00–22:00 · Thu 10:00–15:00, 16:00–22:00 · Fri 10:30–15:00, 16:00–22:00 · Sat–Sun 10:30–22:30
Address: Via Paolo Sarpi, 27, 20154 Milano MI, Italy
The name Le Nove Scodelle means nine bowls, after a Sichuan way of sharing spicy and fermented dishes. Nobody has softened the heat for Milan. Ask how fiery each dish is and order plain white rice on the side. The wooden refectory tables fill with Chinese students and NoLo locals, and they nearly always over-order.
Le Nove Scodelle
Hours: Mon–Sun 12:00–14:30, 18:30–23:00
Address: Viale Monza, 4, 20127 Milano MI, Italy
Where to find good ramen and dim sum in Milan
Two kitchens in the middle band each stick to one thing. In Isola, the ramen shop that broke ground for serious Japanese noodles in Milan simmers its broths for hours. Near Centrale, a plain dim sum room folds and steams every dumpling to order rather than wheeling them round on a trolley.
Casa Ramen is Luca Catalfamo’s small counter, and people queue for the tonkotsu and the seasonal specials. There are no bookings, so arrive early or off peak. Down the road, a more creative sibling experiments with broths and toppings.
Casa Ramen
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Fri 12:30–15:00, 19:00–23:00 · Sat 19:00–23:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via Luigi Porro Lambertenghi, 25, 20159 Milano MI, Italy
Mu Dimsum’s har gow and soup dumplings have earned it a following among Milan’s Chinese community. The room is plain; the baskets are the point. Come in a group so the table can range across steamed and fried, and order plenty of xiao long bao.
Mu Dimsum
Hours: Mon–Thu 12:00–14:30, 19:00–22:30 · Fri–Sat 12:00–14:30, 19:00–22:45 · Sun 12:00–14:30, 19:00–22:30
Address: Via Aminto Caretto, 3, 20124 Milano MI, Italy
Which Asian restaurants in Milan are good for a special dinner?
One band up, the cooking gets more personal and the drinks list starts to matter. In De Angeli, a family-run Cantonese room plays the refined counterpart to the canteens on Sarpi, with a serious wine and tea programme behind it. Near Porta Genova, a chef who closed his fine dining restaurant now cooks Italian and Japanese side by side, loosely and without the usual fusion clichés.
Ba Restaurant cooks dim sum and roast meats properly, and the same family keeps one of the city’s better Chinese wine and tea programmes. Build the meal around the dim sum and let the staff pair a tea or a wine with it.
Ba Restaurant
Hours: Mon 19:15–23:30 · Tue–Sun 12:15–14:30, 19:15–23:30
Address: Via Raffaello Sanzio, 22, 20149 Milano MI, Italy
Bentoteca is Yoji Tokuyoshi’s casual room, built around the bento box (a Milanese would call it a schiscetta). Order several small plates instead of one main. Regulars come back for the katsusando with braised veal tongue and green aioli, and for the bone marrow under fermented squid. Sake and wine are both on the list.
Bentoteca
Hours: Mon–Tue closed · Wed–Thu 19:00–23:00 · Fri–Sun 12:30–15:00, 19:00–23:00
Address: Via S. Calocero, 3, 20123 Milano MI, Italy
Where to spend on a high-end Asian dinner in Milan
At the top band, booking ahead matters. Milan has a newer edomae bar off Corso Buenos Aires and a contemporary Chinese room that plates Cantonese and pan-Asian cooking with fine dining polish. There is also a chef who pairs Japanese technique with Sri Lankan spice. At the edomae bar and at Wicky’s counter, you hand the menu over to the kitchen.
Itamae Hirohiko Shimizu and Daigo Wakui work a fourteen-seat horseshoe counter at Sushi Matsu Omakase. The rice comes from Japan, the fish is aged and cut in front of you, and a Himuro ice chamber sits on the wall. You choose nothing. The lunch sitting gives you the same seats and the same two chefs for much less, and it is far easier to book. Eat each nigiri by hand as soon as it lands, while the rice is still warm.
Sushi Matsu Omakase
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sat 13:00–15:00, 19:00–23:15 · Sun closed
Address: Via Alvise Cadamosto, 7, 20129 Milano MI, Italy
Gong Oriental Attitude is Chinese food dressed for an occasion, in a glossy, dark room where the dim sum and the Peking duck are done with precision. Order the Peking duck when you book, because it needs advance notice. The dim sum lunch is a lighter, cheaper way to sample the kitchen.
Gong Oriental Attitude
Hours: Mon closed · Tue 19:15–23:15 · Wed–Sat 12:30–14:30, 19:15–23:15 · Sun 12:30–14:30, 19:15–23:30
Address: Corso Concordia, 8, 20129 Milano MI, Italy
At Wicky’s, Wicky Priyan cooks at a theatrical counter where Japanese technique meets Sri Lankan spice. Book for the chef’s tasting, a guided run of small, surprising courses. Order à la carte and you lose the sequence.
Wicky's Innovative Japanese Cuisine
Hours: Mon 19:30–00:00 · Tue–Fri 12:30–15:00, 19:30–00:00 · Sat 19:30–00:00 · Sun closed
Address: Corso Italia, 6, 20122 Milano MI, Italy
Pick by budget first, then by neighbourhood, and check each card before you cross town. At the top band, the lunch sittings at Sushi Matsu and Gong are the cheaper way in.
