For aperitivo along the Navigli, start at Rita or Mag Café. For dinner, book Trattoria Bolognese da Mauro for egg pasta rolled in house, or 28 Posti for a produce-driven tasting menu. Every place below is within a quarter hour’s walk of the canals. Together they cover a whole evening.
The short list
9 places, in the order they appear below.
- 01RitaAperitivo with plates that replace dinnerWalk from the Navigli: about 5 min
- 02Mag CaféClassic cocktails in a vintage roomWalk from the Navigli: about 8 min
- 03Backdoor 43A tiny bar booked for a small groupWalk from the Navigli: about 8 min
- 04Trattoria Bolognese da MauroFresh egg pasta and tortellini in brodoWalk from the Navigli: about 7 min
- 0528 PostiA contemporary tasting menuWalk from the Navigli: about 11 min
- 06Enrico Bartolini al MudecA special-occasion dinnerWalk from the Navigli: about 13 min
- 07ContrasteFine dining with a South American accentWalk from the Navigli: about 13 min
- 08IterCountry-themed cocktails and foodWalk from the Navigli: about 9 min
- 09NidabaLive music and jam nightsWalk from the Navigli: about 9 min
Where to go for aperitivo on the Navigli
Our aperitivo shortlist on the canals is Rita, Mag Café and Backdoor 43. Rita sends taglieri and tapas out with the drinks, Mag Café pairs a vintage room with bartenders who take the classics seriously, and Backdoor 43 pours through a back door to a handful of guests at a time.
Rita helped raise the standard of drinking in the area and has settled into a neighbourhood classic with a loyal after-work crowd. Go at aperitivo hour. Your drink arrives with taglieri and tapas from the kitchen, and plenty of regulars treat that spread as their dinner.
Rita
Hours: Mon–Thu 17:30–01:00 · Fri–Sat 17:30–02:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via Angelo Fumagalli, 1, 20143 Milano MI, Italy
Mag Café is mismatched glassware and antique furniture, with bartenders who take the classics seriously. It holds the better end of canal drinking, away from the tourist crush. The same team runs 1930, a members-only speakeasy, and a good night at Mag is often how people start asking about getting in.
Mag Café
Hours: Mon–Fri 08:00–02:00 · Sat–Sun 09:00–02:00
Address: Ripa di Porta Ticinese, 43, 20143 Milano MI, Italy
Backdoor 43 shares Mag’s address and is billed as among the smallest bars anywhere: cocktails go out through a literal back door to a handful of guests at a time. The only way to sit down is to reserve the whole micro room for a small group. Otherwise your drink comes with a canal view and no chair.
Backdoor 43
Hours: Mon–Sun 18:30–02:00
Address: Ripa di Porta Ticinese, 43, 20143 Milano MI, Italy
Where to have dinner near the Navigli
Trattoria Bolognese da Mauro and 28 Posti are our dinner picks near the canals: fresh egg pasta in a room that fills every night it opens at the first, concise contemporary Italian cooking in a small, intimate space at the second. Both are within a dozen minutes’ walk of the water. Book ahead at both rather than turning up and hoping.
Da Mauro opened in 1969, when a Bolognese couple came north for factory work and brought fresh egg pasta with them. Their sons, Ruggero and Daniele, run it now. The walls are covered in napkin drawings left by musicians, Bruce Springsteen and Phil Collins among them. Order the tagliatelle al ragù and the tortellini in brodo to share, and leave room for the fried gnocco, which arrives before anything else.
Trattoria Bolognese da Mauro
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Fri 20:00–23:00 · Sat–Sun 12:30–14:00, 20:00–23:00
Address: Via Elia Lombardini, 14, 20143 Milano MI, Italy
28 Posti is a low-lit room with furniture built by former inmates through a social project. The plates are ambitious and driven by produce, more so than the size of the place suggests. Choose the tasting menu over à la carte, and mention any dietary needs when you reserve: the kitchen is compact and adapts better with notice.
28 Posti
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sat 19:30–22:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via Corsico, 1, 20144 Milano MI, Italy
Where to book a special dinner near the Navigli
Enrico Bartolini al Mudec is where we go when the meal is the occasion: a precise, modern Italian tasting menu inside the Mudec museum in Tortona, in a quietly luxurious room with a decade of influence on Milan’s high-end dining. Contraste, in a discreet Porta Romana townhouse, is the alternative.
The dish to know at Bartolini is the red risotto with rosemary and sour lemon sauce. Lunch is a slightly gentler way into the kitchen than the full evening menu. Dress the part.
Enrico Bartolini al Mudec
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sat 12:30–14:00, 19:30–22:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via Tortona, 56, 20144 Milano MI, Italy
Contraste cooks a personal, technically exact Italian menu with a South American accent. Of the two tasting menus, the shorter savoury one is plenty, and the sommelier’s by-the-glass pairing makes for a more interesting evening than choosing a bottle.
Contraste
Hours: Mon–Fri 19:30–00:00 · Sat–Sun 12:30–15:00, 19:30–00:00
Address: Via Giuseppe Meda, 2, 20136 Milano MI, Italy
Where to go after dinner on the Navigli
After dinner, we split the evening two ways: an inventive cocktail at Iter or live music at Nidaba, both about nine minutes’ walk from the Navigli. Iter suits curious drinkers who like a menu built on a concept. Nidaba is for anyone who would rather stand near a stage than sit at a bar.
Every several months Iter picks a new country and rebuilds its drinks list, its food and often its décor around it, so even regulars never quite know what they’ll find. Check the current theme before you go. The kitchen follows it too.
Iter
Hours: Mon–Thu 12:00–00:00 · Fri–Sat 12:00–01:30 · Sun 12:00–00:00
Address: Via Mario Fusetti, 1, 20143 Milano MI, Italy
Nidaba is a small, warm room for live sets and jam sessions, with beer and food between acts. Aim for an open jam night, when local musicians turn up to play. Expect standing room and a loose, unticketed crowd.
Nidaba
Hours: Mon–Tue closed · Wed 19:40–02:00 · Thu–Sat 20:00–02:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via Emilio Gola, 12, 20143 Milano MI, Italy
Which Navigli spot suits which part of the evening
The simplest plan is to give each place a moment: Rita, Mag Café or Backdoor 43 for aperitivo, Da Mauro or 28 Posti for dinner, Bartolini or Contraste when the meal is the occasion, and Iter or Nidaba late in the night. Walking times in the table are from the Navigli.
Think of the list as one evening in three stages: a drink before dinner, a proper meal, then music or a last cocktail. Reserve the restaurants before you reach Milan, especially Da Mauro and the two tasting-menu kitchens, and book Backdoor 43 if you want a seat. Several places close on Mondays and Sundays, so check each card before you plan a route. Everything here is a short walk from the canals, and the stroll along the water between stops is part of the evening.
