In depth
Sweet Milan: pasticcerie, panettone and the morning coffee
Cova since 1817, Biffi since 1847, Cucchi since 1936: the counters where Milan starts its day.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Pasticceria Marchesi 1824Milan does some of its finest work at the counter: an espresso, a pastry, then out into the day. The city’s pasticcerie are among its oldest businesses, several still trading where they began, and in December they turn to panettone. Here is where to find them.
Milan does some of its finest work at the counter. A coffee, a pastry, a word with the barista, and the day begins. The city’s pasticcerie are among its oldest businesses, several still trading in the rooms where they began, and between November and Christmas they give themselves over to panettone. Here is where to find them.
The grand old names
Cova has served Milan since 1817, in its own words, on Via Montenapoleone: pastries, chocolates, coffee and its own panettone, in the heart of the Quadrilatero. Marchesi 1824 has three shops in the city, on Via Santa Maria alla Porta near the Last Supper, in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and on Via Monte Napoleone.
Pasticceria Biffi was founded by Paolo Biffi in 1847 in Porta Vercellina, at the far end of the Corso Magenta, and has never moved. It opens every day from 7am to 8.30pm, for breakfast, a working lunch or an aperitivo in the old style.
The 20th-century classics
Sant Ambroeus opened on Corso Giacomo Matteotti in 1936; in 2022 the designer Fabrizio Casiraghi reimagined the rooms with traditional Milanese materials, and it is now coffee bar, gelateria, pasticceria and restaurant in one. In the same year, 1936, Pasticceria Cucchi opened at the top of Corso Genova, where it turned ninety in 2026.
South of the Navigli, Gattullo has baked on Piazzale di Porta Lodovica since 1961, with biscuits, seasonal cakes and colombe at Easter; it closes on Mondays. Behind the Duomo, Luini has been a bakery since 1888 on Via Santa Radegonda, open Monday to Saturday.
Biffi has never moved: it still trades in the place where it opened in 1847.
Panettone
From November, Milan’s counters fill with panettone. Biffi has followed the same precise recipe since 1847, one it sees no need to change. Peck, the food hall on Via Spadari since 1883, sells its own at Christmas, Marchesi’s arrives in November, and Pasticceria Martesana, with shops on Via Paolo Sarpi and Piazza Sant’Agostino, is another name to know.
Coffee, new and old
Two cafés show how far Milanese coffee culture stretches. Bar Luce, in the entrance building of the Fondazione Prada, was designed by the film director Wes Anderson after the Milanese cafés of the 1950s and 1960s, with pinball machines and a jukebox. Cafezal, a Milanese roaster of specialty coffee, opened its first shop in 2018 on Via Solferino in Brera.
Gelato
In summer the counters turn to gelato. Gelato Giusto makes its gelato every day in its workshop on Via San Gregorio, near Porta Venezia, on an entirely plant-based base. Sant Ambroeus has its own gelateria, and Cioccolati Italiani makes both gelato and chocolate.
Our advice: take your morning coffee standing at the counter, as the Milanese do, and pair it with a visit nearby (Biffi or Marchesi before the Last Supper, Cova before the Quadrilatero). Come in November or December for panettone, and check closing days: Gattullo closes on Mondays and Luini on Sundays.
Why it's on our list
- The grand old names
- The 20th-century classics
- Panettone
- Coffee, new and old
- Gelato
- Our advice
Location
The map comes from Google Maps, which sets its own cookies once it loads.
More in depth
In depthThe Milanese aperitivo: from the Galleria to the NavigliCamparino since 1915, the Sbagliato at Bar Basso, old bottiglierie and the canals at dusk.
The back storyPalazzo hotels and the fashion houses’ own addresses: the grand hotels of MilanPalazzo hotels, grand hotels and Porta Nuova: where to stay.
The back storyThe Duomo, the Last Supper and La Scala: how to read MilanThe cathedral, the Last Supper, the castle and La Scala.