El Brellin

Food was unacceptable and the service was slow. Wine was terrible. We had a large group and everyone was disappointed.

I’ll keep this short: it looks nice, it’s in one of the cutest corners along the Navigli, and it offers a gorgeous outdoor seating area. The food? It’s just alright, it wouldn’t be my first option for authentic Milanese cuisine. If you’re in the area, just lose yourself in the crowd and go for pizza and birra instead, but that’s just me.

This place was mentioned on a Milan food blog and was near our hotel. We were looking for a traditional Italian dining experience. It’s a very nice looking, classy restaurant with exposed beams, and great service. The food was good though very heavy and rich. It also came out rather quickly while we were used to a slower pace of dining by the end of our trip. There were a fair amount of tourists in there through Italians as well. I’m no expert on how authentic it was, you will have a nice time here.

Busy place, so come in prepared to wait.
Small normal size portions however filling.
As seen in the pictures the ravioli is about the size of a dumpling!
The taglierini was perfect a bit much on the sauce,
The formaggi plate was great and the mozzarella do buffala is always welcome!

Here’s the thing about El Brellin, if you want to get a taste of local food prepared the way locals love, this place is it.
I would give it 5 stars for being an authentic, well-​loved, local joint. However, just 3 stars because I guess I’m not that into milanese cuisine.

Exatamente perfeito… Tanto para uma boa taça de espumante quanto para um jantar!
Em um dos mais badalados pontos turistas de Milão, ao longo do Naviglio este restaurante e bar faz toda a diferença!
Funcionários corteses sempre prontos a atender e satisfazer a clientela!
Super indico!!!

Horrible food!!!, we ordered linguine pasta with swordfish for starter, the fish smelled real bad and the taste was even worse, and for main dish we ordered T-​bone steak and Milanese cutlet. The T-​bone was all fat and very greasy the breaded cutlet was dry and tasteless. After taking a bite of it we had to send it back. We ended up not eating any of the food they brought, that’s how bad it was. We had to cancel the rest of order too. The manager was the highlight of this joint. First off he was so rude, Instead of taking these items off the bill he insisted that their food was perfect and we were charged for these outrageous low quality dishes. Anyways we ended up paying for the food we sent back & barely touched. All tourist and visitors be ware of this joint. It’s horrible.

This famous restaurant is definitely classy and produces the classic Milanese cuisine. Unfortunately, the fried meat and golden risotto is not really my thing. It was worth coming here once to experience it but we’ve since branched out to other local establishments.

Classy restaurant, quality food, professional staff. Navigli area was busy on Saturday night when we had dinner. Restaurant has an upper floor and is quite large. Started off with a small refreshing glass of prosecco. Wine menu had a wide range of prices and quite a few half bottle options. Had beef carpaccio and cold cuts to start, then spaghetti or linguine carbonara and lasagna with pesto and toasted pine nuts, then beef fillet, ossobucco with risotto alla Milanese, and Cotoletta alla milanese. The pasta carbonara seemed a bit too salty for us but noodle texture was night. Lasagna was very good. I love toasted pine nuts. Fillet medium rare was red and excellent, topped with foie gras and a slice of black truffle. Ossobucco and risotto were excellent. Cotoletta was ok (not a big fan in general, just ordered for guests to taste) but quality was excellent for what it is. Came with fresh potato chips. Finished with a delicious tiramisu. Didn’t see a section for side dishes on the menu, but didn’t ask either. Would have loved a side of vegetables with all this rich food. Didn’t try any of the salads. Wonderful place. Would come back again. Was able to make a reservation online. No high chairs.

Aperitivo au top!
Dans cette ravissante maison au bord du canal, tout près des vieux lavoirs, cet endroit a un charme fou. On pénètre dans un ravissant bar/​café meublé avec goût. Le patron et la serveuse sont ultra sympathiques («oh j’ai pas de monnaie, vous non plus, bon ben on arrondit, ça me fait plaisir!»). Des petites bougies, un beau parquet, des meubles vintages, c’est chaleureux. On picore gentiment à l’aperitivo, à volonté, de bonnes petites choses toutes simples (pizzas, salade, cornichons aigre douce, mortadelle et charcuterie, galettes de riz au safran). Le spritz de la maison, à la bière, est excellent.

Really great location next to the canal… this is a very fun area of Milan. The restaurant has a very relaxed vibe and is a bit isolated by the foliage surrounding the outside patio. We had the fried zucchini flowers for an appetizer, which were good, but a bit greasy. I had the lasagna, which had good flavor and was filling. They had a cool dessert of grappa and chocolate. Overall, the food was decent, but the ambiance was really what I will remember fondly about this restaurant.

Located on the canals of Milan, we came here and met up with several friends who were also in town. We sat in the back room, which was very nice and quiet and classy.
We ordered tons of appetizers and I ordered the steak with foie gras and truffles and my wife ordered the oso bucco. Needless to say my dish was so good, we ended up swapping and she was very happy.
I strongly suggest coming here. After dinner we walked along the canal and had gelato. This is a real cool spot to come if in town. It seems to be quite popular.

Recommended by concierge at The Yard. Enchanting location. Something out of a story book. Great atmosphere inside and outside.
Zucchini flowers app excellent. Zucchini flowers lightly battered and deep fried served with layers of prosciutto.
Taggloine porcini. Very fresh tasting and full of porcini.
Rissoto Classico with bone marrow. Classic millieanese.
Finished with café correta.
Food was great. Service was just really slow. And they brought the wrong dish out the first time. Overall a good restaurant option on the river.

Cadre sympathique et chargé d’histoire, bonne cuisine mais prix qui s’envolent sans qu’on sache pourquoi :-)

In a great location as far as nightlife is concerned, however, the meal fell short. The outdoor patio was very nice but service was average. We ordered the burrata for an appetizer which was decent, not the freshest. Our entrees included lasagna and spaghetti. Overall, an average experience.

Das El Brellin liefert traditionelle mailänder Küche im ursprünglichen Sinn.
Sehr gemütliches Interieur, gutes Essen und gute Weine.
Preise sicherlich gehoben aber nicht unverschämt. 4-​Gänge-​Menue (inkl. Espresso und Wein) zu 60EUR.
Bei der Käseplatte war mir die Orangen-​Marmelade (?) zu dominant, das Tiramisu war lecker, aber etwas flüssig in der Konsitenz, wollen wir aber mal nicht zu anspruchsvoll werden.
Auf jeden Fall sehenswert, hingehen und zwar mit einer hübschen Begleitung :)

I can only confirm the view of other visitors: this is a simple place with wooden benches and a large wooden bar with a table with antipasti as you come in. Nothing fancy, but yo uheap what you want on your plate and it costs 5 EUR. The dish with chickpeas was delicious and the wine more than passable.
PS I learned here the differnce between a trattoria and an osteria: in an osteria, you can also just have a drink

Eines der bekanntesten und ältesten Restaurant auf den Navigli. Bietet regionale Küche. Preis/​Leistungsverhältnis eher schlecht. Preise relativ hoch, was aber eben auch an der Gegend liegt. Muss man mal erlebt haben. Über die Weihnachtstage geschlossen.

Lovely little osteria in the Naviglio district in Milan, by the canal. An affordable, honest, friendly restaurant, highly recommendable. The cheeseboard, always a good test of a restaurant, is first-​rate: well selected, balanced, interesting, regional and presented with care and thoughtfulness.