Pinch

The best of a night at several bars on the Navigli. Read my profile and my reviews, you’ll find that I am a pretty experienced booze hound. Pinch is a total replica of American hipster craft cocktail bars, in Milan. The bartenders wear suspenders and do tricks with shakers. I’m waiting for an ironic mustache, preferably like the Moretti guy has.
The drinks are exceptional. When I was there, they had one made of green tomatoes and mountain pine liqueur that was a taste party in my mouth. The aperitivo snacks are also really excellent, a small tray of various interesting crunchy things. No potato chips — we’re talking samosas in wonton wrappers with sweet chili sauce, Indian curry rice, a ham-​arugula roll, and baba ghanoush. My second drink didn’t quite match the first, but it was close.
Also, the only bar in Milan that gave me *zero* grief about wanting a simple glass of tap water. In fact, they just give you one. Mega bonus points for that. I’m sick of paying for «aqua panna Toscana» that I neither need nor want. Been drinking Milan tap water in my hotel room for four days now. It’s fine. Pour it on.
Food offerings from the regular menu are a little hit or miss, but on the other hand, I had kind of stuffed myself with aperitivo. Had I been hungry, might’ve been a different story.

Excellent atmosphere with wonderful traditional cocktails… really recommend the fish and chips served with tartar sauce and sarsons vinegar… real old style… hamburgers and sandwiches like a BLT excellent… great plate of «antipasti» when you order Adri k. highly recommend it

E’ il secondo locale sul Naviglio che reputo all’altezza delle mie papille adibite ai cocktail (ho papille create appositamente :°D)
Atmosfera anni 30, locale bellissimo, luci offuscate, fa anche ristorazione ma io ci vado sempre per i loro particolari cocktail, eccellenti ma forse un po’ «piccoli». Devo centellinare i sorsi, 10cl in più e sarebbero perfetti.

Another perfect cocktails bar in Navigli! And yet I thought this Milanese neighborhood was only filled with bars with bad & cheap drinks, loud music and greasy aperitivo food (well, there are plenty of bars like that but thankfully not all of them).
Pinch is a new bar right in Ripa di Porta Ticinese, not in the pedestrian part of the Naviglio, which means they don’t have outside seating — except for the tables at the windows. It has a retro vibe, as if you entered a 1920s bar, dim lights, soft 1920’s music; elegant but not ostentatious atmosphere.
The cocktails list has about 15 signature cocktails, all with an explanation of the alcoholic level (medium or high), taste (fresh, spicy, bitter, etc.) and of course the ingredients, classic cocktails with a twist, made extremely well, with good ingredients. They also have a food menu but I didn’t check it out since we were there for the aperitivo — which then turned into after-​dinner drinks.
I had the «South of the Border» with tequila, chartreuse vert, lime juice, sugar syrup and fresh mint, it was fresh and delicious, then I had another one and another one… just to be sure they were made perfectly ;)
For the aperitivo, our cocktails were 8 euro each and the waiter (who looked like Robert Pattinson) brough a small tray with some snacks: rice and salad in small glasses, chips, mini-​sandwiches and a couple of vol-​au-​vents — not enough to fill our stomachs completely but also not the average greasy aperitivo food.
Nice staff, a full bar with quality bottles and clean bathrooms complete the experience.
Too bad it’s far from my house, but worth the subway trip back!