D’O

On the outskirts of Milan, a few minutes from the Fiera, is this simple, better, humble restaurant with an eating house feel, where one can lunch as at few Lombard tables. So if solemnities and formality do not matter, if it is about taking pleasure in taste, and this at a laughable price, this establishment aspires to your visit—it even cries out for your presence. For just €12, it offers an unbeatable daily lunch menu, and for 40, plus wines, a gluttonous a la carte menu meant to enthuse the most seasoned gourmets—for the professionalism with which it tends to present itself and develop and, above all, for the immense pleasure that it offers.

The patron, Davide Oldani, is a student, not a disciple, of Gualtiero Marchesi, with whom he spent many years in times when the great master was shaping doctrine in Milan and Italy was following in his footsteps: those of nouvelle cuisine, which he was leading. Afterwards he wandered through other reputed establishments and regions, allowing him to acquire an extensive culture, solid technique and to polish his sense of taste. The fruit of all of this and of his intolerance for pretentiousness is this project—sensible, reasonable, even excessively pragmatic, in which refined succulence and astute classicism reign, in addition to the values already mentioned. And so at D’O, we will eagerly praise a cuisine that views tradition with equilibrium and harmony, whose main goal is that the client leave stuffed to contentment.

The menu is short, some 12 dishes more or less, and appetizing. Clearly Italian in identity, with a manifest academism in its creative form. The caramelized onion, in the shape of a small tart, with Parmesan, prepared in sauce and frozen, illustrates yet again a refined intensity and savoir-faire. A pleasant commitment. The salad of sliced fennel with orange and sardines a la siciliana (half –salted), meaty, natural, nearing an almost raw character, sprinkled with bread crumbs. Unparalleled perfection is attained in the broccoli raviolis with prawns and marinated vegetables. Such divine pasta! Such edible delight! The gnocchi with ginger butter and pear flower are marvelous, uniting familiarity and contrasts. The meat dishes are superb: the roasted tongue, the beef bone with oil, marrow and coarse salt, etc. And truly innovative for the cut–a beautiful escalope–and for the texture obtained with it, the beef tripe lacquered with sweet and sour sauce and served with escarole is tremendous. And we could cite many other offerings that set apart the personality and characteristics of the project and work of Davide Oldani.

There is only one hitch in going to D’O: it is 25 minutes from the center by taxi, with an approximate fare of €33.