Milanese, brace yourselves: the fruit you see in the window isn’t eaten with your hands, but with a small fork. Starting June 9, number 3 on Corso Italia is home to the first pastry shop by Alberto Magri, the young pastry chef from Livorno who has won over millions of people around the world with his videos.
An opening that had been anticipated for months and announced on social media as befits an internet star: a video in which he prepares cream puffs right in the storefront window, in front of passersby, with Toto Cutugno’s “L’italiano” playing in the background.
It doesn’t get any more “Made in Italy” than this.
Who is Alberto Magri, the Italian king of realistic fruit?
Born in 1999, Alberto Magri is the fourth generation of a family of pastry chefs: he first got his hands on dough at age sixteen at the historic Pasticceria Magri in Livorno, working alongside his father Raffaele.
The leap from that Tuscan counter to global phenomenon was surprisingly short. Today, he has over 7 million followers on Instagram and nearly 9 million on TikTok, with some videos racking up nearly 50 million views.
His unmistakable signature? The heart he draws with a spatula on the cream once it’s finished.
His self-proclaimed muse is the French master Cédric Grolet, the undisputed master of what everyone now calls “realistic fruit”: desserts that perfectly replicate the appearance of fruit but, when cut open, reveal mousse, jellied fruit centers, and glossy glazes.
As Il Post also noted, behind the trompe-l’œil effect lies a process that is anything but simple.
What you’ll find at the pastry shop (and how much it costs)
The highlight, of course, is the fruit itself: it looks as if it were just picked. The single-serving desserts—from the “Fragola” to the “Fiore Pavlova” —cost 12 euros each.
Alongside it is a lovely selection of breakfast pastries, where prices are lower: the Cornetto Italiano (3.50 euros, 4 with the fillings of the day), the Two-Tone Croissant with cappuccino cream (4 euro), the Pistachio Cone (5 euro), the Chocolate New York Roll (4 euro), and La Riccia with ricotta, semolina, orange, and vanilla. There’s no shortage of sfogliatelle, a small tribute to the family’s roots.
The space itself is also worth a look: a space that had stood empty for years inside an elegant historic building, now transformed into a pastry boutique with a minimalist, contemporary design, featuring lighting by TRJ for Tom Dixon Studio.
“A place to share my creations, blending my roots, aesthetic, and personal vision,” is how Magri himself described it.
A tip before you go
For those who know Milan: be patient. From day one, long lines have formed in front of the storefront, filled with curious foodies and food creators with their phones already at the ready, so if you want to avoid the crowds, aim for an off-peak time.
And if you have a discerning palate, know that some have found the croissants a tad less fluffy than expected: it’s the single-serving fruit cups, if anything, that almost everyone agrees on.
We’ll definitely be stopping by, fork in hand.
Where: Corso Italia 3, 20122 Milan, just a short walk from Piazza Missori (yellow M3 metro line, Missori stop).
Hours: Open Mondays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Tuesday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
