1284. 700 years of history, if the walls could talk about this oldest restaurant in Italy who knows what they would tell. Besides being the oldest in Italy it also holds the record for the second oldest restaurant in Europe after the Stiftskeller St. Peter in Salzburg, and we have it here in Milan. Located in an area on the edge of the city this trattoria is an ‘old farmhouse furnished like a country villa. Three cozy rooms inside for a total of 75 seats and an elegant outdoor dehors.
We are talking about the Antica Osteria Bagutto for decades now, which has become the benchmark for typical Lombard cuisine, with a menu that enhances the authentic flavors of the region through meat and fish dishes prepared with top quality ingredients.
Italy’s oldest restaurant: L’Antica Osteria Bagutto
Located in the Ponte Lambro area, the Antica Osteria Bagutto takes its name from Berlochium, a Lombard term meaning “place where you eat.”
The Osteria del Bagutto, documented as early as the late 16th century as the property of the Borromeo family, then passed to the Marquis Raineri in the 18th century and later, in the 19th century, to the Priori di Brera. Over time it was managed by several families of Lombard innkeepers, keeping the tradition alive to this day.
Apparently, even Napoleon himself had the honor of stopping at Italy’s oldest restaurant in the 19th century.
A menu that follows a traditional line by offering both seafood and land dishes: from mondeghili to trippa alla milanese, from yellow risotto to ossobuco to elephant ear cutlet. Plus fish fillets, crudo tartare and more. A varied menu that appeals to all palates and which we link here if you’d like to check it out.
How much does it cost to eat here
Of course of depends on what you choose, Most dishes at Antica Osteria Bagutto range between 14 and 35 euros, it overruns the Chateaubriand with its Bernese sauce on 80 euros. But basically in this oldest restaurant in Italy, prices are in line with the city. About 50 euros per person with drinks included for a dinner. 20 to 40 without drinks. Of course, these are estimates; it all depends on the choice of courses.
How to get to Ponte Lambro to the restaurant
From the center of Milan it is 23 minutes by car via Autostrada del Sole junction, by transport instead you can get there with the M3 yellow line to the terminus San Donato and from there just outside the station take bus 45. 6 stops get off at Ospedale Monzino a couple of minutes walk and you reach Antica Osteria Bagutto.
Where: Via Elio Vittorini, 4. Open every day except Sunday for dinner. Info and reservations on the website.