Thomas Salme is a photographer for Lucire.

Great Milanese dining, to boot

Thomas Salme rates Ristorante Botinero as one of his favourites in Milano, where you will be treated like a prince—or a professional football player—and with good reason
photographed by the author

In an effort to give Lucire readers a special guide from Milano for lunch and dinner places, we start with Botinero.

After 18 years’ living in Milano, I would say it is very difficult to find a bad place to eat at. It is in the Italian culture to eat good food and dinner is the high point of the day. This makes it difficult to select five to six places for readers. However, in my selection of Botinero, I did not hesitate to make them one of my favourites.

The Ristorante Botinero is situated in the Brera zone which is one of the high-class, beautiful places in Milano. It is a seven-minute walk from the Duomo and once arriving in Botinero, the first thing that you will notice is the very friendly staff. Marco Galbiati, the restaurant manager, and his staff will give you a top-class service and make you feel like a prince, or maybe like a professional football player.

In fact, Botinero is owned by two footballers, Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso, among the most famous players in the history of FC Internazionale. Both of them originate from Argentina, hence the name Botinero, meaning cobbler or shoemaker in Spanish.

Inside the restaurant, you’ll find not only a mix of famous people, but an interior that mixes class and football. You find the shoes of the world’s most famous soccer players in the bar area. This collection is unique and it gives you a small breath of a museum. It is managed by Federico Enrichetti, a manager at the restaurant, who can answer all your questions on Italian football.

In the restaurant itself, you have three private rooms for about eight to sixteen people if you need some privacy. The quality of the food is top-notch, and, of course, mixing the superb quality of meat from Argentina with Italian cuisine makes Botinero an experience like no other. Adding a touch of class, if you would run into Zanetti or Cambiasso, they will smile and have a talk with you.

The experience you will have enjoying a dinner or an aperitivo will leave you with a guaranteed satisfaction. The prices of the plates is in the middle range, which means anything from €25 up to €50–60 per person for a lunch or a dinner.

If you are a Lucire reader and tell them you have read about the restaurant here, you will receive a 10 per cent discount. Visit Botinero at www.botinero.it, where you can make email reservations; or visit them at via San Marco 3, Milano; telephone 39 02 65-56-08-40. •

Top A unique collection of football memorabilia at Botinero. Above left Esteban Cambiasso. Above right Javier Zanetti.