Ciz Cantina e Cucina

CIZ has been in my little notebook of (very) good addresses for several years now... and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. When you really think about it, it's pretty rare to find places where everything is so perfectly balanced.

The welcome and service are neither too warm nor too reserved... just perfectly pleasant and attentive. The menu, neither short nor long, offers a clearly Milanese universe but with a lovely personality.

The products are carefully chosen and the dishes follow at an equally pleasant pace, without any waiting around or rushing. Indulgence is on the menu (needless to say, we're in Italy), as is talent.

Even the neighborhood is perfect: just enough away from the crowds but still central. That's really the overall impression you get from a meal here: everything is balanced... impressively well-executed.

The only thing where you might detect a hint of excess - but who's going to complain about that? - is the thickness of the wine list. More than a thousand bottles fill its pages (and the walls around you) with the impeccable work of winemakers from all horizons, big names and smaller, more confidential estates.

Vincenzo (Ciz) Gautieri is a sommelier, impossible to forget! A truly lovely place.