There is an expression in Milanese dialect – Te gh’ee l’oeucc pussee grand del boeucc (Your eyes are bigger than your mouth) that fits me perfectly. I’m the one who is always ordering more than possible. But gluttonous penchant leads me around Italy in search of great restaurants, and one of my most cherished moments was discovering Bistrot Boeucc.
Boeucc is one Italy’s most historic restaurants. At 325 years, Boeucc leads the country as one of the longest running restaurants and businesses. It’s Piazza Belgioso location- a beautiful neoclassical square near La Scala and the Galleria- also makes a landmark. And you get it as soon as you walk it- high ceilings, Murano glass chandeliers, hardwood floors and marble columns. You are in peek Milan, and so is Boeucc’s menu- strictly Milanese.
Prior to dining at Boeucc, the restaurant had never piqued my interest because it seemed predictable and perhaps even a recipe for disappointment with its Duomo-adjacent address that suggested a price tag that might overshadow the meal- catering to finance’s finest and trend-hungry tourists. But it was time to get over myself and head to Boeucc’s bistrot, a more casual dining area with a menu that I liike to call “Best Of Boeucc”.
Bistrot is Best
The Bistrot is an adjacent room that is almost but not quite like the main restaurant. There’s more chatter, and the walls have covered with modern and contemporary art sketches, posters, vintage photos. The main difference is the menu, a delightful listing of dishes drastically pared down from Boeucc’s more serious dining tome
Essentially, the bistro choice is like dipping your toe in Boeucc’sthree-hundred year old history and tasting a few of its signature dishes, without worrying about the wallet or any stuffy attitude. My advice is don’t even bother reading the menu, just take a peek at what the other guests are enjoying and go from there. I did just that: tortellini di carne with panna and prosciutto, and then a costellotta di vitello alla milanese, the typical breaded fried cutlet.
Boeucc Bistrot is fun, affordable and flirty, with just a touch of gravitas to remind us we were in Milan.
