a beautiful space with great all day food and drinks :: 8.5/10 :: aperitivo 10€, dinner plates €15-€20
Il Santa Bistrò Moderno offers great all day eating and drinking in a beautiful, brightly lit space just below the tallest skyscraper in Italy, Palazzo Lombardia. The staff made us feel at home at Santa, especially the outgoing and friendly waitress Isabella. Responsible for the inventive and delicious plates is Stefano Grandi, who has honed his skills at Milanese institutions such as Aimo e Nadia and Sadler. Santa’s kitchen is versatile, offering dishes suitable for lunch, aperitivo and dinner. We sampled a handful of tapas-style dishes just before dinner time.
The highlight of the evening was the seared tuna with guacamole and bean sprouts. The fresh tuna was seared to perfection and the guacamole livened up the dish, with the bean sprouts adding a nice texture to the dish. Another spectacular dish was the Panelle di ceci (chickpeas) with anchovies. Finally, we sampled some delicious chicken skewers with eggplant.
To pair with the dishes were two fantastic sours made by the friendly and talented barman, Mattia Corti. The rum and whisky sour were juices, freshly made by Mattia, making both cocktails memorable. I look forward to trying more of Mattia’s cocktails on my next visit.
