Since classes in Spain are fairly chill during exchange, I took advantage of the cheap flights and easy access of traveling to other countries on my weekends. My sister had came to visit me, so off we went to Milan. It was fashion week as well, so it was the perfect time! K joined us as well, and when we arrived in the city centre, we were amazed by the Duomo. It is a Gothic Cathedral in the heart of Milan and is the 5th largest cathedral in the world! I can honestly say I can stare at this church all day. We wanted to take pictures, but honestly, we were starving. We told ourselves our mission would be to look for food first! Since we’re students and on a budget, eating at fancy restaurants isn’t something we can do all the time. So we headed outwards of this square in hopes that cafes would be cheaper since it wasn’t facing this beautiful church. Funny enough, after 30 minutes of looking for food and believing that the prices were still too expensive, we ended up back at this spot in front of the Duomo. Tired of walking and by now starving, we settled for Bar Duomo, which was literally facing the Duomo. Yea…what were we thinking? I’m not sure if we even looked at the menu before sitting down… But anyways, if you want to eat with a magnificent view, I guess this is the place to eat at.

Your utensils even come in this fancy paper bag. We chose to sit outside as we obviously wanted a great view of the cathedral and the weather was quite nice that day.

Mushroom, Ham, and Cheese Pizza

After looking at the menu, we realized the items weren’t that cheap. Well honestly, they aren’t extremely expensive, but for a student on budget, it’s a little more than we were budgeting. We ended up sharing two items between the three of us, and decided we would grab snacks on our way when we explored. First, we had to try some Italian pizza! This was the funghi pizza, which mushrooms, ham and cheese. I must’ve been starving, because this tasted really good. But I have to say, this isn’t the traditional types of Italian pizzas I’ve had in Rome, where there is only tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil leaves. Well, really, the classic Margherita. This was still made with fresh tomatoes and there were an abundance of toppings.

Risotto Milanese

We were in Italy, and so why not a classic Risotto? My sister had heard that when in Milan, you must try the Risotto Milanese, so why not? I did find that it was a bit bland though because it did not have any other toppings. It was still extremely good with a good creamy base and cheesiness to it. What’s special about the Risotto Milanese is that the ingredients are simple, but still bring flavour. I guess I just wanted some other ingredients to change it up a bit as I was really just eating all rice. The creaminess is created by butter and Parmesan cheese, and the yellow colour is created by the hint of saffron.

It’s interesting to note that we did not end up getting any drinks. We assumed that the prices would be quite ridiculous and we knew we could get cheaper drinks elsewhere. But as I write this post today, I had taken a look at what other diners had said about Bar Duomo. I am amazed that they had charged diners such high prices for drinks! It’s ridiculous! So before you head here, definitely check out other diner’s reviews as the ridiculous price of drinks is definitely an issue. Unless you’re ready to just eat, then I probably wouldn’t recommend coming here.

And lastly, I had to finish this post with the Milano Duomo. It’s so breathtaking and although Milan could be said to be a city full of luxury and shopping, this Duomo is definitely worth the visit.