The 12 Best Bars in Milan

Moebius Milano

Lorenzo Querci's gastronomic-cultural complex in a former textile warehouse: Tapa Bistrot below, the Michelin-starred Sperimentale above, live music, a record store, and a cocktail bar built around a three-meter concrete wall of 300+ spirits with seven seats facing 'the cinema of mixology'. A 700-year-old Andalusian olive tree grows through two floors. Gio Allario leads the bar; Enrico Croatti the kitchens. No.7 in the World's 50 Best Bars 2025. It was a Top 4 finalist for Best International Bar Team at the 2026 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.

Order this: Pesto Martini — Altamura vodka, vermouth, homemade pesto, white balsamic vinegar

1930

Milan's most famous speakeasy, founded 2013 by the Farmily group, location and phone number deliberately unknown to most; if you know where to go, you know how to book, usually by introduction through a sister venue like Mag. Part chic hideaway, part Wonka-esque drinks laboratory: rotary evaporators and fermenters behind a candlelit marble bar, a 1960s jukebox spinning vinyl. No.22 in Europe's 50 Best Bars 2026 and a World's 50 Best fixture since 2019. It currently stands at No. 43 on the World's 50 Best Bars 2025.

Camparino in Galleria

The Milanese aperitivo since 1915: Gaspare Campari opened his caffè in the Galleria in 1867, and his son Davide, the first citizen born inside the Galleria, opened Camparino in 1915 with a pioneering chilled seltz system. Art Nouveau interiors by Quarti, Mazzucotelli and d'Andrea survive across three spaces: the stand-up Bar di Passo, the signature Sala Spiritello, and the reservation-only Sala Gaspare Campari. A World's 50 Best regular facing the Duomo. It currently stands at No. 18 on Europe's 50 Best Bars 2026.

Order this: Campari Seltz — Campari, seltz — the original serve

Rita

A veteran of the Milan cocktail scene: Edoardo Nono's Navigli original, open since 2002, pioneered fresh seasonal ingredients and in-house preparations over artificial syrups, with associate partner Chiara Buzzi aboard since 2018. The list splits into Restoring, Refreshing and Relaxing, with barrel-aged options and proper food from vegetable croquettes to steak. No.49 in Europe's 50 Best Bars 2026.

Backdoor 43

The world's smallest cocktail bar: four square meters and four seats on the Navigli, opened 2015 by the Farmily group at the same address as sister bar Mag. Booked guests pre-fill a form choosing spirits, flavors, glassware and even the music before arriving; passersby get takeaway cocktails served through a window by a bartender in a Guy Fawkes mask.

Bar Basso

A long-established Milan bar credited with the creation of the Negroni Sbagliato, made when founder Mirko Stocchetto used sparkling wine in place of gin. The room has remained largely unchanged over decades and is a recognized gathering point for the city's design community, particularly during Salone del Mobile. Its list includes a large number of house creations developed by Stocchetto.

Carico

The first Cocktail Lab Bistrot, casual dining and drinking under one roof in Via Savona, led by pre-eminent bartender Dom Carella. The menu is framed as a lab project: rotating experiments, an 'Italici' section of Italian aperitivo serves, compact-size Martinis at €6, a Seedlip-based zero-proof list, and ingredients sourced straight from producers. Open from aperitivo hour until late.

Order this: Fluffy Paloma — Montelobos mezcal, grapefruit, lime, agave, fluffyness

Ceresio 7

Dean and Dan Caten's (Dsquared2) rooftop trinity: two pools, Elio Sironi's fine-dining restaurant, and an American Bar where classic mixology gets an Italian rereading. The day arcs from poolside mornings through terrace lunches and tapas to aperitivo and after-dinner, every day of the year; the pools run June to September against the Milan skyline.

Order this: Tomacco — Patrón tequila, Del Maguey Vida mezcal, mango, roasted pepper, lime, agave

drinc. Cocktail & Conversation

Luca Marcellin's post-industrial 26-seat American bar in Porta Venezia, founded 2016 to elevate the art of bartending, a back bar of roughly 750 bottles, a funk-jazz-electro soundtrack, and bar manager Marco Colangelo behind the counter. The project runs deeper than the room: masterclasses (drinc.lab), consulting (drinc.consult) and speakeasy sibling drinc. different on Via Hayez.

Order this: Sicret Garden — Campari, vermouth rosso, Pedro Ximénez, cucumber, celery bitter

Dry Milano

The pioneer of Milan's cocktails-and-pizza pairing, founded 2013 in Brera: Neapolitan pies by Lorenzo Sirabella (trained under Enzo Coccia) beside signature mixology from bar manager Edris Al Malat, in a warm, deliberately bare retro room. Eat, mix, experiment, share, recognized by 50 Top Pizza, Gambero Rosso and Forbes.

Order this: Spritz in Brera — Aperol, St-Germain, Mancino vermouth mix, peach & jasmine tea, CO2

Kilburn Cocktail Bar

Named after the London neighborhood where founder Ennio learned the trade, Kilburn brings English-styled drinking to Via Panfilo Castaldi: a curated back bar of 200-plus high-end spirits under the house philosophy that the important thing is to drink well. The Aperi-Dinner format pairs sharing tapas and bruschette (vegetarian and gluten-free included) with the cocktails.

Lubna

A 'Listening Restaurant Bar' in Scalo Porta Romana from the Moebius team, Lorenzo Querci, two-Michelin-star chef Enrico Croatti and bar director Gio Allario (ex-Le Syndicat, Paris), opened 2024. Fire-driven cooking, DJ sets and a bar list that runs from an Americano Cosmopolita to grill-section cocktails like the Smoked Mango Vesper.

Order this: Americano Cosmopolita — Campari, Cinzano rosso, Cynar 70, grapefruit sherbet