In the heart of Brera, among streets steeped in history and art there is a place where Milan slips into a different rhythm, more intimate and unhurried; where the city’s hum softens beneath the notes of attentive, smiling, discreet service. This place is Al Baretto San Marco.
The moment you step inside, your gaze is drawn to the large marble counter, framed by warm wood and a dramatic wall of bottles. It is the restaurant’s true heartbeat: a meeting point, a smile before the table, a prelude to conviviality.
We meet director Endi Bahaj and assistant director Marco Zaki, who explain that the bar here is not just a passage, but a gesture of welcome, an opening chapter to the experience.
Al Baretto San Marco was created with a clear purpose: to bring the sea to Milan with grace, without formality, transforming every dinner into an experience where refinement and familiarity coexist naturally.
This is not simply a seafood restaurant. It is a place where the lightness of ocean waves meets the warmth of a Sunday family lunch. As Endi tells us, the service is precise but never stiff: attentive, warm, genuinely present. A rare balance of professionalism and heart, like a family that knows how to welcome with style.
And then, of course, comes the food.
Under the guidance of chefs Giuseppe Del Vecchio and Roberto Ricco, each dish becomes a journey through the sea and its many nuances, expressed with technique and a deep respect for ingredients.
We begin our lunch with an amberjack carpaccio dressed with Peruvian aji amarillo. Essential and intriguing, it pairs the freshness of the fish with the fruity, tropical notes of the sauce.
This is followed by the Saint-Jacques raviolo, the restaurant’s signature dish: a whole scallop wrapped in fresh egg pasta, topped with a thin shaving of black truffle and accompanied by a Parisi sauce that envelops the palate with silky elegance.
But the undisputed icon of Al Baretto is the monograno linguine with lobster. Served with a rich, fragrant bisque and finished at the table with a grating of fresh citron, it embodies the restaurant’s philosophy: research, balance, and a brightness of flavor that lingers in memory like the scent of summer.
For the main course, we enjoy ombrina cooked in the josper oven, paired with an impossibly soft mashed potato. The dish reveals the restaurant’s more comforting side: delicacy and precision, the tenderness of the fish accented by the charcoal’s smokiness and the gentle sweetness of the purée.
To finish, a classic that feels like a small ritual: the chocolate and hazelnut tiramisu. Soft, creamy, and reassuring like a gesture repeated time and again, familiar yet renewed with every bite.
The wine list highlights Italy’s greatest labels, complemented by international selections. Elegant whites, structured reds bottles chosen to accompany seafood with personality and finesse. A curation designed for a discerning, curious clientele: Milanese at heart, increasingly international in spirit.
Completing the experience is San Benedetto Millennium Water, selected for its purity and refinement, perfectly aligned with the restaurant’s balance and sophistication.
Al Baretto San Marco is exactly this: a place where quality meets kindness, where every dish tells the true flavor of the sea, and where every gesture has meaning. A celebration of craft, harmony, and the pleasure of things done well.
Al Baretto San Marco, Milan (MI)
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