Caffe' Sforzesco, Milan

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This is an elegant, characterful cafe/bar on the upmarket pedestrian throughfare of via Dante, about halfway between the Duomo and Castello. The pavement terrace manages to be simultaneously intimate and accessible attracting locals and visitors alike, judging by the mix of accents and languages.

I'd only intended dropping in for an early(ish) evening beer after a hard day of investigating the city's remaining gateways, and their respective bars, and was worriedly surprised when first a basket of crisps and a bowl of olives arrived with it. Then when a plate of nibbles also arrived I thought that the grumpy waiter had mistaken my "Una birra prego." for a food order. Ach well I was a bit peckish anyway and so that was dinner sorted - never mind the expense!

Favorite Dish: The nibbles comprised a couple of crostini, a slice of salami, a bit of cheese, a sliver of pizza and a prosciutto-wrapped grissini stick and excellent they were too. Along with the plump green olives and the crisps this made for a very satisfying evening meal and one which required a second beer to wash it all down.

Then when I got my bill I found that the nibbles were were charged as an "Aperitivo con Tagliere" and cost a mere 2 Euros on top of the (admittedly expensive) 8 Euros each for the beers. But in the greater scheme of things they saved me a restaurant bill later.

Apart from the grumpy waiter I had no complaints whatsoever.