#aperitivo-menu

#aperitivo-menu

"Design Week is one of the rare moments when many of the city's private courtyards are open to visitors, especially in Cinque Vie, a historical neighborhood of artisans where many real Milanese families still have their palaces."

Giacco's sets itself apart with a rotating line-up of chef residencies, changing every month to keep the menu fresh and provide opportunities for up-and-coming chefs.

Italian food products and cuisine have infiltrated just about every corner of the globe, but nothing compares to trying classic Italian dishes at their source-and there's so much more than pizza, pasta, and gelato. Don't expect to find the same dishes on menus all over the country. From carbonara in Rome to the best street food in Palermo, each Italian region has its own recipes.

In order for a glass of Prosecco to reach its full potential in terms of flavor and aroma, it should be served at a temperature between 40 degrees Fahrenheit and 45 degrees Fahrenheit. You don't want to overchill wine, especially not Prosecco as anything colder than about 38 degrees Fahrenheit will mute all of the gorgeously nuanced fruitiness in the bubbly.

Everything revolves around the food. Instead of trying to tweak a recipe to fit with a sweet or tangy drink, start with the food and ensure it remains the star of the show. The real purpose of seeking an appropriate drink pairing is to create balance with the food. Sweet with salty, bitter with sweet, etc. In this way, food flavors aren't masked with the addition of a drink, but instead are highlighted.

The drinks scene here has undergone something of a Renaissance, with the number and variety of options across the city blossoming. Of course, there are still the old school stalwarts that adhere to the traditional Italian idea of a bar-envision the quintessential all-day café-bar where you might stand at the counter for a cappuccino in the morning, grab a quick panino at lunchtime, or linger over an aperitivo after work.

Italy's finest ski resorts are often overshadowed by their French and Swiss equivalents. Pity really, as their piste-side rifugi lunches are a divine alchemy of Mediterranean and Alpine cuisine, their hotels, chalets, sunny terrace lunches and ski passes sit at a more civilised price point than the wildly expensive Swiss and French resorts, and their well-connected ski areas wiggle across great swathes of map.

Historically speaking, an osteria was a spartan, no-frills establishment where people would go to have a drink. The original osterias date all the way back to the Roman Empire. If you go to Ostia Antica or Pompeii, you find the osterias of the era. They were like bed-and-breakfasts, with rooms for rent above the dining room where people could listen to music.

Last summer, I found myself in Venice during peak tourist season. The crowds were suffocating. Every piazza felt like a theme park, every restaurant seemed designed for Instagram rather than actual dining. Standing on the Rialto Bridge, packed shoulder to shoulder with thousands of other visitors, I couldn't help but wonder: is this really Italy? That question stayed with me long after I returned to London.

On my last trip, in Bologna, I found yet another way to enjoy Italian coffee (beyond ordering a doppio). One memorable café topped its coffees with fruit powder-infused whipped cream. They were listed under a section on the menu appropriately named "caffe della gioia" (yes, "joy coffee"). These joyful mugs are topped with a generous mountain of whipped cream that can be folded with fruit- or nut powders, like pomegranate, pistachio, orange, wild berries, and aniseed.

Alice is the kind of place you tuck into your back pocket and casually gatekeep. Perfect for a cozy date night with your favorite fling in the cityor yes, your long-term partner who still knows how to flirt. You descend beneath a historic Greenwich Village brownstone and suddenly feel like you've entered a velvet-lined jewelry box of small, glittering pleasures. Low light. Oceanic blues. Candle glow. A hum of conversation that feels conspiratorial rather than loud. The prosecco is marvelous, and it knows it.

Last Updated on February 3, 2026 Notting Hill's New Italian Spot for Handmade Pasta, Charcuterie and Wine Via Emilia by Food Roots has recently opened on All Saints Road in Notting Hill, joining its Shoreditch and Fitzrovia siblings. Moments from Portobello Market, the street has a rich cultural past and an unmistakable sense of character that today blends seamlessly with a more polished, upmarket feel. It is now known for its relaxed, subtly edgy vibe and a growing reputation as a foodie destination.

Making it onto this list of our best pasta recipes is kind of a big deal. We tried to count how many pasta dishes we've developed over the course of this publication's history-modern mathematics cannot accommodate such a figure. You can imagine how painstaking it was to whittle down this list to just 31 recipes. But, fueled by a second helping of rigatoni alla vodka, we did it.

Pasta and peas was one of the staple meals my mom made for us growing up. We probably had it at least once a week. She learned the recipe from my grandma Tina, and it was a simple, inexpensive dish to throw together-just pasta and frozen peas cooked with a bit of chicken broth and aromatics topped with grated parm.

This coccoli, which can be a street food or restaurant appetizer, is truly an icon in Florentine - a term that simply means "from Florence" - fare. The word "coccoli" translates literally to "cuddles," and these fried dough balls do indeed feel like warm little hugs. They're about the size of dumplings; served hot, they've got a crispy exterior to crack into - with just the right amount of grease - where you'll find both fluffiness and chewy doughy-ness all at once.

What goes into the ideal Italian cocktail, as a result, is as much about sociability and presentation as it is about a specific flavor profile or provenance of ingredients. It isn't just a drink, it's a way of life. As soulful as a Puccini-penned opera. As colorful and exuberant as a summer sunset over the Amalfi Coast. Equally as expressive regardless of time or season.

The ravioli-type dish, also known as casunziei all'Ampezzana, consists of homemade half-moon shaped pasta filled with boiled beets, topped with a sauce of melted butter, Parmesan cheese and poppy seeds. It's a simple dish that harks back to the Alpine region's poorer past - long before Cortina transformed into a winter playground for the international jet set. Even in the coldest days of winter, local families had the ingredients in their cupboards.

By morning, Aperitivo operates as a café, serving espresso drinks and teas, along with pastries from Paloma Bakery. There are patisserie favorites like pain au chocolat and a decadent pistachio pain suisse, but also breakfast options that skew nourishing without being joyless, like steel-cut oats with seasonal fruit and croissants topped with smoked salmon, avocado and arugula. Midday tweaks the mood slightly, turning Aperitivo into a casual lunch stop with salads, soups and sandwiches.

When the gin and tonic glasses are drained, and the crab tostada and chimichurri-dressed steak plates are cleared from the table, customers can snake through the kitchen and descend candlelit stairs to an entirely different experience: Laberinto, an underground speakeasy. The theme at Laberinto, which means labyrinth in Spanish, is escapism - a micro vacation after the meal has ended where guests chat, flip through vinyl records, and sip Mexican spirits and liqueurs layered with notes of oregano, sage, and palo santo.

Northern Italian cooking is built for long meals, cold weather, and patience, which is exactly the sort of food you want when settling in for hours of competition. From Lombardy and Piedmont to Emilia-Romagna and Liguria, these regions favor slow braises, creamy risottos, rich broths, and breads meant to be torn and shared. Whether you're feeding a crowd or committing to a cozy afternoon