All-day café, bar and coworking room in Paolo Sarpi, Milan

Otto

Square Bread on Paolo Sarpi

3.5 of 5

The owners of oTTo like to say they wanted a nice place in Milan, opened it at number 10 on Via Paolo Sarpi, and then got the street number wrong. It is at number 8. That joke tells you the house style. Bright room, a wall of hanging plants, chairs from design catalogues and flea markets, no two the same, on the main street of Milan's Chinatown.

The food is built on the quadrotto, a square slice of bread with toppings, closer to Danish smørrebrød than to anything Milanese, served on square wooden trays. At the weekend oTTo does what it calls one of the most famous brunches in the city, then admits it is not really a brunch, just a weekend lunch: one quadrotto, a side, two small extras and a little dessert, with coffee and water on the house. Weekdays there are two hot dishes that change daily. Evenings bring natural wine, craft beer and cocktails where all the fruit is fresh.

During the day you can rent a seat and work for a few euros, and nobody glares. There are exhibitions, a shop, and a newsletter they would rather you read than their Instagram. It is cheerful, cheap and unpretentious. Go hungry on a Saturday and take the tray.

Order this

The weekend brunch tray, A quadrotto, A cocktail made with fresh fruit, A glass of natural wine at aperitivo

The damage

$

Go

Weekend lunchtime for brunch, or a weekday if you want to work

Find it

Via Paolo Sarpi 8, 20154 Milano MI, Italy

Website

osa.place