Ristorante Cracco, Milan
A discreet entrance on a small side street in Milan and an elevator that goes … down? Is this a restaurant or a private club? Perhaps a hidden casino or a den of ill repute? You’re just a few blocks from bustling Piazza del Duomo and Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II, alive with activity day and night, but they seem miles away.
Ristorante Cracco has earned not one but two Michelin stars and is the eponymous showcase of a well-regarded Italian celebrity chef, whose secrets only begin to reveal themselves as you descend to its dining rooms. Basement dining always makes me leery no matter the luxury level, but the room at Cracco towers above you, emphasizing height even as it is carved into a series of smaller chambers. Choose to sit on the lowest level unless you prefer more intimate dining, in which case a balcony or a side room offers a fairly private option. Either way, you quickly forget your surroundings when the service begins to buzz around you.
The food and atmosphere of Cracco comes as little surprise once the pedigree of the chef is revealed. Carlo Cracco’s first professional restaurant job was in the kitchen of a three-Michelin starred restaurant after all, and he has worked under Alain Ducasse in France and for several Michelin star holders in his native Italy. Eventually he opened Cracco-Peck, today just Cracco, earned his own stars and was even cited as one of the 50 Best Restaurants in the World.
Michelin recognition brings its own formalities, from numerous canapés and mignardises to hovering service to inflated prices, all of which are on display at Cracco. The menus start at €130 though you can also order a la carte. Either way, the parade of amuses will be impressive as is bread service, with four freshly baked choices, accompanied by olive oil and butter. The cuisine itself can be termed modern Italian-European with Asian elements also coming into play. Here you can expect a classic pasta with truffles or a modern twist on a regional favorite.
The welcome parade of small and not-so-small dishes commenced with a plate of mini sandwiches, fluffy squares of bread topped with salmon roe or melt-in-your-mouth cured meat. A tobiko miso flan with shrimp was a standout, intense and salty thanks to the crunchy tobiko. The Piemontese specialty insalata russa – chopped carrots, potatoes, peas and pickles lathered in mayonnaise and usually served as a salad – here came fried and shaped like a bulging leaf, a crunchy, delicious rendition of a classic. Equally enjoyable was the intense bietola or green chard velouté – and those were just amuses offered by the kitchen for each table.
The proper meal commenced with a lobe of foie gras on a spit (for two) that was, alas, surprisingly overcooked and not very appealing. The next course produced two dishes featuring sea urchin. Spaghetti with sea urchin, though good, had no chance beside Risotto al Nero di Seppia, a twist on squid ink risotto where the ink is not incorporated as liquid but dusted across the top of the dish over strategically placed pieces of sea urchin and lardo. This play of intensity and unctuousness made our hearts race.
Equally amazing was the bonkers-on-paper pairing of sea urchin and veal kidney. Intense and earthy, the dish was simply incredible. The other entrée, a squab dish, somewhat undercooked and under seasoned, surrendered in defeat at the feet of this culinary stunner. Having partaken of such hearty food, we eschewed dessert, settling into one last mini-parade of petit fours.
Take time to peruse the extensive wine list, which, in contrast to the menu, offers a number of affordable options. International in scope, the list gives equal billing to vaunted producers and regions, but lesser known winemakers and regions feature prominently as well, with a trove of the best of Italian winemaking. If the Nonino Grappa aged in barrique is available, an after-dinner glass is well worth the €25. This was the smoothest, richest grappa I’ve ever enjoyed, closer to a fine whiskey than the typical Italian firewater.
Cracco highlights all that is great and potentially disappointing with European Michelin-starred dining. The price tag and the stars set expectations almost impossibly high. But while the restaurant doesn’t always deliver, you’ll find that Cracco offers a Milanese experience well worth having.
