Sunday Brunch on the Bulgari Milano Might Be Definitely worth the Splurge

What do you consider once you hear resort brunch buffet? If the idea conjures visions of rowdy Las Vegas affairs that orbit round watered-down mimosas and numerous stations of warming trays that appear to be they’ve not been modified in hours, nicely, nobody would blame you. We’ve all been there.

Nonetheless, on a latest journey to Milan, I made a reservation to take pleasure in a Sunday brunch on the Bulgari Milano, the place a parade of shiny Italian sports activities vehicles, from Lamborghinis to Ferraris, line up for valet as I method the resort on foot. I’m jolted by the sneaking suspicion that that is going to be nothing just like the buffets I’ve been to.

Properly, I’ll have already identified that as a result of at 130 Euros per particular person with out drinks (about $140 with at present’s conversion), that is definitely the priciest brunch buffet I’ve ever signed up for, and the in-person vibes solely reinforce what I’m considering earlier than I’ve even entered the constructing. As quickly as a girl slips out of a sports activities automobile in a bubble-gum pink tweed Chanel outfit, I do know. And now I’m terrified that my sweater-overcoat-and-wide-leg-trouser combo will not be stylish sufficient for this all-you-can-eat extravaganza.

Brunch on the Bulgari Milano has been ongoing for so long as the resort has been open: 20 years. A server signifies that there isn’t a lot of a brunch scene within the metropolis, so locals love to point out up right here. And present up they do. Inside Il Ristorante-Niko Romito, there’s a refined however palpable buzz within the light-bathed eating room that is organized like an amphitheater with all of the tables dealing with the bar and the window past it. (In the summertime, brunch is served within the leafy backyard exterior.) 

The people-watching is totally top-notch: There are elegant {couples} on their weekend dates, massive multi-generational households occupying a number of tables which have been pushed collectively, and even bigger buddy teams seated at huge spherical tables. Everybody appears fabulous of their designer apparel. I spot Louis Vuitton monograms, Prada’s shiny technical nylon, a slinky ‘90s-inspired costume that I’m hoping is the handiwork of Jacquemus, and, as a result of that is Italy, among the most superbly tailor-made fits I’ve ever seen.

As somebody who will not be shy about an all-you-can-eat sushi joint, loading up on protein at a Korean barbecue buffet, or being given two hours to drink as many bellinis as he can for $25, I typically don’t consider any eating expertise the place you’re invited to be your most gluttonous to be fashionable or elegant. Possibly it’s simply me, however I believe you want stretch supplies and forgiving silhouettes in the event you’re planning on pushing the boundaries of your meals consumption. So when diners present up in among the outfits I’m seeing on the Bulgari, I doubt they are going all in with the spectacular unfold the restaurant has laid out. However I’m confirmed unsuitable. They’re consuming. I see all of them going again for seconds. And why wouldn’t they? The meals is from Niko Romito, one in every of Bulgari’s premier culinary companions and the chef at Reale, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Southern Italy’s Abruzzo area.

On condition that this perform is a 20-year fixture on the resort, a real Milanese establishment at this level, the brunch is a managed expertly. The bar is cut up up into two sections: One is for chilly antipasti, like your salads, crudités, and uncooked bar. Niko Romito’s iconic (and wealthy) vitello tonnato (a sliced veal and tuna dish served chilly with a sauce like mayonnaise) is there, too. And the opposite aspect is devoted to your bigger, cooked proteins: grilled prawns, steak, roasted rooster.

One of many highlights is the separate cheese counter topped with formaggi from up and down the boot of Italy: mandarone provolone, Bitto cheese from the mountains of Valgerola, tremendous craveable Toma from Piedmont, buffalo mozzarella, and blue cheese of fior di latte — finest savored with a swipe of chestnut honey.

If this already seems like rather a lot, then you must tempo your self, as a result of there’s additionally an a la minute pasta course. The menu on the desk tells you what will probably be rolling out of the kitchen. At present, it’s a risotto cooked with fontina cheese and chicories; an orecchiette tossed in a vibrant, herbaceous rapini sauce; and my favourite of the three (as a result of you may attempt all of them), the calamarata, tubes of pasta formed like squid rings in a puttanesca sauce with pink tuna. I struggle to not have a number of bowls of the latter since there’s far more to expertise: The dessert choice is tucked away in an adjoining room.

I’m considering, I’ve eaten sufficient dairy to doubtlessly develop taller; I’m stuffed with vitello tonnato; the three bowls of pasta could cowl the carbs wanted to efficiently run a 5K. However I’m going to the dessert room anyway, the place the aroma of freshly ready pastries, truffles, and fruits hangs seductively within the air. For desserts, Romito creates a nationwide homage to Italy’s wealthy pastry-making heritage: There’s Sicilian cannolis and cassatas, chocolate cake with almond flour from Capri, and profiteroles, which are sometimes credited as being French, however legend has it that the creator was an Italian chef who was introduced over to France by Catherine de Medici. All the things is ruthlessly irresistible, however I choose a small piece of hazelnut cake from Piedmont, a slice of tiramisu, and a few items of plump profiteroles.

On the subject of drinks, you may order a la carte: brioche-y, lemon-y Ruinart Champagne, voluptuous Barolos from Piedmont, and a particular part of the menu is devoted to women-led, natural wineries throughout Italy. Should you’re already in it for the $140 brunch, why not take pleasure in a few top-shelf glasses? The people-watching is much more enjoyable with bubbles.

A mean Sunday brunch service at Bulgari Milano usually seats 150 folks, and reservations are booked out a month prematurely. So if this glamorous and scrumptious mid-day affair seems like one thing you need to expertise, reserve a desk nicely forward of your journey to Milan. Should you’re staying on the resort as an in a single day visitor, your request for a brunch seating is prioritized however sadly not assured given the recognition.