Cotoletta
Cotoletta in Milan: col manico or Orecchia di elefante
At my place the cotoletta comes to the table in two ways: I’ll tell you about both.
In a few words
At my place you find the cotoletta in two ways. The Milanese col manico is bone-in veal costoletta, breaded by hand and golden in clarified butter, at 38. The Orecchia di elefante has no bone, weighs half a kilo and is pounded thin, from 26. I am in San Donato Milanese, 1.3 km from the M3 terminus.
My menu
The Milanese and the Orecchie on my menu
The Milanese col manico, thick and on the bone; the Orecchie, thin and big, with a touch of every land along the Via Emilia.
At my table
Milanese or Orecchia? They are not the same thing
A few things, done well, along the Via Emilia.
- La MilaneseBone-in veal, thick like the costoletta: breaded by hand and golden in clarified butter.
- The Orecchia di elefanteNo bone, pounded as thin as a sheet of paper and as big as an elephant’s ear. Another pleasure.
- Vesti il VitelloRocket and sweet cherry tomatoes on the Milanese, for freshness without making it lighter.
In one year, from October 2025 to September 2026, I served more than 4,100 Orecchie di elefante and more than 2,900 cotolette alla milanese.
Reviews
What they say about my table
Every week I pin up here the latest five-star reviews written in English on Google.
My guests’ voices
Not my words: theirs, at the table.
I asked my guests to tell me about their evening, in front of their plate. Couples, families, tables of friends, people here for the first time. (In Italian.)
Watch all the interviewsNewspapers and radio
In the press
Thirteen newspapers and radio stations have told the story of my journey along the Via Emilia.
Questions
The questions people ask me
Where to eat cotoletta in Milan?
At my place, in San Donato Milanese, Via Monte Bianco 33: on the edge of Milan, 1.3 km from the San Donato terminus of the M3 metro. On the menu there is the Milanese col manico, bone-in veal costoletta golden in butter.
Are the Milanese and the Orecchia di elefante the same thing?
No. The Milanese wants veal and the bone, and it is thick like the costoletta. The Orecchia has no bone and is pounded as thin as a sheet of paper: two different pleasures, and both are on the menu.
Can I have the Milanese with rocket and cherry tomatoes?
Yes: it is called Vesti il Vitello, rocket and sweet cherry tomatoes on top of the Milanese. It is an extra worth 4.50.
Is there a tasting menu with the Milanese?
Yes, the Percorso Gran Milano: Mondeghili to share, the Ravioli più buoni del Mondo, the Milanese col manico and the Sbrisolona, with a welcome glass of sparkling wine on me.
Cotoletta or costoletta: which is it?
In Milan they say costoletta, with the bone, and that is where cotoletta comes from. My Milanese col manico is exactly that: the bone-in veal costoletta, golden in butter.
How much does the cotoletta cost?
The Orecchia di elefante goes from 26, the Classica Dorata, to 29; the Milanese col manico, with roast potatoes, costs 38. The cover charge is 3 per person.
Along the same road
In short
Nonna Emilia is the Via Emilia Restaurant in San Donato Milanese, at Via Monte Bianco 33, 1.3 km from San Donato, the last stop of the M3 metro line. The menu brings together the three kitchens of the Via Emilia: Romagna, Emilia and Lombardy. The kitchen is open every day, lunch from 12:00 to 14:30 and dinner from 19:00 to 22:30. The tasting menus go from 39 to 59 per person, cover charge 3 per person.
And if a dish doesn’t win you over, I change it or take it off the bill.