5 bars in Milan for a Nordic-inspired breakfast

What we eat for breakfast says a lot about our personality, from intermittent fasting enthusiasts who would never give up their workout on an empty stomach to pragmatic coffee and cigarette aficionados seemingly immune to the Gen Z wellness revolution, to those who actually consume solid food before 2:00 PM. In 2024, breakfast has even become a trend, causing not only kilometer-long lines at the doors of bars since opening hours but also bringing new life to Milanese venues that must constantly find new ways to please the TikTok algorithm and the cash of customers spoiled for choice. Regardless of trends, breakfast is a ritual that enthusiasts find hard to give up. It's not just about finding the perfect croissant or the creamiest cappuccino; having breakfast at the bar, choosing it, and savoring it is the best way to alleviate daily stress through an act of self-care. So, here's a mini guide to discovering bars in Milan that try to satisfy our primitive need for a perfect breakfast (atmosphere included), to start 2024 with the right croissant, inspired by Nordic flavors, with bulka, banana bread, cinnamon roll, and a lot of cardamom.

Bar Paura

In the warm and colorful atmosphere of Sidewalk, the day begins at Bar Paura. A place that nods to the New Wave of Cafés where you can stop, work on your laptop, taste sweet and savory dishes, and have breakfast. Not just sweets with a characteristic heart shape - cocoa covered with white chocolate and raspberries or cheesecake flavor - that have caught the attention of those who need to take a ritual photo before tasting a dish, the selection ranges from coffee, tea, sweets, and savories. Standouts include the vegan chocolate sandwich with apricot jam heart, Banana Bread with peanut butter, fragrant miso and cinnamon cinnamon rolls. The venue is currently closed, but the managers announce an imminent reopening, so stay tuned.

Via Bonvesin de la Riva, 3

Le Polveri

Le Polveri is a 50 sqm micro-bakery in the Sant'Ambrogio area. The venue's manifesto says about itself: "Small and well-organized, every day you can find something different that is kneaded with sourdough during the day, left to rest overnight, and baked the next morning. The flours come from small artisan mills around Italy to then be transformed into various types of loaves, pizza, brioche bread, granola, sweet or savory biscuits, not forgetting traditional leavened products like panettone and colomba." For breakfast, the selection ranges from the inevitable (pain au chocolat, puff pastry with cream and seasonal fruit, swirls) to the more exotic (like the cardamom roll). Special mention for the buns or tuppi that take on always new shapes and tastes (cocoa and salt, cardamom, lemon & poppy, cinnamon, peanut butter, chocolate).

Via Ausonio 7, Milan

Nowhere Cafe

Nowhere Coffee is a non-place inspired by the archetype of Australian cafes, where you can relax, drink coffee, surrounded by books, vinyl records, and magazines. Breakfast ranges from scrambled eggs to Greek yogurt with homemade granola, including vegan and vegetarian options in terms of leavened products. Among the proposals, the C4 bun stands out, a name that pays homage to the ingredients "Coffee Choco Caramel Cardamom Bun" with an exotic touch from sweet paprika and Maldon salt, along with the indispensable cinnamon roll and the gluten-free brownie with golden chocolate and salted caramel. The coffee, for connoisseurs (no sugar allowed), offers a wide and varied selection: espresso, V60, aeropress, and batch of the day, among the proposals for cold coffee, stand out the cold brew and the unusual espresso tonic - a drink made with coffee, tonic water, and ice.

Via Vetere 14, Milan

Loste Caffè

Lorenzo and Stefano (whose initials merged give the name to the venue) met at the Michelin-starred Noma in Copenhagen, one of the most avant-garde restaurants in the world, where Stefano was head pastry chef for many years, and Lorenzo a sommelier. They decided to transpose their experiences to Milan, translating them into a new concept of a café. In the Risorgimento area, it's not just the design of the venue - curated by architect Giulio Marchesi - that recalls typical elements of northern European interior design, between light wood and minimal furnishings. Shortcrust pastry cookies filled with custard and jam, buns with cardamom butter and coffee and orange glaze, croissants baked doubly with an almond cream filling, and to conclude, croque monsieur and perhaps the best cinnamon roll in all of Milan.

Via Gucciardini 3

Signor lievito 

The poppy seed bulka or the cinnamon braid, but also Puglian focaccias, to take away or enjoy on the spot. The name is a tribute to the main ingredient, a sourdough that is over 120 years old. Natalija Nikitina, a former Latvian model who started baking, like many others, during lockdown. The terracotta tiles used for walls and floors, which warm the environment with their rustic texture, are also found on the external facade, completely redesigned. "We wanted to create an osmosis between inside and outside. The white plaster is an allusion to Californian modernism, which is a constant source of inspiration for everything I do." A bit of Palm Springs in Milan. "Yes, we have renewed a small piece of the city." All thanks to bread.

 Via Maestri Campionesi, 26