Milan's most-anticipated summer osteria opens: no bookings, just turn up and wait (or eat standing on the street)

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"Sorelle Poma" is the new project of Vladimiro and Caterina Poma, a brother-and-sister duo from Milan's dining scene who chose Lambrate to tell the story of a cuisine built on Ligurian roots, international influences and a setting inspired by Italy's historic osterie.

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Milan has a new opening that gastronomy lovers and industry insiders have been waiting for weeks, maybe months: Sorelle Poma, the project of Ligurian siblings Vladimiro and Caterina Poma. After years of experience across kitchen and dining room, they've opened their first restaurant of their own.

He's at the stove, she's front-of-house and in the cellar: two complementary paths meeting in a contemporary osteria in the Lambrate neighbourhood, on Via Porpora at the corner of Via Adelchi, right next to another Milan institution, the Birrificio di Lambrate. It's a project built on uniting memory and the contemporary, tradition and interpretive freedom.

The story of Vladimiro and Caterina Poma

"We've always worked in hospitality," says Vladimiro. "I started with my mum in Imperia when I was very young, doing a bit of everything, from kitchen to dining room." The urge to become a chef took him to Milan in late 2009, where he joined Ratanà and later helped open Erba Brusca with Alice Delcourt, a three-year stint. Caterina, meanwhile, built her path in hospitality: "I worked at Ratanà for a full 15 years, front-of-house, also managing the cellar. It's always been my world: building relationships with guests and taking care of the service."

Peru and the return to Milan

Vladimiro's journey then crossed the Atlantic to Peru, where an experience planned for just six months became nearly six years alongside the great chef-entrepreneur Gastón Acurio — one of the leading figures of contemporary Latin American cuisine and a pioneer in putting Peruvian gastronomy on the world stage. It left a deep mark on his cooking. Back in Milan in December 2019, he rejoined Ratanà as sous-chef in 2020, reuniting with his sister Caterina. From that reunion came the idea of building something of their own.

The birth of Sorelle Poma

The two chose a path different from the predictable NoLo district they'd initially considered. "We wanted to open in NoLo, but prices became sky-high. And we liked the idea of looking at the other side of the neighbourhood, somewhere quieter." The name came from Caterina: "At first calling it that felt a bit self-referential, then we decided to lighten it up with 'Sorelle Poma'. We fell in love with it immediately."

The design: trattoria and osteria in one

The interiors were entrusted to architect Angelo Castucci, who built a space that expresses the venue's dual soul. The first room — the osteria — is dominated by a large counter inspired by the ancient taverns of Pompeii. Artist Patrick Tuttofuoco added one of his neon works behind the bar, representing the duality of the Poma sisters.

Another key choice concerns the relationship with guests: no rigidity and no mandatory reservations. "In Milan, booking is becoming a problem. We wanted a place where people could arrive freely, sit at the counter, have a glass and a bite without planning." The second phase arrives in September: a roughly 25-seat trattoria room at the back, with a large wall frieze by artist Gio Pastori and a more intimate atmosphere.

The osteria kitchen

It starts with the Michetta with cotoletta and Russian salad (€10), made with bread from Panificio Danelli, the area's historic bakery: "It's a tribute to Milan. The michetta with cotoletta is our 'is the new toast'."

Among the signature dishes is the Genoese Cappon magro (€16), a historic fish-and-vegetable dish that Vladimiro wanted to make more contemporary and accessible: "It's an incredibly difficult dish and it's slowly disappearing. We've tried to make it more pop." There's also Ligurian-style rabbit with nettle mandilli (€15), served unusually as a side rather than a first course. "I didn't want to do the usual potatoes. I thought of pasta dressed with a mustard dressing: it sounds like heresy, but I think it works."

The menu also features Vietnamese-style fried Panissa (€10) and the "Simmental" — an artisanal veal in jelly served with cherry tomatoes and an arugula mustard (€15). "Arugula belongs to the same family as mustard, a brassica. Cooked, worked and left to mature for fifteen days, it develops incredible aromas." There are also stuffed friggitelli with tuna, anchovies and capers (€10) and a pasta salad (€13). The trattoria room will offer two fixed menus: a "sea and mountain" one and a vegan, gluten-free one. For dessert there's a surprise — fried zucchini flowers to dip in white sugar: "It's not a typical Ligurian dish, it's just how we did it at home."

The Sorelle Poma cellar

The cellar is in Caterina's hands, with a very personal selection of around 90 labels, with plenty of room for Italian native grapes: "Biodiversity is our wealth." There are also forays into France, Germany and Spain. Wines are also poured by the glass, with a fixed list and a daily suggestion at the counter.

There are cocktails too, like the Melomerito, a Ligurian-inspired aperitivo served from a large jug in the tradition of Italian bars — a lighter Negroni variation with vermouth and bitter — plus craft beers from Birrificio Vetra.