Milano Cafe

I've been staying in Lima for 10 days now and this is the best place that I have eaten at. All of the other restaurants around here seem to be chains. The Milano Cafe has great pasta and salad, and the bread they bring you to start (for free) is incredible. It has cheese and garlic on it. The service wasn't the greatest, but honestly I can excuse that for a delicious meal in a place that lacks good restaurants.

My brother and sister in law just moved to Lima and we went to dinner at Cafe Milano. Fantastic service. Awesome food. Terrific entertainment on Saturday night. Can't say enough good things. If you are in Lima I promise you can't miss this!  We will be back.  Many times!

**LOCAL BUSINESS**

My family decided to book a reservation at Milano's for Father's Day. It had been ages since we've been to Lima and my father enjoyed it very much the last time. We arrived to an empty dining area, which concerned me. First off, I advocate the patronage of local establishments in any area and secondly, it doesn't look good from a customer's point of view. I could hear the shrill screaming of Gordon Ramsay already.

Our table service was OK, but I dare say needs to be a bit more organized. My father has been known to order food not on the menu, and it would be appropriate to check with the chef about it. The waiter said it was possible and ended up coming back for a re-order. Collect all of your orders at once, even if you have to some research beforehand. If it were a chain, I would have let it slide but find it a necessary point to make here.

My family always makes it a point to order the bruschetta. Everyone loves it. I enjoy the sweetness of the roma tomatoes with the tangy balsamic vinegar. I tend to wait a few extra seconds before swallowing, because that's when I'm able to pick up the Parmesan flavor from the generous amount of flakes at the top of the dish. There are multiple flavors to it, if you're willing to be patient.

I must confess after several years of a Midwestern upbringing, my go to Italian dishes are pastas. However, I wanted to break out of that mold tonight. I'm a fan of salmon and was curious about their Grilled Salmon Limone. The description reads: "salmon fillet broiled and brushed with olive oil, lemon and fresh herbs." Overall, I enjoyed the dish but definitely can make a few suggestions. The salmon itself was tender and delicious, however the sauce needs to be rethought. Unless I squirted lemon juice on the fish, I couldn't taste any lemon at all. I assume it was supposed to be in the sauce itself. The most prominent flavors were vinegar and what I swear was tomato. Milano's should focus on the citrus angle and make the lemon (or possibly lime) flavor stand out. My vegetable side was smothered in butter, making them greasier than they need to be. Steaming the vegetables would make for a crispy contrast to the fish.

As I'm reading back on my review, some of it is a bit critical. I do tend to stratify restaurants not only by location, but by approach. Milano's positions itself as an fine dining Italian restaurant with the promise of a better time than an Olive Garden. If that's the case, then the little things count. Milano's is an excellent place for an Italian meal, but it would benefit greatly from polishing the brass.