[Italy: Milan] 1* Lume - Disappointing Lunch

Rating: ❤❤1/2 (2.5/5)

Another restaurant we visited in Milan was 1 Michelin-starred Lume which was also OAD's "Best New Restaurant" in Europe this year. The chef is Luigi Taglienti and his food made an impression on me...but in a bad way. But let's start at the beginning to when I showed up to the restaurant on the dot at noon for my lunch reservation and found the doors locked. It was probably another 10 minutes before I was finally let into the restaurant and out of the cold. Not being on time is one of my pet peeves so this wasn't a good start, but as it turns out this was the least of my problems. The rest of the service was good and the staff were eager to please, but I had a lot of issues with the food and I wanted to leave before I even got halfway through the tasting menu. The food presented was modern and creative no doubt, but a lot of the flavors just didn't work for me and it seemed like they just wanted to be different for the sake of being different. For example most of the Veal Milanese I've had are thinly pounded but here they are served as thick cubes which were really hard to chew through (I also found a hair in mine). It's not as though the chef is incapable of good food but just trying a little too hard perhaps, because when I didn't finish my Gorgonzola Macaron at the end (the flavor was too weird for me), they gave me a more "normal" caramel flavor which was much much better. Maybe in due time the chef will be able to find a balance between creativity and flavor, but for now it is not a restaurant that I will revisit in Milan. 

We were served a variety of bread and amuse bouche before the start of our tasting menu which were all pleasant enough. 









And then our first course arrived and our meal started spiraling downwards. The Taglienti Style "Ossobuco" was presented as a veal tartare which was really bland and tasteless. 

The flavor combination in the Slow Cooked Veal Muzzle in Franciacorta Wine, Mustard Salad, Cucumber and Black Truffle didn't work for me, and I really disliked the mustard salad which was coated in some type of syrup.


The Mushrooms Cappuccino with Liver Royale had potential but the cherry jam in the middle introduced a sickening sweetness that didn't really compliment the rest of the flavors.


The Borage Raviolo with Italian Ragu was one of the better dishes of the meal.


The Saffron Risotto with Veal Sweetbread in "Gremolata" was too salty for the both of us and we could only finish half of it (though the sweetbread was nicely cooked).


As I mentioned in the beginning, the Veal in "Milanese" Style, Vegetables "In Carpione" Traditional Recipe was too tough for me and I found a hair in mine halfway through eating it. They made me a new one but that still didn't solve the issue of the tough meat.


I'm not a fan of blue cheese so I only took a bite of the Gorgonzola Macaron, but even J who is a cheese lover could not finish it.


When the staff noticed that I barely touched the gorgonzola macaron, they made an inquiry and offered to make me a more normal flavor - Caramel Macaron - which turned out to be much better. 


The Black Truffle and Tiramisu was decent but I'd prefer a traditional tiramisu instead.


Petit Fours


Lume

Via Giacomo Watt, 37, 20143 Milano MI, Italy
Tel: +39 02 8088 8624
https://www.lumemilano.com/



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