Vicenza-born two-Michelin-starred chef Carlo Cracco has been at the top of his game since 2007, when he bought his eponymous restaurant from Milan’s famed Peck delicatessen empire. World renowned for exemplary service and old-fashioned glamour, Cracco serves up a set tasting menu (slow-roasted pork cheek served prawns, smoked salmon with foie gras) that changes seasonally in a dimly lit restaurant bristling with linen, the city’s best wine list, and expectant diners.

But there are signs that Superchef Cracco may be spreading himself too thinly with the opening of his second restaurant in April 2014 at Via Meda, 24, oddly called Carlo e Camilla in Segheria (Charles and Camilla in the Sawmill), and his appointment as executive chef in several other gourmet establishments in Milan, possibly to the detriment of the service and cooking here. Reservations are required.