Gloria
Come Si Fa — A Summer Series
The pink neon sign flips a switch. You walk in and the world changes color. In the blink of an eye, you are moved from the monochrome gray and gritty streets of Brera into another, technicolored reality. The restaurant overflows with bright, saturating tones and warm textures that beautifully soften the ambiance of a busy Tuesday lunch. And the minute we crossed the threshold, Gloria swept us off of our feet.
What It Is
Gloria Osteria sits on Via Tivoli 3 in the Brera district, arguably Milan's most creatively charged neighborhood, and it is the first Italian restaurant of the Big Mamma Group, a European restaurant collective founded in Paris in 2015 by Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux. Two Frenchmen opening the most talked-about Italian restaurant in Milan is either an act of audacity or a love letter, depending on how you look at it. Gloria describes itself as a glamorous restaurant serving authentic Italian recipes twisted with discoveries made all over Europe. It is both of those things simultaneously and the tension between them is exactly what makes it electric.
The space seats 215 people across two floors, with 226 velvet armchairs, eight four-meter-high windows, and 740 square meters bathed in light, all of it inspired by the glamour of 1960s Italy. On paper that sounds like a lot. In practice it feels like the most beautifully curated living room you have ever sat in, with little pockets of explosive color, like large organic-shaped chandeliers in pink and yellow glass and yellow flowers tucked near banquettes. The room exudes warmth and welcome that feels designed to delight and put you at ease.
Gloria is also a certified B Corporation, meaning their commitment to positive social and environmental impact is independently verified. Their motto is transparency, selection, and the origin of their products. Every supplier is listed on their website. In a world where restaurants perform sustainability, Gloria actually practices it. That matters.
Why You Should Go
Some restaurants try hard to be trendy or cool and dilute their own voice, and power, in the attempt. Gloria does the opposite. It feels as if its curators are overtly trying to make you smile out loud. With its colors and charismatic staff, the low-fi and groovy music, the beautifully presented food, there is a transparency of intention that is its own kind of sophistication. You feel almost giddy here. The vibe is open and light and free. And if hospitality is an art form, Gloria is a restaurant that leans into performance with a real, complete and unmanufactured confidence that pulls it all off without a trace of self-consciousness.
The experience also carries a sense of surrealism. So I would call the overall experience dreamy. In the colorways, in the shapes and forms, in the sharp and then slippery edges of the food. Gloria is a sensory experience that heightens your sense of beauty, giving more than you’d ever expect on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon. And yet, here it is. Real, repeatable, and waiting for you in Brera.
What to Order
I started with a non-alcoholic gin tonic, crystal clear in a large balloon glass, a single violet flower floating in the ice. Clean and fresh, it set the tone, and my palette, for everything that followed. Ask the bar team for their current alcohol-free options. They take them as seriously as everything else here.
Our antipasti included zucchini blossoms, which were the best moment of the meal. Early June, peak seasonal, perfectly formed, bright yellow and green without blemish. Fried just enough to preserve them in a light case of crisp, the batter so delicate there was not a trace of oil to interrupt the dream. The flavor inside was bright, clean and perfectly balanced against the exterior. Order them without hesitation if they are on the menu when you visit. Seasonal means they will not always be there. That is part of what made them perfect. The prosciutto arrived alongside, the most vibrant pink, with glossy brioche buns. The table looked like a still life.
For primi we shared the tagliolini astice, handmade pasta with lobster, a Big Mamma signature and absolutely worth ordering. For secondo, the orata. A beautifully plated seared sea bass fillet laid gently on a bed of datterino tomato sauce, capers, Taggiasca olives, parsley and spinach. Again, a presentation clean, concise, and exactly what a second course should be after a generous pasta.
We were too full for dessert. We left dazzled anyway.
What to Know
Gloria is transportive in the way that the best restaurants always are, it takes you somewhere you did not know you needed to go. Not to a fantasy of Italy but to a heightened, saturated, joyful version of the present moment. Book ahead. Lunch service closes at 2:30pm and the room fills fast.
Gloria Osteria — Via Tivoli 3, Brera, Milan. Lunch Wednesday–Sunday 12:00–2:30pm. Dinner from 7:00pm. Reserve at gloria-osteria.com.
A Guide to My Milan — 2026 — coming soon. Subscribe at ciaoyoaloha.com to be first to know.
