The London Lounge

I will be making my first trip to Venice and Milan in late October. I would most appreciate any recommendations for restaurants and men's shopping in both locales. Thank you in advance.

Soooo many places.
In Milan, just to start with, a visit to Antonio Pio Mele for shoes and Marinella for ties would be very nice.
There is also a brand new upscale place: Excelsior on Galleria del Corso with the latest of all great brands. A sort of one-stop shopping paradise like it didn´t exist in Milan before.
Also, although not exactly a restaurant, I would advise a visit to Peck on Via Spadari for some salumi and formaggi.

Venice, although Cafe Florian seems like a tourist trap, and the coffee is ridiculously expensive, but I still thought it was nice to have visited.

Milan, maybe a visit to Al Bazar? not everyone's cup of tea, but I often find quality items there.

Shopping-wise, you will find a better selection and, typically, value in Milan.
One has better things to do in Venice than buy clothes; really.

Restaurants-wise, my advice is to go for the englected mid-range. Neither fast-food joints, etc. nor the overpriced, post-modern, deracinated tourist traps that foreigners get slotted into. For advice on taht front, try to explain to your concierge what you are looking for and he hould be able to help.

That said, Harry's Bar, in Venice IS clearly a tourist trap but worth a visit (especially if you go a little later than the pre-dinner crowd AND you order anything except a stupid Bellini).

Some tips for lunch en diner in Milan:

Lunch:
Peck is great, as mentioned above: http://www.peck.it/
Il Salumaio di Montenapoleone: http://www.ilsalumaiodimontenapoleone.com/

Diner:
Il Solferino: http://www.ilsolferino.com/
Tano Passami l`Olio: http://www.tanopassamilolio.it/ Michelin star level, very good.

Enjoy your stay

Can anybody help with some further tips for Milan, specifically for shopping (clothing and shoes, for the Mrs. as well)? Will be driving there mid-April. Thank you!

My wife says that if you want all the great clothes but not the great prizes, you and your wife should go to the big outlet store Il Salvagente on the via Fratelli Bronzetti.

I would probably go for other directions. If you want to experience the real Milano I would avoid tourist places but just the real milanese heart..remember that Milano is a hidden city

Gianfrancesco wrote: If you want to experience the real Milano I would avoid tourist places...

I hope that it is not implied in this piece of advice that -in order to experience the "real" Milano- expat in his first visit to the city should avoid Il Cenacolo, alla Scala, Il Duomo, la Vittorio Emmanuele, il Quadrilatero d`Oro, café Trussardi, il Castello Sforzesco, San Siro, Speck, i Navigli, l`Ambrosiana o la Brera, just because those are "tourist" places and he has a whole hidden Milan to discover?
By all means, let him be a tourist and enjoy. May the rest of hidden Milan, stay undiscovered if that is the price to pay in this first trip there.

I usually end up going to Taverna San Trovaso ( www.tavernasantrovaso.it ). The food is good , its relatively cheap and very relaxed but , most importantly , it resembles my favourite Italian restaurant where my wife and I used to go to in London in the early 1970's. Eating in Venice can be a disillusioning experience and since you're often only there for a few nights you really regret any mistakes.A family staying at our Hotel ( Palazzo Stern) ate there every night and we thought them very unadventurous but by the end of the week we wished we'd made the same decision.

I would suggest walking through the back roads of Milan and discovering the unique shopping. There are a few interesting recommendations from Monocle that I think are valid: http://monocle.com/25-25/milan/.

Whilst discovering the back streets make sure to try out the Panzerotti street food served by Luini. http://www.luini.it/ Wonderful snacks, long queues at lunchtime so make sure you buy x2.

The restaurant upstairs at Harry's bar is a bit of a tourist trap (well-dressed Americans diligently obeying the Preppy handbook when I last visited) but it is unique and the food and service is really very good. The Art Biennale must be on your list (maybe not so much the GB pavilion this year!) and it is definitely worth a trip over to the Lido (possibly take one of the motor launches from the Excelsior, which is worth a visit even if it isn't the best place to stay).