Cafeography
Milan · NoLo & Loreto

Cafés in NoLo & Loreto

North of Piazzale Loreto: early bars on Via Padova and Viale Monza and the cafés of NoLo.

Photo: Paolo Bici, Pexels License

NoLo, short for North of Loreto, is the area above Piazzale Loreto in the north-east of the city. Three architects, Francesco Cavalli, Luisa Milani and Walter Molteni, coined the name in 2012, partly as a joke on SoHo and Tribeca.1 Piazzale Loreto is where Mussolini's body was displayed on 29 April 1945; today Loreto station is the interchange between metro lines M1 and M2.2

Via Padova, about four and a half kilometers long, is the district's main artery.3 Its multiethnic communities drew security worries in the 2000s, and also cooperation between Italians and immigrants.1 It has more cafés than any other street in Milan; within NoLo, Viale Monza comes next, followed by Via Giulio e Corrado Venini and Via Palmanova.

Local tip: For an early start, Bar Loreto Uno Tabacchi at Viale Monza 9 opens at 06:00 every day and stays open until midnight; on Via Padova, Bar Giulia also opens at 06:00.

At a glance

125Cafés listed
18With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
02:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Losa Cafè, from 06:00 (Mon–Sat 06:00–19:30).
  • Closes latest: Vecchia Tabaccheria Varisco, until 02:00 (Mon–Sat 07:30–14:30, 17:30–02:00).
  • Most listed streets: Via Padova (7), Via Palmanova (4), Via Ponte Nuovo (2).
  • Most common features: indoor seating (8%), outdoor seating (7%), partial wheelchair access (5%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Milan.

Getting around NoLo

Residents often name parts of the district after its M1 metro stations, as the Pasteur or Rovereto area.1 Il Giorno put the population of the wider area at more than 100,000 in 2016.3

Bar Loreto Uno Tabacchi, at Viale Monza 9 by the square, opens daily 06:00–00:00, and Prima Luce and The Swan share an address on Piazzale Loreto itself, at number 9. Saverio's Cafè at Viale Monza 6 is run by Saverio, who comes from Ecuador, and opens Monday to Saturday 07:00–21:00.4

Early bars on Via Padova and Viale Monza

Bar Giulia, at Via Padova 173, opens at 06:00 every day, and New Gallery at number 177 runs daily 06:30–00:00. Losa Cafè (Viale Monza 170), Chiara caffè (Via Dolomiti 39) and Matrikola Cafè on Viale Don Luigi Orione open at 06:00 Monday to Saturday.

Rendez Vous on Via dei Transiti opens at 06:30 Monday to Saturday and 08:30 on Sundays, and 404, at Viale Monza 144, is a morning-only bar, open daily 07:00–12:00 with tables inside and out.

Pasticcerie and neighborhood cafés

La Siciliana dal 1956, on Via Teodosio, opens 07:00–20:00 Tuesday to Sunday. Caffetteria Pasticceria Torres, at Via Padova 109, is a pastry counter that closes for half an hour at 13:00 on weekdays.

Drogheria Sociale on Via Giulio e Corrado Venini opens from 07:30 Monday to Friday, closing at 12:30 on Mondays. Fòla on Via Luigi Varanini closes on Sundays and Mondays, and Hug Milano on Via Venini has Wi-Fi and takes cards. Tipografia Alimentare, on Via Dolomiti, serves lunch and dinner with vegan dishes, Wi-Fi and outdoor tables.

Viale Monza's past and the evening bars

Viale Monza has its own pastry history: Angelo Vergani started his panettone business in a small workshop there in 1944, before moving production to Via Oristano in 1949.5 At number 23 stands the building that housed the Garibaldi Brigades, the partisan formations of the Resistance.3

In the evening, Vecchia Tabaccheria Varisco on Via Pietro Crespi reopens at 17:30 and serves until 02:00, Monday to Saturday. L'Ultimo Metrò on Via Marco Aurelio opens at 18:00 and stays open until 01:00 from Wednesday to Saturday.

Sources

  1. NoLo, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Piazzale Loreto, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. NoLo, il quartiere a nord di Loreto (Giuseppe Di Matteo), Il Giorno (May 26, 2016), accessed October 2026
  4. Saverio's Caffè, Zero, accessed October 2026
  5. Vergani, 80 anni di panettone a Milano, Il Giorno, accessed October 2026
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In NoLo & Loreto, also browse: Outdoor seating Pasticcerie Open by 6am Open late Wi-Fi

FAQ

NoLo & Loreto cafés: questions

What does NoLo mean in Milan?

NoLo stands for North of Loreto, the area north of Piazzale Loreto in north-east Milan, around Via Padova and Viale Monza. The architects Francesco Cavalli, Luisa Milani and Walter Molteni coined the name in 2012, partly as a joke on New York neighborhood names such as SoHo and Tribeca.

Which cafés in Milan's NoLo open earliest?

Bar Loreto Uno Tabacchi at Viale Monza 9 and Bar Giulia at Via Padova 173 open at 06:00 every day. Losa Cafè on Viale Monza, Chiara caffè on Via Dolomiti and Matrikola Cafè open at 06:00 Monday to Saturday, and New Gallery on Via Padova opens daily at 06:30.

What is the history of Viale Monza in Milan's NoLo?

Angelo Vergani started his panettone business in a small pastry workshop on Viale Monza in 1944, moving production to Via Oristano in 1949. The building at Viale Monza 23 housed the Garibaldi Brigades, the partisan formations of the Resistance. Today Bar Loreto Uno Tabacchi at number 9 opens daily 06:00–00:00.

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