Tano Passami l’Olio

About Tano Passami l’Olio

Tano Passami l'Olio is the long-running restaurant of chef-patron Tano Simonato, who first opened it in 1995 and moved it in 2020 to its current address at Via Francesco Petrarca 4 in Milan. Its defining idea is extra virgin olive oil: Simonato keeps a collection of more than fifty, Ligurian, Garda, Sicilian and Apulian among them, and finishes each dish with the oil he judges right for it. The result is creative Italian cooking pitched towards lightness and digestibility.

The kitchen held a Michelin star from 2008 to 2023 and remains in the Michelin Guide today. For more of the city's tables, compare the inventive menus at Contraste, the classic cooking at Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia and the modern plates at Lume. For the category, see our fine-dining guide.

The Kitchen

Olive oil is the through-line. Rather than treat oil as a finishing afterthought, Simonato pairs each dish with a specific extra virgin from his collection of more than fifty, choosing for the weight and bitterness that suit the plate, and the kitchen was recognised internationally for this focus. The cooking reinterprets Italian flavours in a lighter, modern key, built to preserve the character of the raw materials. The format is a five-course tasting menu at around 110 euros, with the option to choose your own courses. It is precise, restrained cooking where the oil is treated as an ingredient in its own right.

The Room

The restaurant is small, seating about twenty-six across three spaces: two rooms on the main floor and a wine cellar below. The look is classic but modern, quiet and elegant rather than showy, suited to conversation and a long, unhurried meal. Service is attentive and explains the oil pairings as the courses arrive. It sits on Via Petrarca in the Pagano area, west of the centre near Parco Sempione. Reservations are recommended given the small size of the room, and dinner is the main event.