Head-to-Head · Milan
D'O vs Contraste
D'O's two-star pop cuisine is Italy's best value; Contraste sells theatre. Book D'O to eat well, Contraste to be dazzled.
The Verdict
D'O is Davide Oldani's restaurant in San Pietro all'Olmo, a hamlet of Cornaredo about half an hour west of central Milan. Oldani trained with Gualtiero Marchesi and Alain Ducasse before inventing what he calls "pop cuisine," the idea that fine cooking should not bankrupt the diner, and he holds two Michelin stars for it. His signature caramelised onion, served hot and cold with a Grana Padano cream, is the dish that explains the whole philosophy: technique in service of pleasure rather than spectacle. The tasting menu runs around 155 euros, and a weekday lunch can be found near 32 euros, which makes it one of the best-value two-star seats in Italy. It scores 8 for food, 7 for the room and 9 for value.
Contraste is the opposite instinct. Matias Perdomo, an Argentine who arrived in Milan and stayed, opened the restaurant on Via Giuseppe Meda near the Navigli canals in 2015 with sous chef Simon Press and maitre Thomas Piras, and it won a Michelin star in 2017. The cooking is theatrical and trompe-l'oeil: dishes that look like one thing and taste of another, a long tasting that can run toward twenty courses and is designed to keep you guessing. The tasting sits around 180 euros. Where D'O is restraint and value, Contraste is invention and surprise, a meal that performs as much as it feeds. It scores 8 for food, 8 for the room and 6 for value.
Scores, Side by Side
| Score | D'O | Contraste |
|---|---|---|
| Food | 8 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
| Atmosphere | 7 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
| Value | 9 / 10 | 6 / 10 |
Which One for Which Occasion
| Occasion | Editorial Pick |
|---|---|
| Best value two-star meal | D'OA two-Michelin-star tasting around 155 euros, and a lunch near 32, is a price almost no other two-star kitchen in Italy will match. |
| A meal that surprises you | ContrastePerdomo's trompe-l'oeil courses are built to deceive and delight, the sort of tasting guests describe course by course afterward. |
| Staying central in Milan | ContrasteIt sits near the Navigli canals inside the city, while D'O is a half-hour drive out to Cornaredo. |
| A weekday lunch worth the trip | D'OThe lunch menu near 32 euros is the cheapest legitimate route into a two-star dining room in Lombardy. |
| A long, theatrical evening | ContrasteThe tasting can run toward twenty courses, pacing a full night around the kitchen's sleight of hand. |
Price and How to Book
The booking calculus follows the same split as the cooking. D'O takes reservations through its own website several weeks out, and the small Cornaredo room fills fast, especially for the value-driven lunch, so plan the trip around the table; read the full D'O review for the menu and the location. Contraste books through its site too, more central and a touch easier for a weeknight, with weekend slots going first, all covered in the Contraste review. Both sit in our wider Milan dining guide.
For cuisine context, weigh both against the best Italian restaurants worldwide and the strongest tasting menus. For occasion fit, line them up with our picks to impress a client and to mark an anniversary. More Milan match-ups sit on the compare index, including Seta vs Andrea Aprea and Abba Milano vs Pellegrino 25.