May 2026

Milan / Korea / Street Corners

A two-minute walk from my front door, a restaurant suddenly popped up with an open kitchen, calming modern interior and a quietly confident atmosphere.

Started by two friends — an Italian front-of-house proprietor and Cielo, a Korean chef with a larger-than-life personality — Kiwon has quickly established itself as one of the most memorable additions to the neighbourhood in years.

I do not claim to be an expert on Korean food, but I did try my first kimchi on a flight to Seoul in 2009 and have jumped at every opportunity to eat it ever since.

The closure of the only nearby Korean restaurant on Via Nino Bixio had reduced local options from one to none. Fortunately, along came Kiwon.

The format will feel familiar to a younger Milan crowd: sharable plates, natural wines and a room filled with young international diners. Most evenings it is busy, and from the arrival of the first plate, it becomes immediately obvious why.

Before we go any further, if you do go to Kiwon 기원 and you have not tried a rice and egg dish called Kimchi Bokkum Bap, you would be a fool not to order it here.

The first time we added it as an extra, the second time we ordered it as soon as we sat down, and by the third time — well, once you hit a certain point I think we can comfortably call it an addiction.

Strongly flavoured kimchi fried rice topped with a fried egg.

A dish that subverts both the Instagram page and the food journalist while offering sublime comfort and pleasure to the diner.

Now, this restaurant is busy, so do not expect hovering service or excessive ceremony. But the front-of-house staff and proprietors are more than willing to guide diners through what is, to many non-Koreans, an unfamiliar menu.

With a little curiosity and some gentle encouragement from the staff, most Milanese diners will leave feeling as though they have briefly travelled to the other side of the world and back again — or at the very least, that their palate has.

The damage? €64.25 per person including a bottle of wine.

Not bad at all for a short walk across the street.