Milano adding location on Westport Road

Milano Italian Restaurant, which has locations in Shelbyville and Mount Washington, is opening a third restaurant at 11300 Westport Road — that’s at Chamberlain Lane, just down the street from the Ford truck plant. A recent WDRB story said it will open sometime early this year.

I’m encouraged that Milano and several other independent restaurants are planning to open in the next few months — I hope it’s a sign that better days are on the way for restaurants.

https://www.facebook.com/milanoitalianky/

[Robin Garr]

Ha! When I saw that, I thought of Milantoni on Hurstbourne just south of I-64, which has its original shop in Bardstown. The similarities left me briefly confused but I think I get it now.

The new Milano will open tomorrow (June 21). I've heard good things about the Mount Washington location, so I'm looking forward to trying this place.

Are these the same people that own Milatoni? Or is there some connection? Thanks!

My map program shows the address to be behind Ken Towery . . . for their sake I hope it's more visible than that!

[Robin Garr]

Are these the same people that own Milatoni? Or is there some connection? Thanks!

Christina, I don't have official chapter and verse, but it appears to be different restaurants (restaurant groups) that both are named after the city of Milan and both expanded to Louisville from smaller Kentucky county seat towns south and east of here. If they're all connected, I don't have any evidence of that. Their menus are different, although obviously have many similarities since they are ... Italian! And they both have pizza.

My daughter and I ate at the one in Mt Washington. It was very good. Service excellent. Menu is very large. Definitely a keeper.

Ate at the Westport Road location.

The calamari appetizer was cooked perfectly, but we thought it a bit too salty. The waitress told us the calzones were huge, so each couple ordered one calzone to split. They were delicious, but beyond that we should have ordered one calzone for the four of us! Took home enough for a second dinner.

Looking at other tables, the pizzas were filled to brimming with stuff, and the pastas also looked easily sharable. This is meaningless if the food weren't good, but our calzones were wonderful (and VERY cheesy if you like that sort of thing).

One thing to note: as with everyone else, they are short-staffed in the kitchen. Combine that with the fact that pizzas and calzones require a rather long cook time, and service (while knowledgeable and quite good) is very slow due to the kitchen. Bear with them! (we talked to our waitress after eating, as we almost closed the place around 9pm, and she mentioned that she had one huge table with a bill of several hundred dollars and several others who all blamed her for "slow service," and either tipped minimally or (the $200 table) stiffed her!)

[Robin Garr]

... she mentioned that she had one huge table with a bill of several hundred dollars and several others who all blamed her for "slow service," and either tipped minimally or (the $200 table) stiffed her!)

I think it's becoming sadly clear why an awful lot of servers who found other jobs during the pandemic are just plain not coming back. Sad story.

Thanks for sharing the Milano report, though!

Did anyone notice the calzone challenge?

My husband (from New Yawk, of course) is a big calzone eater. I feel this is even too much for him!

https://www.foodchallenges.com/challeng ... -kentucky/

[Robin Garr]

Did anyone notice the calzone challenge?

My husband (from New Yawk, of course) is a big calzone eater. I feel this is even too much for him!

https://www.foodchallenges.com/challeng ... -kentucky/

This has become a standard/go to restaurant for us . . . the combination of good well-made yet inexpensive food with a good wait staff (and portions large enough to take some home for next day's lunch) can't be beat!

Went for the first time over the weekend, and they had a string quartet playing popular music focusing more on Italian standards (think Dean Martin songs played by strings!). While they were not first chairs from the Louisville orchestra, it still added even more to the overall experience.

[Robin Garr]

This has become a standard/go to restaurant for us . . . the combination of good well-made yet inexpensive food with a good wait staff (and portions large enough to take some home for next day's lunch) can't be beat!

Went for the first time over the weekend, and they had a string quartet playing popular music focusing more on Italian standards (think Dean Martin songs played by strings!). While they were not first chairs from the Louisville orchestra, it still added even more to the overall experience.

Thanks for the report, Andrew. It sounds promising!

That quartet sounds a lot like the group that used to play at the old Loui Loui's (in the even older Ferd Grisanti building)!