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Student eats · November 2026
Studying abroad in Milan
Every meal here costs €10 or less.
About $12 US. Typical prices, checked November 2, 2026.Milan is a student city (Bocconi, Politecnico, Cattolica), and it runs on panzerotti, thick slices of pizza and dumplings in Chinatown. In the evening, aperitivo is the cheapest dinner in town.
A day of eating for €16
- Breakfast, €5: Pavé, a croissant or a brioche, and a cappuccino
- Lunch, €4: Luini, the classic panzerotto with tomato and mozzarella
- Dinner, €7: Spontini, a thick slice of margherita, with extra mozzarella
Breakfast, lunch and dinner: €16, about $18.
Eat for €10 or less
1
€5Breakfast
Pavé
Get: A croissant or a brioche, and a cappuccino
A bakery-café full of students on laptops, with the best croissants in the neighborhood.
2A photo like it
€4Lunch
Luini
Get: The classic panzerotto with tomato and mozzarella
Fried half-moons of dough, a Milan institution since 1949, a minute from the Duomo. The line moves fast.
3A photo like it
€6Lunch
Ravioleria Sarpi
Get: Pork and cabbage dumplings, fried or steamed
Hand-made dumplings with Italian ingredients from the butcher next door. Eat them standing on the street.
4A photo like it
€10Lunch
De Santis
Get: Any panino on the long list, hot
Milan's sandwich bar since 1964, with a menu of dozens of panini named after customers.
5A photo like it
€7Dinner
Spontini
Get: A thick slice of margherita, with extra mozzarella
Since 1953: one kind of pizza, very thick, very cheesy, by the slice. The Milan student staple.
6A photo like it
€7Late
Pizzeria Da Zia Esterina Sorbillo
Get: The fried pizza (pizza fritta) with ricotta and salami
Naples's famous Sorbillo family making fried pizza to go in central Milan.
The market
Monday afternoon to Saturday
Mercato Comunale Wagner
Piazza Wagner, near Fiera
Get: Cheese, cured meats and produce at local prices
For street markets, the big Saturday market on Viale Papiniano along the Navigli is huge and cheap.
The supermarket to find
Esselunga, Carrefour or Lidl
- Esselunga's ready-made lunches and salads
- Focaccia and pizza by the slice from the bakery counter
- Pasta, passata and parmigiano for a week of dinners
Esselunga is the one locals swear by. Lidl is cheapest.
How students save in Milan
- Aperitivo was invented here: one drink (about €10) and a buffet. In Navigli and Isola, many students make it dinner.
- Ask your university about the mense: Bocconi, Politecnico and Statale canteens feed students for a few euros.
- Get the ATM student travel pass; walk-ups to Chinatown and Porta Venezia are where the cheap food is.
More for Milan
Studying somewhere else?
Run a study-abroad program in Milan?
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Prices are typical, checked November 2, 2026, and move; places with branches all over (chains) are named so you can use any of them. "A photo like it" is the same kind of food, not from that place. Chef Amazing is not paid by any place on this page.
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