At Four Seasons Hotel Milano, the return of the Spring Merenda turns the hotel’s hidden garden into one of the chicest places in the Fashion District for gelato cups, cannoli, savoury bites and low-alcohol cocktails.
Milan is a city that knows the power of a hidden courtyard. Behind heavy doors and discreet façades, some of its best moments happen away from the street, in gardens and interiors you would almost miss if you did not know where to look.
One of those places is the garden of Four Seasons Hotel Milano, a quietly glamorous pocket of green in the heart of the Fashion District. And this spring, it has a particularly good reason to be on the radar.
The hotel has reopened its garden for the season with the return of the Spring Merenda at Stilla Bar, available daily from 12:00 noon to 7:00 pm, from late April through June.
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The Spring Merenda is not quite afternoon tea, and not quite aperitivo. It sits in that very Italian space in between.
Merenda is the Italian afternoon pause between lunch and dinner, traditionally a small snack, often sweet, sometimes savoury, usually simple. At Four Seasons Hotel Milano, it becomes something more polished: a garden ritual with gelato cups, cannoli, savoury bites, light cocktails and the kind of setting that makes a quick stop feel like a small event.
Served à la carte, the menu is designed to be flexible. Guests can choose a single gelato cup, build a longer afternoon around sweet and savoury dishes, or pair the merenda with drinks and plates from Stilla’s all-day menu.
A secret garden in Milan’s Fashion District
The setting matters here. Four Seasons Hotel Milano sits inside a former 15th-century convent, and its garden is one of the hotel’s most atmospheric spaces. It is central, but sheltered. Elegant, but not stiff. Exactly the kind of Milan address that feels like a discovery, even if it belongs to one of the world’s most famous hotel names.
In a city where the day can move quickly from showroom to gallery to restaurant, this garden offers a slower kind of luxury. A table outside. A proper pause. Gelato served with hotel-level precision.
Gelato cups with a pastry-chef point of view
The most tempting part of the Spring Merenda is the collection of ice cream cups created by Pastry Chef Stefano Trovisi.
The Cream and Strawberries cup keeps things classic and springlike, with strawberry sorbet, cream and Madagascar vanilla. The Exotic version moves in a brighter direction with mango, passion fruit and coconut cream in a vegan recipe.
For something richer, the Black Forest brings together 100% Sur de Lago chocolate sorbet, mascarpone chantilly and black cherries. The Peanuts and Caramel cup, also vegan, combines salted peanut sorbet, toffee and caramelised hazelnuts.
It is gelato, yes, but in a more dressed-up form. Less cone on the go, more Milan garden table.
Cannoli, focaccia and cocktails for the golden hour crowd
The sweet side continues with seasonal fruits, red berries and filled cannoli in cream, pistachio and chocolate flavours, a small tribute to Italian pastry tradition.
There is also a savoury edit for those who want merenda to lean more toward lunch or aperitivo. Expect a Ham and Cheese Toast, Regina Margherita focaccia and a tiered stand with sweet and savoury snacks designed for sharing.
The drinks keep the mood light. The Merenda menu includes low-alcohol cocktails such as Happy Julep, Raspberry Cloud and Strawberry Fields, alongside alcohol-free options including Sprizzetto and Secret Garden. Matcha Latte is also available, because even Milan’s most classic rituals now come with a contemporary twist.
TheHotelTrotter.com is curated by greek journalist and fanatic hotel lover Eleni Stasinopoulou. With the eye of a fashion and lifestyle editor, Eleni hopes to inspire all connoisseurs of traveling, focusing on stylish hotel moments around the globe.
