What is pollo alla Milanese?The breaded cutlet from Milan, and ours with spaghetti at Fiena, King's Cross

In Italy, a cotoletta is a breaded cutlet, and the classic is the cotoletta alla milanese, named after the city it comes from, Milan. The original is made with veal and cooked with the bone in, traditionally fried in clarified butter. Because of its shape, the Milanese call it oreggia d'elefant, "elephant's ear".

Other Italian cities have their own versions. In Bologna, the cotoletta alla bolognese is topped with melted Parmesan and prosciutto, and in Palermo, the cotoletta alla palermitana is brushed with olive oil and baked or grilled instead of fried, with breadcrumbs often mixed with parsley and pecorino. The dish also travelled to South America: in Argentina, Peru and Uruguay, the milanesa was inspired by the Milanese cutlet. Background from Wikipedia's cotoletta page.

The Milanese cutlet has a famous cousin, the Wiener schnitzel, Vienna's thin, breaded, pan-fried veal cutlet and one of the national dishes of Austria. A popular tale says Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky brought the recipe from Italy to Vienna in 1857, but the linguist Heinz-Dieter Pohl describes that story as invented, and traces it to an Italian gastronomy book from 1869. Either way, the two dishes are close relatives. Breaded chicken versions exist too: in Israel, for example, schnitzel is traditionally made with chicken breast. Background from Wikipedia's Wiener schnitzel page.

At Fiena, we make ours with chicken. On our main menu, the Pollo alla Milanese is deep-fried breaded chicken served with napoli spaghetti, so you get a crisp cutlet and a plate of spaghetti in tomato sauce together. It's a full plate, and a good choice if you want pasta and a main without ordering two dishes.

If you like it, try the other meat dishes on the same part of the menu: the Pollo ai funghi, pan-fried chicken with sautéed mushrooms and double cream, or the Saltimbocca alla Romana, pan-fried veal topped with Parma ham and sage. See our posts on every chicken dish at Fiena, saltimbocca alla Romana and spaghetti bolognese.

Guests often mention how generous our plates are. Fanghan wrote that the portions were quite generous (Fanghan, Google review), and Diana called Fiena a Lovely place with great food and generous staff! (Diana, Google review)

To start, something fresh balances the crunch: the Caprese, with buffalo mozzarella, heritage tomato and basil, or the Bruschetta. For a side, the Mixed salad or Rocket & parmesan work well. From our drinks menu, a medium-bodied red such as the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo or the Cara Amica Sangiovese suits tomato and fried chicken, or try a Draft Moretti. See our posts on insalata Caprese and the wine list.

“Great, authentic food”

R C, Google review, 2026