In Milan, “aperitivos” (aperitifs) stand for the all-you-can-eat self-service snacks that you can enjoy when you order a drink, as introduced in guidebooks. This is a very useful custom here in Milan.

The service starts after people leave the office and before they have dinner, which is called as “happy hour.” Milanese enjoy refreshments with colleagues after work, a light meal before concerts or movies, or a timely meeting with a friend while avoiding going home late at night. It is also handy when avoiding a formal dinner invitation because nowadays it is difficult to find the perfect restaurant since an increasing number of people have food allergies, or are vegetarians or vegans. It is also convenient for adjusting the time before a reservation for a restaurant. Aperitivos play an active part in various situations.

Having said these are snacks for happy hour, a number of restaurants serve dishes rich in variety or hot dishes just coming out of the kitchen one after another. You can feel the fullness and the satisfaction as if you have had a good dinner course at a restaurant.
It is not too much to say that all restaurants make happy hour their specialties along the canal at Milan’s Naviglio district during seasons with good weather. At dusk, strolling around shops along the canal, dropping into a happy hour store, sitting down on the seats or sofas spreading out over the streets, and enjoying drinks and snacks out there brings you a sense of wonder. Along the canal, everyone can feel as if they are in a scene of a movie when amusing themselves with a drink in a lovely cool breeze.

Recently, some bars serve large glasses for double size drinks during the happy hour. Is it for people taking a swig of a regular size cocktail and not feeling satisfied? Or is it for reducing the number of bartenders and their tasks? Anyway, since every cocktail has its best temperature to be served, sometime later, the taste of the jumbo cocktail will be far from the original one being diluted by ices, in contrast with its appealing appearance. As expected, standard size cocktails have hidden time limits to savor. While rooting for the bartenders who know and follow the rules for making delicious cocktails, I would like to express my gratitude towards my dear readers to sum up this article. Cheers!