31 year-old, beautiful, blond and talented twins. Paolo and Matteo Giovannini represent the eighth generation of a family of restaurant owners. The Giovannini family members have been citizens of Portofino for centuries and since 1850, when Portofino was a village of sailors and fishermen, they have their own restaurant in the famous small harbour. A place that has been an inn, a meeting place for sailors, and a seaside restaurant. A long experience, therefore, that has been enriched by the resourceful touch of female hands. Twins Paolo and Matteo owe a good part of the gastronomic heritage and the secrets on how to have success in the kitchen and on the table to their mother’s and grandmother’s Ligurian recipe book. As well as the tenacity and the desire to do business on their own. Five years ago the original ‘Da I Gemelli’ restaurant was born in Portofino. In 2018, they opened ‘Da I Gemelli’ restaurant in Milan to replicate the same success in a trendy area between the Corriere della Sera headquarters, the new Piazza Gae Aulenti and the creative refinement of the Brera district. “During our travels around the world we found the inspiration for the restaurant of our dreams, a place with a welcoming and simple setting.” A space of two hundred square metres with about sixty seats, a room that still retains traces of its craftsmanship past. A beautiful decorated wrought-iron window overlooking the green, concrete floor, minimal chic furniture in black wood, shades of blue in the exposed brick arch, a panel that evokes sea depths and colorful jellyfishes, and a giant photo of the two young owners. A beautiful assortment of bottles of wine, with the best Ligurian and Italian labels. The three large rough-hewn wooden blocks that support three tables are a really nice touch. The bar counter with stools and the lounge area allude to the pleasure of enjoying a pre-dinner time with an aperitif and a post-dinner time with liqueurs, champagne and a relaxing chat with background music. Fast and less demanding two-dish menu for lunch, à la carte menu in the evening with a rich assortment of Ligurian recipes with an elegant modern twist, such as pansoti with walnut sauce, pasta with pesto sauce, fish ravioli with curry shrimp cream, and the unmissable “Gemelli” scampi, a very special secret recipe.