Four Four Two
140 viewsUPDATE: Free Beer! After having a chat with Alessandro, the landlord, today, he agreed to offer readers of this blog the first two pints of beer ordered for the price of one. Not bad, eh?
There is a catch. Isn’t there always? This catch, not a big one, is that this offer is only open to the first 30 people who turn up clutching a copy of this blog post. And, no, nobody’s paying me for this, I just thought it might be a fun thing to do. Help get a worthwhile place off the ground.
By heck, it’s hot in Milan at the moment. How about a nice cool beer? 
What is Four Four Two? Well, it’s a new pub which has recently opened around these parts. It can be found at Via Procaccini, 61, and is on the corner of the appropriately named, for an English style pub, Via Londonio! You can find it on my Platial map. And I like this place. In fact, I’ve just got back from there after having downed two pints of Beamish. The simple fact that this place sells Beamish already puts it high up on my list of places to prop the bar up at. I know that this may sound odd, but Beamish and other English, Irish, Scottish style drinks are quite hard to come by in Milan. There are also John Smiths and Bulldog beers. And there is Strongbow cider - which is not at all easy to get hold of in Italy. The people that run the place are cool too.
This evening there was a group of Englishmen and various other non-Italians. There were also quite a few Italians, which was good.
This place is good because it is not your average sophisticated Italian evening joint, but a more down to earth place a like the English pubs I was used to. They even have a regular pub quiz. No darts though, as far as I could see! But, there is football and rugby on the TVs, which may appeal. Not to me, I’m not really a football or rugby fan, but we all have our little problems. They also do food, burgers, and, surprisingly for Italy, have a wide selection of cheeses from the UK, but no chips - planning regulations, I reckon
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Italian bars, the evening ones that is, which rarely have dart boards, are OK, but tend to be a little too flash for my tastes. This place is, as I have said, a little more like a normal English pub - so you don’t have to worry about dressing up in your finest Armani gear to get in. You can also pay as you drink. I know this may sound banal, but in many places here in Milan you order and then pay at end of the evening. This is OK, but after a few of the local Long Islands and Negrones, it can become difficult to remember just what you poured down your gullet. So, when it comes to settle-the-bill time, endless confusion is the inevitable result if you are from Ireland, England, Wales or Scotland. This system is not generally a problem for Italians because they are highly adept at making a single drink last just about all night. So, in the Four Four Two, you can have a hassle free pint or three and not have to worry about getting your head around the mathematics of sorting out the bill at the end of the evening. On the right you can see the crew, from left to right Maurizio, Verdiana, and the Landlord, Alessandro. Nice bunch of people and they all speak English, so ordering a pint will be no problem.
This is a pic of Maurizio is showing off a good old rugby ball. The sporting theme in this place is all over the walls and just about everywhere.
If you do make it there, you will probably meet the guy down below, Alessandro, who runs the place and is a big fan of footy, rugby and a lot of things English. In fact, he has been to the UK over 40 times and has worked there too. The pub is named after his favourite football move - 4 4 2 and there is a UK football magazine which goes by the same name, incidentally. Football types will know just what the 4 4 2 move is, I’m sure. Personally, I have no idea.
So, remember the name - Four Four Two, it’s worth checking out IMHO, especially if you are yearning for a nice piece of cheddar and you might even find me hanging around at the bar.Just look for a non-Italian looking face and more stomach than is good for a person.
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And check out the Cambridge United scarf hanging on the wall next to the television nearest the bar - that’s my contribution to the pub decor!
Tip for all real ale lovers: try Alessandro’s selection of bottle conditioned ales. They’re all excellent!
Wholeheartedly endorse your comments Alex…it’s a great place (though what a pity it’s so far from my flat - Alessandro’s previous bar, Kirribilly, was walking distance!)
Thanks for the endorsement Eddie! I shall check out the bottled conditioned ales too.
Sorry to hear that you’ve lost a decent place from round your parts, though.
You’ll just have to move flat!!;-)
Cheers!
Hey Alex,
Do you know if they will be showing the Wimbledon Men’s Final on Sunday? If so, it would be definitely worth a trip from my house.
Hi Andy,
I’ll check for you and let you know. And having looked at 442’s website, it looks as though there is a sporting chance that the men’s final will be shown, but I’ll ask anyway. I’ll pop in for a pint tomorrow evening probably.
Alex
Thanks Alex. Yes, I saw on their site that they may show it. If so, then me and a few mates well may come over.
Of course, that should read ‘may well’ not ‘well may’. Drat not being able to edit comments!
Oh yes. One final question - will it be English commentary or Italian?
Good question Andy. I’ll ask for you this evening - but I suspect the commentary will be in Italian….
Andy,
I popped into 442 this evening for a quick pint and I asked Alessandro about the Wimbledon final. He told me that seeing as there are two tellys, he’ll set one to English and t’other to Italian - sounds like a good excuse for a Sunday afternoon booze up, if you ask me;)
And don’t forget to print out a few pages of this blog post so you and your mates can get a free pint:)
Have fun,
Alex
Thanks very much Alex. Greatly appreciated.
Andy, you are welcome!
And anyway, you gave me an excuse to pop in for a pint:)
Alex
[...] The print out the 4-4-2 page of this blog and get 2 beers for the price of one offer is still on! Posted in 4-4-2 Pub, Food, Free beer, Good places, Italy, Milan. Tags: [...]
Love the 4-4-2 bar…all the giys are great, absolutely loved my time here…perfecto!
Thanks for making my visit to Milan even better than it was already…miss you all and look after my Christian…please!
Enjoy your sausage night..not happy im missing it!!
I am gooing to try and get a scarf from my local club here back home as you don’t have one!
Love Claire x
(Christian’s friend)
Ciao Claire!
It was great to meet you and Gemma the other evening at the 442 - you were looking after your Christian very well! He’s still feeling the effects!
It sounds as though you gals and guy had a fine old time over here.
Hope to see you, and your scarf, again soon.
All the best,
Alex
Ciao Alex,
So tell me how did the Sausage night go…the pictures are great!
Glad to hear you and Chris are well, take care and we’ll speak again soon!
Bye for now
Claire
Ciao Claire,
The sausage night went very well! And the bangers, I think, went down with a bang! Everyone who tried the fabled sausages said they were very good. I hung around for quite some time, watching the bangers sizzle, drinking, and ensuring the bangers were sampled. Chris did his duty and sampled the sausages, as well as putting away few pints, etc! He looked quite wobbly later on, so I think he had a good time!
Glad you liked the pics.
Hope to see you in Milan again soooon!
All the best, and thanks for dropping in,
Alex
We normally stay (for work) in Varese but this weekend came down to stay in Milan to take in the unfortunate Inter/Lazio game. We went in on Sat afty to see a procession of locals donning Stoke shirts for the game against Sheff Utd - about 12 of them, great atmosphere even a better atmosphere than at the Brittania Stadium in Stoke itself!!
We returned the following afternoon after the cancellation of the Inter game to watch the Man Utd and Pompey games on Sky.
Great place, friendly owner, staff and atmosphere.
Highly recommended, and we’ll will be returning.
I shall be over with my girlfriend who lives in Rho. Wondering if the bar will be showing Stoke City v newcastle in the FA Cup on January 6th as I dont return home til the 7th!!
Hi James,
I had a look at the events calendar on the 442 site and the Stoke City v Newcastle match is mentioned. Next time I pop in for a pint I’ll ask if the match will be shown - and I’ll either email you or post a new comment here.
Thanks for popping in here.
All the best,
Alex
Hi
I used to run a pub quiz for the language school I worked for, but as I’ve left, there’s no more pub quiz and all my friends, colleagues and students are hounding me to organise another one. As you guys have a regular one, can we come along and play?
Just wanted a few details like:
1. When?
2. How large can 1 team be?
3. Are the questions bloody difficult? (or very English based?)
4. Is the English fairly simple (would mid-int level understand?
5. How much is a pint?
6. How many people usually turn up for the quiz?
7. Do we need to book tables?
Thanks a lot in advance guys
Jo Meadows
Hi Jo,
First of all, I should point out that the current 442 pub quiz is in Italian!
However, an English version is also on the cards, Alessandro asked me about this - but if you get in there first - with your experience and all, I won’t complain!
Sounds as though you are in Milan??
All the best,
Alex - (the Blog from Italy writer, not the pub landlord!)