Lombardy and the Lakes Restaurants
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Lombardy and the Lakes - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
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We’ve compiled the best of the best in Lombardy and the Lakes - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
Find a table in the back of this central, cheerful restaurant before choosing local cured meats and cheeses to accompany your wine. A few versions of polenta, daily pastas, and other heartier dishes are also available; just save room for the desserts, which go well with the sweet wines.
Your palate will travel from the lakes (eel with leek) to the countryside (hay risotto) to the mountains (tripe), all from the comfort of your table, at this cozy stone-arched eatery tucked into Como's commercial district. Expect creative takes on Italian cuisine, like deconstructed ravioli, using both local and more exotic ingredients, best sampled with a tasting menu.
For an unforgettable dining experience, head to Sala Comacina (a 10-minute drive south of Tremezzo) and take a five-minute speedboat ride to Lake Como's only island, Isola Comacina. Here you'll be treated to the same set menu that's been served at La Locanda since 1947: veggie antipasti; thinly sliced prosciutto and bresaola; grilled trout; fried chicken with salad; Parmesan cheese sliced from an enormous wheel; oranges or peaches with ice cream; and brandied coffee set afire with a dramatic flourish, while charismatic owner Benvenuto Puricelli regales you with tales of the island's history. The views are phenomenal, the stories are fun, and the food is better than it needs to be. Work off your meal afterward by hiking around the tranquil island.
This aesthetically simple bistro-style restaurant, spruced up with modern art, draws a mainly local crowd for some of the most inventive food creations and presentation in the Como region. The imaginative Asian-inspired cuisine (think steamed partridge with smoked eel butter), makes good use of local ingredients like lake fish, and the frequently changing surprise five-, seven-, or twelve-course tasting menus are a particular delight, especially when paired with the mostly natural wines on offer.
When tourist-heavy Bellagio starts to wear you down, seek respite at this charming restaurant located on the town’s very northernmost point, a scenic 10-minute walk from the center, with amazing lake views of Varenna to the north and Tremezzo to the west. As you might expect, the menu is heavy on lake fish; although the dishes aren't innovative, they're fresh and well prepared, and the view makes the experience even better. The antipasto di lago (mixed fish platter) and patè di pesce (fish pâté) make great starters; among mains, the baked lasagna and the gnocchi with cream and Gorgonzola sauce get rave reviews. End the meal right, with a freshly made cake or tiramisu.
The nondescript exterior of this buzzy eatery off one of Stresa's main streets belies its chic, stylish interior. Dishes made with seasonal ingredients dominate the menu, but, no matter the season, you'll find local lake fish, both marinated and panfried, as well as a solid list of wines from throughout the region and across Italy.
Dining in this bright, airy space feels like enjoying a meal in a fabulous friend’s modern lake cottage—if the friend had floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Lake Garda and a top-notch chef on hand. For an adventure in flavors from across the country, choose from two tasting menus (either "the classics" or one with “surprise” dishes chosen by the chef) and complement your meal with Italian or international wines in four- or five-glass pairings.
Heralded as one of Italy's classic gourmet restaurants, Ambasciata (Italian for "embassy") emphasizes elegance in tiny Quistello, 20 km (12 miles) southeast of Mantua. Those who are willing to make the trek (and pay the bill) can order à la carte or opt for the tasting menu (from €80) with an ever-changing array of traditionally inspired creations, such as the famed tortelli di zucca (pumpkin tortelli with pumpkin cream and Parmigiano-Reggiano), or mains like guinea fowl with mostarda (a sweet-and-sour mustard from Mantua), and roast pigeon with 25-year reserve balsamic vinegar.
Communal garden tables and atrium seating in a space that's also Cernobbio's tourist info point make for a pleasant stop for a coffee and pastry, light lunch, or aperitif. Baked goods, such as apple and frangipane (almond cream) cake and sourdough bread for sandwiches and tagliere plates (with local cheese, salumi, and lake fish), are made daily in-house. There's a friendly local atmosphere and the restaurant's staff are supported by the nonprofit organization Comet, which provides jobs for young adults and teens with disabilities. Proceeds from the cookies and pies for sale to take away also benefit the organization.
This cantina's leafy patio is reached by hiking up the stairs into the neighborhood above Tremezzo. There's a collection of more than 300 wines to sample along with tagliere (cutting boards) of local cheeses, preserved meats, and vegetarian and vegan options. For something sweet, try the semifreddo of the day, or a chocolate tasting.
Pick a sandwich size (from a few inches to 40—or a meter—as the name al metro implies) to match your appetite, at this paninoteca (sandwich shop) off of Piazza Luigi Cadorna. There are just four inventive sandwich types on offer each day, with ingredients changing seasonally like lentil cream, fennel, ricotta salata, and orange; or mortadella, pistachio cream, and Toma cheese. While meats like salami are front and center, there's always at least one vegetarian option, all on crusty fresh bread from the village of Gignese. You can take your sandwich to go for a picnic while exploring the islands, or upstairs to the cozy and bright red and white dining room and its small terrace overlooking the piazza.
The vaulted ceilings of this popular trattoria on the upper town's main street are marked with ancient graffiti, created by (patiently) holding candles to the stone overhead. The house specialties are simple but tasty: polenta taragna (with buckwheat flour) cooked with butter and cheese and served with rabbit, chicken, or sliced mushrooms with oil, garlic, and parsley. Ask and you'll receive the perfect wine pairing for your meal.
Reservations are a good idea for this longtime favorite in the hills above Cernobbio. The lake view is splendid, and specialties include homemade pastas and fish dishes with a dash of international flair.
“The Garden" has an expansive patio that's a shady respite from the summer sun. Though mainly known for its pizza, the restaurant also has an extensive menu of fish and meat dishes. You can also stay the night in one of 12 basic rooms.
Next to the castle and tucked into three charming rooms, this elegant, intimate restaurant is considered by many to be Sirmione's finest. Its creative tasting menus feature an appealing mix of fish (from the lake or the sea), meat, and vegetarian dishes, all accompanied by a good choice of wines.
This osteria looks to the 16th century for culinary inspiration, with excellent homemade salami and two popular primi—gnocchi vecchia Cremona (stuffed with sausage and baked with poppy seeds, sesame, and Parmigiano-Reggiano) and marubini Cremonesi ai tre brodi (stuffed meat ravioli in broth)—made according to time-tested recipes. Order the tiramisu and an accompanying dessert wine for a perfect finish.
Right next to the Cernobbio ferry stop, this pretty restaurant offers a nice selection of local wines and, whenever possible, uses local ingredients in its pizza, pasta, fish, and meat dishes. Though the modern gray interior is pleasant, try for a table on the terrace, and note that, in season, you can rent a sun bed and use the pools (one for adults and one for kids) before or after your meal.
Amid sophisticated Art Nouveau surroundings, you can order creative versions of traditional Lombard cuisine. All fish dishes are done with verve, as are the lasagnette di pasta fresca alla robiola spinaci (lasagna with soft cheese and spinach), nocette d'agnello (noisette of lamb), and veal-shank stew, which earned the restaurant a Michelin star in 2019.
The Tresoldi family began baking bread in Bergamo in 1946 and the tradition continues with pizza, focaccia, pastries, and the local dessert Polenta e Osei—a sweet polenta-and-marzipan concoction decorated with chocolate that comes in sizes from small to large. The walls are lined with portraits of Bergamo's elite and with just a few bar stools the spot is ideal if you need a quick snack or lunch on the go.
Walk through a Japanese garden off a country road east of Riva del Garda to enter multiple-Michelin-star-awarded chef Peter Brunel's light-filled, turquoise velvet-chaired restaurant. Each of the dozen sleek white tables are decorated with a unique sculpture, and jazz music sets the tone. Navy-suited waitstaff suggest selecting an aperitif from the more than 700-label cantina and vast local spirits list (including nonalcoholic gin and Campari), to ease into your meal. In the black-and-white-tiled open kitchen (inspired by poet Gabriele d'Annunzio's Gardone Riviera home) sample the chef's signature dish, Memory of Lofoten, inspired by outdoor stockfish curing in Norway; marinated anchovies perch on a grissini (breadsticks) line, across a sea of piquillo peppers, foamy salt water, and herring eggs. Multiple tasting menus, including vegetarian, easily accommodate dietary restrictions and are the best way to try both seasonal and iconic dishes. For dessert, in-season fruit brulées with chocolate and ricotta cream pair well with coffee brewed however you'd like—from espresso to French press to Chemex.
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