7 Best Restaurants in Lombardy and the Lakes, Italy

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.

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.

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.

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.