Lake Como Restaurant Guide

People keep asking me about what restaurants I would recommend to visit during a vacation on Lake Como. So here goes. To make it user friendly I have listed them in geographical order from South to North. I have also added a € key to give you an idea of cost.



Restaurants: (from Como going North)

Cernobbio:

€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ Villa D’Este – 031 348720
What can I say! If you have the money it is a great dining experience, especially in the summer, when you get to sit outside in the garden. The jacket and tie rule makes it a bit stuffy. You could always go for pre-dinner drinks to the bar instead. Dress up though and expect to pay over the odds.
www.villadeste.it

€€€ Ghatto Nero – Closed on Monday - 031 512042
You need to book. Stunning setting, great food. There is a parking service. You arrive
and they will take you up the hill to park and then bring you back in their car.
www.il-gatto-nero.it


Laglio - George Clooney’s village
€€ Ristorante Osteria Vecchio Molo – 031 400730
Fish restaurant. Lots of lake fish specialities. Don't go if you don't like fish,as there is no other choice. Good local food. Tables outside in the summer.


Argegno:
€€ La Corte – closed on Tuesday in winter - 031 821455
Pizzeria and restaurant. Consistently good food and reasonable prices. A huge pizza selection and one of the best 'Milanese' I have ever eaten.
www.info@hotelargegno.it

€€€ Hotel Belvedere – 031 821116
Lovely setting on a nice day for a light lunch right by the lakeside.



Sala Comacina
€€€ La Tirlindana – Closed on Monday - 0344 56637
You must try the lemon ravioli! Small portions, but great food from the Spanish/Italian chef and the French/Italian owner. Delicious desserts! Book at weekends. Stunning location in the cobbled piazza (leave your high heels at home) overlooking the island.
www.ristorantelatirlindana.com

€€€ Taverna Bleu – closed on Tuesday – 0344 55107
Lovely, peaceful lake-side setting – good varied menu. Great lake fish dishes. Make sure you look at the prices on the wine list before ordering. Don't just go for the owner's suggestions!

€€€€ La Locanda dell’Isola – 0344 55083 – closed mid-October to mid-April
Join the stars (Clooney, Pitt, Madonna, to name a few)at one of the most famous restaurants on Lake Como, serving the same menu since 1947! At 62 euro for a 5 course meal including as much wine as you can drink, it is amazing value and a real experience. Not to be missed – great for either lunch or dinner. They now do a 'light' menu where you miss out one of the main courses either the salmon trout or the chicken. Don't forget to ask for this. Book in high season.
www.comacina.it


€€ Ossuccio (the next village)
Crotto La Sorgente –closed on Tuesday – 0344 55270
A trout farm. Usually a set menu with polenta. Rustic charm. Up in the hills above the village.


Lenno:
€€ Hotel Plinio – closed Wednesday - 0344 55158
Nice lake-front setting and good value set menu. Maybe lunch there after market day on Tuesday, followed by a trip to Villa Balbianello.


Further afield:
Tremezzo (Fraz. Roghero)
€€ Fagurida Trattoria – closed Monday – 0344 40676.
A real experience with platters of meats, cheeses, polenta and braised beef, with wine in earthenware jugs – yummy! You need to book. Ask for a table with a view.

€€€€ Al Veluu - closed on Tuesday -0344 40510
Stunning views and good food from this place. Slightly upmarket - or at least they think they are!


By Boat:
Best way is to get public boat from Cernobbio across to Torno. As you get off the boat, you will see the restaurant on your right.


€€Hotel Belvedere, Torno – closed Tuesday - 031 419100
Book a table on the lakeside terrace. Would recommend the spaghetti ai frutti di mare and the salmon ravioli


Wines:
Try the local wines – very good and full-bodied reds from Valtellina – Sassella and Inferno


KEY:
€ Around €15-20pp inc. wine
€€ Around €25pp inc. wine
€€€ Around €35-50pp inc. wine
€€€€ €50+ pp inc. wine

Don't miss the property boat on Lake Como

Today, I am kicking myself big style. Around 10 years ago, I saw an advert in a local newspaper for a really cute 1 bedroom, cottage (seen here)on the lakeside on the eastern shore of Lake Como. It was on the market for 90 million lire . As you know, the lire is now obsolete and when it was replaced with the Euro on January 1, 1999, 1euro was equivalent to 1936.27 old lire, so that would make the asking price 46,000 euro, which with a really good sterling exchange rate back then, would make this lovely lakeside property about 30,000 sterling.

So imagine how I felt when doing some online property searching for a client this morning, I came across the very same property on the market at 650,000 euro - follow the link to verify - http://www.pegasuscasa.com/annuncio.asp?id=136717. Now that's what I call a healthy profit! To say I felt sick to the pit of my stomach is an understatement. I was brought up not to do 'envy' and all that green-eyed stuff, but I just couldn't help myself – I was greener than the jolly green giant. Now that's what I call an investment! Admittedly the 650,00 euro price tag sounds a bit optimistic, given that you can buy a much larger 3 bedroom villa (to renovate) by the lake on the more desirable western shore for between 950,000 and 1.3 million, depending on whether you talk directly to the owner or to one of the greedier local agents.

Nevertheless someone will probably buy it, as lake side properties are very desirable and as rare as the proverbial rocking horse poo. So much so that whereas there is an accepted price per square metre for properties on Lake Como, when it comes to lakeside properties all calculations go out the window and the price is set along the lines of 'what the owner wants to get for it and what somebody is willing to pay for it'. Not quite an exact science then!

That does not mean that property on Lake Como is not still within the reach of us mere mortals. Of course it is! And it still represents excellent value for money, when you compare it with UK prices and prices elsewhere in Europe, even taking into account the less-than-perfect euro to sterling exchange rate. You can still pick up a pied-a-terre (studio apartment) in the centre of Como for under 200,000 (if you know who to ask and where to look) and just last week, I found a great apartment for sale in Laglio (aka Clooney-ville) with lake view, 1 bedroom and a balcony for only 170,000 euro. Of course you won't find these little bargains on the internet. They are private sales. So you just need to be 'in the know'.

The moral of the story is if it looks like a bargain, bag it!