Suggested
Restaurants – from Como going North
On Lake Como as elsewhere in Italy, there is a
huge variety of places to eat, from small family-run Osteria and Trattoria to
top-class restaurants. Here are just a few that we have tried and tested over
the years, which you may not discover on your own (listed from Como town going
north up the western shore). Menus are usually in English, but watch out for
the cover charge or ‘coperto’ which is an extra per person charge. Many of
these restaurants close out of season (November to February), so get your hotel
to call in advance and reserve a table for you.
Key - based
on 2 people having 2 courses (except for pizzerias) including ½ litre of house wine
€ up to 30 €€
30-50 €€€ 50-80 €€€€ 80 -100+
Como
Town
€€ Il
Pomodorino
Via Cinque Giornate, 62b 031
240 384 ristoranteilpomodorino.it open 7/7
Located in the cobbled back-streets of Como
town, but well signposted. Offers a large selection of all home-made produce
including the pasta and the bread as well as a varied menu including meat,
fish, pasta and pizza (wood oven).
€€ - €€€
Il Pepe Nero
Via Pietro Boldoni, 26 031 260333 pepenerocom.com open 7/7
Very central and easy to find,
opposite the Coin store behind Piazza Cavour. Has both indoor and outdoor
seating. Good selection of dishes and wines. Stylish dining atmosphere (no
pizza).
€ - €€ Taverna Spagnola
Piazza Volta 33/Via
Grassa 031 272 460 closed
Wednesday
Just off Piazza Volta,
down a side street. As the name suggests, this is a Taverna, not a restaurant
(although it is not actually Spanish), with freshly cooked, fast/simple dishes
– pasta, meat and huge pizzas. Tables are wooden and the atmosphere is usually
buzzing. You can eat till late, often until midnight. Good food at a very
reasonable price – always full of locals.
€€ Le Colonno
(part of the Hotel del Duca)
Piazza
Giuseppe Mazzini, 031
264 859 albergodelduca.it open 7/7
Run by the same family for 15 years, the
Santarelli’s, this cosy, friendly restaurant offers traditional Italian
cuisine, specialising in fish. They also do excellent pizzas.
€€ Loft
Via
Boldoni 3 031
267846 open
7/7 ((lunch)
A panoramic restaurant & bar on the 5th floor of
the ‘Coin’ store just behind Piazza Cavour. Serves great food, as well as cakes
for afternoon tea. Only open at lunch-time with daily menus, great on Sundays.
It’s worth popping in just for a coffee or a drink for the view over the roof
tops of Como.
Cernobbio (one of the more pricey towns to dine)
€€ - €€€ Albergo
Centrale
Via Regina, 39 031 511 411 albergo-centrale.com open
7/7
A great location on the main road running through
Cernobbio, very central and always excellent food, with a great choice of
pasta, meat and fish dishes (no pizza).
€€ - €€€ Harry’s Bar
Piazza Risorgimento, 2 031
512 647 closed
Tuesday
Very popular with well-heeled Italians. A stylish
lakefront restaurant in the main piazza. Attentive service and a quite pricey
menu. Superb for dining al fresco. (no pizza)
€€ - €€€ Il Ghatto
Nero
Via Monte Santo, 69 031
512 042 il-gatto-nero.it closed Monday
Located in the hills above Cernobbio, affording
stunning views of the lake below and the city of Como. Popular with Villa
D’Este guests, the food is always excellent, with a huge choice of menu and an
excellent wine list. Set on various levels, it has a very intimate atmosphere.
Ask for a lake-view table outside on the terrace in summer. (no pizza)
€€€ - €€€€ Villa
D’Este, Veranda Restaurant
Via Regina, 40 031
3481 villadeste.com open 7/7
Hailed as one of the best hotels in the world by Travel
& Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler and Forbes Traveler, this represent luxurious,
attentive, formal lakeside dining. Dine either protected by huge glass windows
which disappear into the ground in the summer or al fresco. Open for both lunch
and dinner (don’t forget your jacket and tie in the evenings). Traditional Italian
haute cuisine with an extensive wine list and a knowledgeable sommelier. (no
pizza)
Moltrasio
€€€ Imperialino
Via Regina Vecchia 24 031
346 111 hotel-lago-como-imperiale.com closed Monday
The restaurant is part of the 4 star hotel
Imperialino and is mentioned in the Michelin Guide 2010. The lakeside location
is romantic and the food is traditional Italian with an imaginative
interpretation. Popular with businessmen at lunch-time and for candle-lit
dinners in the evening. (no pizza)
Laglio
€€- €€€ La Locanda del
Cantiere
Via Vecchia Regina, 91 031 401 400 lalocandadelcantiere.it closed
Tuesday
An interesting restaurant located
in a former boatyard, located on the lower lake road and run by Father and 2
sons. The restaurant has huge windows overlooking the lake and an outside
dining area in the summer. The varied menu changes weekly and there is a
lunch-time specials menu at a reasonable set price.
€
Bar Il Saggitario
Via Regina Nuova 6 n/a n/a closed
Tuesday
If you are looking for a real local
experience and want to sample food cooked by mam and served up to the local
workmen at lunch time only for the princely sum of €12 for 2 courses including
house wine. There is no menu, as it changes daily, but there is usually 3-4
choices of pasta, followed by 3-4 main courses. It is more of a café/bar than a
restaurant, but the food is always good.
Argegno
€€ - €€€ Il Sorriso 031 817001 ristoranteilsorriso.it open
7/7
Located in the heart of Argegno, with outdoor &
indoor dining Superb seafood with a difference. Try the crab pasta or the
octopus with blueberry sauce and save room for the orange tiramisu. Not much
for the meat lover except a superb kebab.
€€ - €€€ La Piazetta
Piazza Roma, 6 031 821 110 piazzettargegno.it open
7/7
Offers a welcoming and stylish interior in the
winter and al fresco dining in the piazza in the summer. The seasonal menu is
always with a twist - pasta with unusual sauces, blackened salmon, fresh tuna,
seafood risotto or chestnut risotto in the winter, as well as crispy based
pizzas & home-made bread.
€€ (lunch) - €€€ (eve) Hotel
Belvedere
Via Statale 031
821 116 villabelvedereargegno.it open 7/7
Lovely lakeside setting. Recently renovated and
under new management, it has a varied menu and the setting is superb!
€€ -
€€€ La Barchetta
Piazza Roma, 2 031 821 105 www.ristorantebarchetta.it closed Monday
Try the menu
Degustazione menu to sample some local specialities. The menu changes according
to the season, so you will find pizzoccheri, chestnuts and porcini in the
winter and fresh asparagus, artichokes and seafood in the summer. Their
all-year round speciality is fillet steak with porcini mushrooms and potatoes.
€ - €€ Ristorante La Corte
Part of the Hotel
Argegno, family run restaurant and pizzeria – good all round restaurant with an
excellent choice of meats, pastas and a huge pizza list – all delicious!
Sala Comacina
€€€ La Tirlindana
Piazza Matteotti, 5 0344 56637 ristorantelatirlindana.com
closed Monday
A delightful location in the piazza, overlooking
Isola Comacina. Run by a husband and wife team of French-Spanish chef (Patrizia)
and husband Freddie, a French-Italian, the food reflects their eclectic mix of
cultures. Everything is home-made. Try the lemon ravioli. Portions are not
large, so you can easily eat all 3 courses. The desserts are delicious.
€€€
Locanda del Isola
Isola Comacina 0344 55083 comacina.it closed Tuesday
Located on the only island on Lake Como, this is
a real experience. This is where all the stars go when they visit the
area! The menu has not changed since
1947 and today you get the same 5-course menu for €64pp including as much wine as
you like. It is massive meal, so make sure you are hungry and is available at
either lunch or dinner time from April to October. You even get a short history
of the island during the coffee ceremony, presented twice daily by the
unforgettable Benvenuto. Note: credit cards are not accepted. To get there you
park in Sala Comacina and get the water taxi across.
€€ - €€€
La Comacina
Via Statale, 14 0344
55035 ristorantelacomacina.it closed Monday
On the main road by the bank in Sala Comacina, a
stylish restaurant with a lovely balcony overlooking the lake. Run by a husband
and wife team, Gianni and Cristina, it serves home-made pasta, fish of the lake
and steaks, as well as seasonal dishes and special theme nights e.g truffles or
suckling pig. Also closed on Thursday during the winter
Ossuccio
€€ Crotto La Sorgente
Via P. Castelli, 5
0344 55270 crottolasorgente.com closed
Tuesday
You would never just stumble across this
‘secret’ restaurant. Dating back to 1962, it is actually a trout farm in the
hills above Ossuccio. Full of rustic charm, and featuring river trout, fished daily
from fresh water beds provided by the nearby Perlana
waterfall – smoked, dried (missoltino – a lake speciality), grilled
or served with sage and butter- all served along with a health dollop of
polenta. If you book in advance you can order sausages,
pork ribs, cassoella (cassoulet) or Brassato (melt in the mouth beef braised in
red wine).
Lenno
€€€ Lido
di Lenno
Via Comoedia, 1 0344
57 093 lidodilenno.com Open
7/7
Located on the angle of the bay of Lenno, where
they have constructed a beach/lido area as well as a stylish nightclub on the
beach with Bedouin tents! A haunt of Milanese footballers, this restaurant is
only open in the summer, as it is set in a marquee. The menu changes regularly,
based on fresh local produce, they also have a BBQ grill for meat and seafood.
Offers an international menu and an excellent wine list – over 100 different
wines from all over the world.
€ - €€ Il
Cris
Via Armando Diaz, 7 0344 55 131 closed Tuesday
An excellent find, just off the beaten track,
down a narrow driveway, just above Lenno. A well-kept secret, here you will
find great pizzas, excellent pasta, amazing steaks and seafood (try the seafood
basket – a seafood stew served in a pizza-base bread basket). Cash
only.
€€ Hotel Plinio
Viale C. Lomazzi, 3 0344 55158 closed
Wednesday
With a lake front terrace in the pedestrian
lake-front of Lenno, they serve a daily set menu with home-made pasta, meat and
lake fish dishes. A good venue for lunch on Lenno market day (Tuesday),
followed by a trip to Villa Balbianello.
Tremezzo
€€ -
€€€ La Darsena
Via Regina, 3 0344 43166 www.centrohotelslagocomo.it/darsena_tremezzo open 7/7
The restaurant is part of the hotel and is
located right at the front in a stunning lake front position overlooking
Bellagio. Indoor dining with panoramic lake-view windows or outdoor dining, so
be sure to book a table on the terrace in the summer. The menu changes
regularly and is based on local, seasonal produce.
€€€ -
€€€€ Grand Hotel Tremezzo
Via Regina, 8 0344 42491 grandhotel
tremezzo.com open
7/7
Refined al carte dining at the 5
star hotels La Terrazza lake-view restaurant. The terrace offers stunning views
of Bellagio, almost directly opposite and very romantic with its twinkling
lights in the evening. Dress code of smart, casual attire (no jeans).
Tremezzo (Frazione Roghero)
€€ Fagurida Trattoria
Via St Martino, 15 0344 40676 closed Monday
A real local and rustic experience with platters
of meats, cheeses, polenta and braised beef brassato), with wine in earthenware
jugs. Try the antipasti della casa. Ask for a
table with a view.
€€ - €€€ Al Velu
Via Rogaro, 17 0344
40510 alveluu.com closed Tuesday
Stunning views and good food from this elegant restaurant
perched on a hill in a hamlet above Tremezzo.
Menaggio
Menaggio is one of the larger resorts and as
such offers a large selection of restaurants. If you are staying there, ask
your hotel for their recommendations or if you are visiting just for the
evening, go early, have an aperitivo in one of the lake-front bars (suggest
Hotel du Lac), then browse the menus displayed outside each restuarant and take
your pick, depending on taste and budget.
Aquaseria
Crème
Caramel
Via Molino Nuovo 7 0344 50932 closed
Wednesday
Down on the lakefront
in Aquaseria is a real gem, the Crème Caramel. In summer they have tables so
close to the lake that you can almost touch it and they serve some of the best
pizzas for miles around, but only in the evenings. The lunch-time is a set menu
at €15 with good home-cooking and
