HANDS DOWN the BEST in Varenna... and the best restaurant around the lake that we had eaten at…read moreduring our week. Food was excellent, service was 10/10, ambiance was wonderful. The owner and his staff were wonderful, kind, welcoming and made great recommendations. Al Prato is a gem, and a peaceful yet lively respite from the crowded lake-front spots. A must-try. Make sure you stop by to make a reservation in-person, it fills up quickly! Thank you Al Prato for the delicious meals and beautiful evenings.

MAKE RESERVATIONS!!! Get help from your hotel/airbnb accommodation to get reservations! It's one of…read moremy dinner highlights for my trip! My lamb chop was SO JUICY AND MELT in my mouth! It was so good! Please get the tiramisu if they have it on their menu!

Best meal I have ever had in my life. Ask the other reviews said the same. The food is still on…read moremy mind from one year ago. I hope anyone traveling within 100 miles makes a point to add this to their trip. Incredible. Plus Chef Moreno and his wife are charming and warm, kind and very funny. Other tip - let someone else do the driving. The winding hairpin turns were just like those mountain roads in all the best movies in Italy. Do yourself this one favor - go!

I read a review where the reviewer wrote he was still thinking about this meal 4 years later and…read morethese words couldn't be truer! Absolutely incredible! The tasting menu delicious, the veal was incredible, and the risotto with mushrooms and apple, wow! Such a warm cozy place and great overall experience. Book ahead of time, they turned 10 people away just tonight!

In a few words... Food, Exceptional…read moreService, delightful Ambiance, very nice whether inside or out

What a delicious meal we had on our last day in Varenna. It is the best meal we have had on our…read moretrip. This is a small cozy restaurant, only 6 tables inside but there are some outside tables. We had a 45 minute wait for a table. It was rainy and cold but worth it. We had the Caprese salad with Baratta cheese and wonderful tomatoes. It was big enough to share. For the main dishes we had pasta stuffed with ricotta cheese and lemon, with a Parmesan cheese sauce, and lamb shank with mashed potatoes. The pasta was spot on with a light lemony flavor, the lamb was tensor and succulent. Not to be forgotten was the red wine. We chose a bottle of Barbaresco that was smooth with great legs. Unfortunately we were too full for dessert.

Overall we had an absolutely fantastic experience of dining at La Vista Restaurant. This restaurant…read moreis located at the hotel Albergo in Milano. This was the hotel we were staying at so it was super easy to make a reservation with the hostess. The restaurant has one of the best views in Varenna. It overlooks all of Lake Como. The staff was extremely friendly, spoke English very well, and was very attentive to our needs. I went with the four course meal option, which was priced very affordable. Started off with the tomato mozzarella, the gnocchi was second, steak was my entrée, and chocolate mousse as my dessert. The entire table shared a bottle of wine, and we ended with espresso martinis. Everything was really good, I wouldn't say it was the best food I've ever had in my life, but it was good for the views, the price, the service, and the atmosphere. My only complaint is that I asked for a medium rare steak, and I got a well-done steak. If you want your steak, cooked, medium or medium rare, make sure you really harp on the fact to cook it correctly. I didn't complain or say anything because I was extremely hungry and it was starting to get late. We were the last ones to leave the restaurant, they let us stay on the balcony until midnight to continue drinking and having conversation. I know if I come back to Varenna this will be on my absolute must list. Pros: views, service, prices, experience Cons: overcooked meat

La Vista was the restaurant that ran in our hotel, and we were able to get a balcony seat right off…read morethe water for our romantic honeymoon dinner. The views were spectacular and the service was exceptional, the food was good just like all other food we had in Lake Como. You are paying for the view and a decent meal to go with it, and that's what the food was: decent with a heavy price tag. I would go back just because I love the hotel so much, but I will not be expecting a culinary masterpiece to die for here.

Previously, I was taken here by locals and the cuisine lived up to the hype. When I had some spare…read moretime in Lugano, I could not think of a better venue for lunch. Dine outside, if the weather permits, and enjoy the view of lovely Lake Lugano and the rolling house-speckled hills in between occasional interruptions by the armored G-wagons and super cars that the residents use to put around this picturesque town.

I loved this place didn't felt authentic and not touristy...the food was delicious though and not…read morefar from the train station right along the water...

Food: 4/5 Service: 4/5…read moreAmbiance: 4/5 One of the restaurants that open a little bit early so we have decided to try it out. We got there 10 minutes before and people started coming after us. We got the seat even we didn't have reservations. I ordered risotto with fried perch (minimum 2 orders), lake fish sampler entree, and white wine to pair with fish dishes. Risotto flavor was good but the texture was a bit hard for my taste. It was different from the one I had in Venice. I don't know which one is authentic but I don't really like the texture of this one. Lake fish sampler also great on seasoning but then again some fishes have small bones which I didn't like. So if small bones bother you like me, I suggest don't order this dish. Also order "Miascia" with figs jam and pumpkin ice-cream. Which tasted balance with ice cream and taste of fig jam. Overall experience was ok but it was a bit over priced.

There was not much selection of restaurants on Varenna in Lake Como. So we stumbled across this…read morerestaurant without reservation for dinner. We were seated as soon as they opened; which was very nice of them. We ordered their Risotto and Grilled fish and ended our dinner with sweet dessert that they have. Their Risotto was not my favorite because the rice was tough to chew and fish had tiny bones in them. Risotto had good seasoning but texture was not what I prefer. Grilled fish platter was decent but fish had a lot of tiny bones that I didn't like. Seasonings were great! Service was good and staff were talking in English and smiling and friendly with people. Table settings were in family style and this place is good for large families.

Great meal. Everything delicious. Enjoyed sitting outside, people watching, trying everything…read morehere and all 3 of us loved what we had. Not going to recommend anything above another.... Just try something that sounds good to you...it will probably be delicious.

This quaint restaurant was very small and on one of the side streets away from all the hustle and…read morebustle of the touristy waterfront places. We had four people and had to split up 2 and 2 to fit, which was not a problem at all. The wait staff was very attentive and helpful despite there being a very small room to operate. I got the house special, which was white pasta with pork served in a cabbage leaf and it was excellent. My girlfriend got the mushroom risotto and it was a little undercooked but still delicious. Everything was reasonably priced and overall we were very happy with the experience

The food was ok, nothing great. Expensive for what it was but we are just next to Varenna. The…read moreservice was friendly. For me, the quaint dinner atmosphere would have been helped greatly if AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Ozzy Osbourne weren't blasting. "Highway to Hell" ruined the charm of the setting. I asked the waiter if we couldn't get some calmer music, he turned it off for 2 minutes and then right back on again. Did not have the willpower to continue for dessert.

Not too far removed from the other eateries along the lakeshore but so worth it! What a charming…read morelittle place tucked away among some old narrow streets. The food was delicious and the service top-notch. Our waitress was so patient as I couldn't speak a lick of Italian. Amazing and authentic. I hope to make it back here in the few short days that I have on the lake.

Mimmo was the best server!! Service was good & lobster…read morepasta was 10/10 Easy walk from Hotel Cornova

This restaurant is in the Centrale train station neighborhood, that's how we ended up here. The…read morefood was good, but frankly not Milan good. The spaghetti carbonara was too salty, and the seafood pasta was just okay. Not for me.

We had reservations for the restaurant and unfortunately were late, but they still accommodated us…read more The location was at the end of a very narrow street. The steamed mussels were fantastic! The wine selection and service were great. The prices were great compared to the other places around the lake. Definitely would go back!

Great food , fantastic atmosphere , exceeded expectations. It was nice to eat where the locals eat…read moreand experience great hospitality.