Mantua
Understand: Tavern 500 isn’t really a tavern and the decor (creamy walls embellished with subtle watercolours) doesn’t look very 500 (the 16th century in…
Must-see restaurants in The Italian Lakes
Milan
Locals come after work to pick out a bottle from some 300 regional wines or share a generous platter of goat’s cheese and mostarda (fruit in a sweet…
Corso Magenta & Sant'Ambrogio
This homespun trattoria is famous for its meat dishes, particularly the velvety tagliata (sliced beef) served with grilled vegetables and roasted potatoes…
Lake Como
At the north end of Torno's lakeside square, this family-run hotel-restaurant has an elegant dining room and an even lovelier lakeside terrace. Both make…
Como
Set in a quiet side-street, this self-styled bottega con ristoro (wine shop with refreshments) serves a quality short menu featuring excellent cold cuts…
Lake Como West Bank
The word fabbrica (factory) takes on a whole new meaning when you stick the words 'ice cream' after it. Out go thoughts of smoky factories and in come…
Duomo & San Babila
This spacious, light-filled restaurant with its elegant Trussardi tableware and views over La Scala is the epitome of restrained Milanese style. In the…
Stresa
Fish! There's no secret about the star on Clandestino's menu. Within the elegant corner dining room with its parquet floor, creamy white linen and soft…
Orta San Giulio
A modern, laid-back alternative to your typical low-lit trattoria, this place offers a broad range of thoughtfully prepared dishes that combine creativity…
Lake Como West Bank
Since 1948, the Locanda dell'Isola has been serving the same abundant set menu on the south side of the island, characterised by a round of nine…
Lake Maggiore West Bank
For a quick Cannobio lunch (and flashbacks to your school days), sit down at a requisitioned lift-up school desk and order something from the blackboard…
Corso Magenta & Sant'Ambrogio
A solid favourite of the lunching business crowd, this elegant osteria (tavern) offers a short menu of classic dishes with the focus on quality…
Central Lombardy
A small elegant spot in La Gera, La Contrada has a small menu of classic, well-executed recipes. Among the reliable favourites: spaghetti with clams,…
Corso Magenta & Sant'Ambrogio
This family-run business makes gelato of the highest quality, entirely from scratch and without added preservatives or colours. The emphasis is on…
Stresa
Regional dishes are at the heart of this tiny trattoria’s business, so expect grilled lake fish, pear and blue-cheese risotto and plenty of polenta (the…
Stresa
You may need to queue here, but it’s worth it to dine under vines on one of Stresa’s prettiest terraces in the centre of town, just off pedestrianised Via…
Como
A workaday street round the back of the Duomo is an unlikely spot for such a bewitching restaurant. The menu is packed with local meat and lake produce,…
Milan
The place that made Chinese food trendy in Milan is impossibly hip, from its clientele down to the Chairman Mao iconography. Specialising in cuisine from…
Como
For generations comaschi (Como residents) have turned to Ceccato for their Sunday-afternoon gelato and then embarked on a ritual passeggiata (stroll) with…
Lake Como
The fabulous views from the terrace high in Varenna's old town are only half the story at this highly creative restaurant affiliated with the Albergo…
Brescia
Al Bianchi is your classic Italian bar with restaurant out back, in business since the callow years of the Risorgimento and probably serving the same…
Duomo & San Babila
Like an old friend you haven't seen in years, this trattoria welcomes you with generous goblets of wine, hearty servings of traditional Milanese fare and…
Milan
Five words: fancy fast food with fish. That's the concept brought to you by the team behind Drogheria Milanese. Enter and you'll find a display of shiny…
Porta Garibaldi & Isola
All natural, hand-turned ice cream and sorbets in an interesting range of flavours, such as chocolate with chilli, and DOP pistachio with salt and pepper…
Milan
If you like your antipasti with a side of design then check out sultry Sixième, part of the Six Gallery complex which includes a vintage furniture gallery…
Brescia
Tucked down Parsley Lane off pleasant pedestrianised Corso Cavour, this is a hidden gem for good home cooking served at tables dressed in gingham. Frilly…
Sirmione
In this small authentic trattoria, tucked away in a backstreet just off the main square, the atmosphere is warm and bustling, and the dishes are packed…
Milan
Salivary glands have worked overtime here for a century, thanks to hearty classics such as osso buco swathed in risotto, unexpected delights such as fish…
Milan
Presided over by a large pink poster of circus queen Moira Orfei, this tiny '50s bistro on Via Savona is famous for its indulgent brunches and fusion…
Milan
This homey locale is brimming with all the ‘good’ stuff (ie food that is cruelty-free, healthy and honestly delicious). Run by a husband-and-wife team, it…
Lake Garda West Bank
Describing Fior di Loto as a steakhouse is criminal given the Rolls Royce selection of meat cuts aged between 25 and 40 months. Ten different cuts of meat…
Milan
The elegant proportions of this 17th-century palazzo (mansion) fit this discreet teppanyaki restaurant close to the Brera art gallery. Downstairs, chef…
Lake Garda
Holidaying gourmets should head for this intimate little osteria, where sourcing local delicacies is a labour of love for its sommelier-owner. The…
Central Lombardy
Spread about inside what remains of the one-time castle at the heart of Gromo, the various rooms (some with frescoes) here have a convivial air. Mushrooms…
Brescia
Set partly in the stables of a 1610 palace, flanked by columns, La Sosta excels at finely tuned gastronomic creations using the freshest regional produce…
Lake Como West Bank
The 'Little Boat', appropriately enough, specialises in lake fish and, come autumn, dishes using mushrooms and truffles. A few tables are scattered along…
Lake Maggiore West Bank
Choose between a vine-covered terrace overlooking the lake and the terracotta-hued interior dining rooms at this friendly restaurant. Start things off…
Lake Garda
The resemblance of this harbourside restaurant to an aquarium is perfectly apt as the menu here offers almost exclusively seafood. Don't even think of…
Verbania
A terrace overlooking Pallanza's ferry jetty and a wildly ornate interior help make this largely unremarkable eatery a perennially popular choice. As do…
Como
Enter via the pizza oven (not literally) into the modern two-level space of Pinzimonio with its casual demeanour and simple Mondrian colour aesthetic. The…
