Must-see restaurants in Lake Maggiore

Aside from relax along the waterfront, the main thing to do in Ranco is call by this fantastic restaurant, with its lake views, beautiful garden and even…

A small restaurant on a small island with a big reputation. This bewitching place has an admirably short menu, which might feature octopus confit, black…

One of Stresa's most gourmet restaurants doesn't advertise itself from its modest perch up a narrow side street. It doesn't need to. Local word of mouth…

The setting really is hard to beat: Milano directly overlooks Pallanza's minuscule horseshoe-shaped harbour (200m south of the ferry jetty), with a…

Cannobio's best restaurant, Lo Scalo serves cuisine that is sophisticated and precise, featuring dishes such as a suckling pig with spring onions and…

The street profile isn’t a knockout and the interior isn’t particularly exciting either, but a quick opinion poll of local tastes will reveal that…

If you like fresh lake fish then this is the place to come. Set right on the lake and surrounded by greenery, this hotel-restaurant serves up a mix of…

Widely praised by locals, L'Imbuto is a modern, convivial lakeside restaurant that serves up creative, expertly prepared dishes that are excellent value…

This Ticino-style grotto (traditional inn) overlooks the thundering gorge that is the Orrido di Sant’Anna. Granite tables and benches located under a…

Its 100-plus years of history run like a rich seam through this enchanting osteria, where archive photos and bottles line the walls in a display of…

The Pappagallo is a hive of Italian energy where industrious wait staff practically run between tables and your pizza will arrive in the time it takes you…

With its rambling rooms, fish-themed portico and upstairs pergola-and-balcony dining area, this is the best of the few spots on Isola Bella for home…

What is possibly Largo Maggiore's most romantic restaurant has a waterside terrace and views of the illuminated Rocca di Angera fortress at night. The…

Reminding you that Lake Maggiore's west shore is in Piedmont, this refined dining room peddles such regional delicacies as gnocchi with Gorgonzola and…

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…

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…

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…

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…

A terrace overlooking Pallanza's ferry jetty and a wildly ornate interior help make this largely unremarkable eatery a perennially popular choice. As do…

Choose between a vine-covered terrace overlooking the lake and the terracotta-hued interior dining rooms at this friendly restaurant. Start things off…