Fantastic food, beautiful setting, terrific service. Definitely check to get reservations (only in…read moreperson, not available via phone or email) when you arrive in Varenna. Delicious Northern Italy menu. Understated elegance and highly recommended.

Beautiful patio tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the other restaurants on the water. You…read moreneed to book at least a couple of days out as they are full every night and only have one seating per table. The food was good, but not great. Definitely worth trying.

This was my favorite restaurant out of my entire trip to Milan/Lake Como. The pasta was so fresh,…read moreand the dish I ordered came with these crispy eggplant slices that were SO GOOD. The service was amazing, and every item we ordered was just so unique and delicious. Highly recommend!

Very, very good. Amazing homemade pasta and great service. Their fried cheese with honey and…read moreonion sorbet is the best.

Seems to be closed?!? We were in town 3 nights and never saw it open. Asked at the restaurant next…read moredoor and they said it is closed.

Tasted terrible .... Portions small, lamb was tough, potatoes were like French fries and clams in…read morespaghetti were small And tasteless .

This a lovely small alternative to typical restaurants along the lake. It is a bit hidden and from…read morethe outside looks like it might be a dive. What a great find. The owner has creatively renovated the stone shell of a former workshop. The steel and exposed stained wood structure complements the stone walls and floor Okay what about the food? Look every restaurant serves typical regional dishes as does this. Everything we had was delicious and promptly served. The cost is a bit less than others. So unpretentious. So tasty. Hope this guy stays successful

Fun little dark restaurant off the beaten path. The staff…read morewas pretty funny. They played American music (80's) and were singing along to it. Food was good.. I had caprese board and my husband had the Napoli pizza. My food was fresh and tasty but my wine ( white was not great). My husband enjoyed his pizza but said his Negroni was just ok. Fun place and people.

We were walking back from our day long tour of Como castles and weee walking down the cobblestone…read morestreets when we realized it was dinner time. We tried to stand in line for other restaurants since we weren't aware you needed to make reservations. We got tired of researching restaurants and ended up standing in line for this restaurant accidentally without knowing that it's one of the most sought after restaurants in the area. Since we didn't have reservations, we stood in line for about 30 minutes before we were seated outdoors. What a magical evening it was!! We got lamb shank which is some of the best I've ever had in all of my visits to Italy. The meat was falling of the bone tender and the skin was seared a little to enhance flavor. The lamb came on a bed of mashed potatoes which was creamy as well. We also got grilled veggies and beef filet tips which was also tender and juicy. We ended the dinner with tiramisu which was mind blowing and large in portion for two of us to share as well. We highly recommend coming here if your time permits since you will be rating if you don't pay to reserve in advance. Reservations can also only be made in person the day before so factor that into your travel plans. I can only promise that food and the ambience will be amazing if you are able to take the time to come here

The very best restaurant in Varenna. Their pasta is amazing and their beef dishes are some of the…read morebest outside of Florence. Their servers are amazing and will take great care of you. This restaurant is a must go!

Amazing garden with a beautiful view. We thought the food and service was delicious and fantastic!…read moreOur daughter ran around the garden the whole time with other children and the cooks took her back into the kitchen to say hi to everyone. We will be back for sure!!

If you care about what views you get along lake Como, I would definitely come early. They don't…read moretake reservations it's first come first serve, but the service was great. We ordered ravioli and carbonara haha. We would definitely come again!

This restaurant is AWESOME! Loves the food, omg the wine and pasta was so flavorful, added with the…read morebread, olive oil, salt, pepper and the red wine was out of this world! Highly recommended! It's most definitely a 5 star! Pamela

I just had what is likely the best meal I've had in my life. Il Caminetto is unlike any restaurant…read moreI have ever visited. My wife and I made reservations the day before for dinner, and the chef/owner offered to pick us up from our apartment in Perledo. We agreed, and his wife arrived on time in a van to take us to Il Caminetto, which is in the tiny town of Gittana next door. The restaurant itself is beyond cozy, and it feels like a living room in an ancient Italian house - probably because it is. The house has been with the family for generations, according to the chef (who personally drove us home at the end of the night), and you can sense the history of the building while you relax with a glass of wine between courses. Speaking of courses, my wife and I marvelled throughout the dinner how EVERYTHING could be so delicious. We both ordered multi-course meals and were constantly amazed by every new dish we were served, from the wine, to the meat and pate hors d'oeuvres, to the pasta, to the AMAZING meat skewer served on a SWORD stabbed through a stone. I feel like I could have ordered anything on the menu and it would have blown my mind. Our desserts, a home-made pie and a lemon-vodka sorbet, were just as incredible. You can't go wrong here. It simply isn't possible. If you have a chance, book a cooking class with the chef as well as a dinner. He was charming and hilarious on our drive home, and if he can teach you to cook like that, then it's definitely worth your time. Just book it early - we asked at dinner if we could do the class the next day, and they said the classes were booked for the next two weeks. Whether you take a class or just have the dinner, do NOT pass up Il Caminetto!

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!

Our first night in Varenna, Lake Como ended on a good note thanks to Locanda Cavallino. We showed…read moreup the day of & asked to make a reservation for that very same night. The waiter kindly put a reservation for table at 8 PM on their outside patio. While we couldn't get a full view of the water, that atmosphere was so nice and everybody was generally very pleasant, which was relaxing. Their menu was vast and because we had so many choices, we ended up ordering so much off of the menu, including fries with ketchup, their soup of the day, (which was a zucchini cream soup), cocktails and mocktails, seafood pasta and monkfish, shrimp & scallop skewers. Safe to say, we are completely full by the time we left, but everything was delicious and I didn't regret anything we ordered.

An elevated dining experience right by the ferry stop. They have an outdoor area overlooking the…read morelake but on cool march evening we dined inside. The interior is just a beautiful space modern but still showing off the old stone walls. Plenty of tables but all of them separate and not stuffed together so you will have privacy. The wine list is extensive while the menu is a bit more concise. The food is locally sourced and all is home made. The bread basket is not an after thought but a an excellent blending of different breads and bread sticks. I wanted to try the risotto with fish filets but they only prepare for 2 so I asked our waitress for he favorite dish she l Pointed to the raviolis stuffed with rabbit. They were amazing the wife had a top notch pasta with mushrooms.foe desert tired of tiramisu we asked the waitress she led up to a wonderful tarte with lemon ricotta and blueberries . Wow!!

This was a standout lunch for us in Varenna! We walked in with no reservation which was risky, and…read morethe owner said he only had 2 tables to choose from since the others were reserved, and showed us to make sure we were fine with either of those options (which was thoughtful). We opted for the one on the terrace, and our view was INCREDIBLE. one of the best lunch views we had the entire trip. The service was fast and attentive. My husband ordered the duck which was amazing and so flavorful in a yummy sauce, and I ordered the homemade pumpkin ravioli with cheese fondue sauce. MY PASTA WAS INCREDIBLE. Top 3 of my entire trip and I raved about it to the owner. It had pomegranates to top it and something else (I think mushrooms?)-- it was so flavorful and I wanted to savor every single bite. It just wasn't enough. The portions were a little smaller for the pasta, but that is to be expected at most places since it is meant to be a secondary accompaniment to the main meal. I just ordered that for my meal and it was the perfect portion for me since I wasn't starving. Overall, this was a very memorable lunch for us and you can tell the owner cares a lot about this restaurant, its customers, and its cuisine. I highly recommend a visit here!!! And you truly can't beat the view. Wish we could return!

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.