Strong 4... I was naturally a little on the skeptical side when we took our wooden boat drivers advice on where to get lunch on our visit to Lake Como, but was really pleasantly surprised that this meal at his supposed cousins establishment yielded one of the best, and probably the most wonderfully simplest dishes I had in Italy. Said dish would be a perfectly prepared fresh caught perch, right out of the famous lake, lightly fried to the ideal consistency, crisp on the outside and soft moist an flakey on the inside, magnificently light and not the least bit greasy. The fish was served atop a bed of perfectly prepared luscious and velvety risotto in the classic Lombardy fashion, served plain to the point of being almost flavorless, but somehow in the most delightful way possible, only further helping to showcase and enhance the pure delicious flavors of the perfectly prepared fish rather than distract from it. Served alongside a similarly simple but delicious and flavor-packed peak season tomato salad with a feta-like cheese it amounted to a pretty perfect lunch. The fact that these were chosen from a very tight menu of a literal handful of total options, leads me to think you probably couldn't have made bad choice and they are keeping things tight in all the right ways. I enjoyed my meal with a Amaro spritz, one of only 2 options available when I inquired about what was simply listed as "cocktail" on the menu.
The low-key, back to basic charmer vibe extended to the stripped down setting in a side room off of a courtyard entrance inside a nondescript 3-star tourist hotel. We were they only customers in the house, save for one other table, and the relative silence, along with the mellow yet agreeable service by the small staff only added further to the relaxed atmosphere. I would highly recommend a meal here if you find yourself in this legendarily upscale locale, and it served as quite a contrast to our really disappointing and many times more expensive dinner on the other side on the lake in Bellagio, but that is a story for another review... read more