During the program, we have 2 meals on our own: dinner in Bellagio (Friday, September 20) and dinner in Stresa (Sunday, September 22). This list of restaurant recommendations in Bellagio and Stresa is only a start; our hotel concierge can offer other suggestions to suit your mood and palate. 

It’s wise to make a reservation in advance.  Often travelers choose to make reservations for 2 to 6 people and then invite fellow travelers to join them during the trip (or they join others and cancel their reservation).

Each entry is coded with € to denote approximate cost per person. €- inexpensive €20 - €25;
€€- average €25 - €30; €€€- expensive €30 - €40; €€€€- top notch >€40.

The dress code for the following restaurants is casual; tie and jacket are not necessary.

BELLAGIO

€

Aperitivo Et Al, Salita Serbelloni, 34, 22021 Bellagio +39 031 951523

Small, welcoming wine bar. Excellent selection of wines, marvelous appetizers, cold cuts, cheese boards and salads. Attentive, friendly service.

€€

Bilacus, Via Serbelloni, 32, 22021 Bellagio +39 031 950480 Booking advised.

Bilacus is under the same ownership as Aperitivo Et Al, but it offers a slightly more formal setting, again offering wonderful wine suggestions and lovingly prepared local fare. Outdoor seating.

Enoteca Cava Turacciolo, Salita Genazzini, 3, 22021 Bellagio +39 031 951975 Booking advised.

Simple osteria-wine bar offering great wines and fine local dishes.

€€€

La Fontana, Via Centrale, 7, 22021 Bellagio +39 031 950283

An unostentatious, family-run osteria/pizzeria that is popular with locals.

La Punta, Via Eugenio Vitali, 19, 22021 Bellagio +39 031 951888 Booking advised.

Close to the hotel located at the very end of the Larian peninsula with superb views, this is a lovely restaurant experience on a pleasant evening. The tables are all located on a semi-enclosed terrace, so best on a balmy and wind free evening. The menu is standard Italian fare. Outdoor seating.

Salice Blu, Via Per Lecco, 33, 22021 Bellagio +39 031 950535 (On the road to Lecco, a 15-minute taxi ride from our hotel) Booking advised.

Owner-chef Luigi is innovative and imaginative in his take on traditional Lombard cuisine.

Silvio, Via Carcano, 12, 22021 Bellagio +39 031 950322 (Just beyond Villa Melzi Gardens, a 5-minute taxi ride from our hotel) Booking advised.

Silvio is one of the best places to sample the myriad lake fish dishes traditional to Lake Como, which are revisited with flair and imagination.

Trattoria San Giacomo, Salita Serbelloni, 45, 22021 Bellagio +39 031 950329 Booking advised.

Popular and bustling, this small trattoria is renowned for fine local food, attentive service and a great atmosphere.

Ristorante Barchetta, Salita Mella, 13, 22021 Bellagio +39 031 951389

A traditional Bellagio establishment enjoying a reputation for polished service, welcoming atmosphere and refined local dishes with a price tag to match.

STRESA

€

La Botte, Via Mazzini, 6/8, 28838 Stresa +39 0323 30462 Booking advised.

This is a tiny trattoria housed in an old “fiaschetteria” (a traditional wine cellar where one would take demijohns for refilling, enjoying a glass and a nibble at the counter in the meantime). La Botte serves unfussy, tasty local dishes in a bustling, welcoming atmosphere.

€€

Caffè Torino, Piazza Cadorna, 23, 28838 Stresa +39 0323 30652

Emblematic Stresiano establishment on Piazza Cadorna, the focal point of old Stresa, popular with locals and visitors alike and offering something for all tastes. Competently executed traditional dishes in a classic Italian cafeteria-ristorante-gelateria atmosphere. It has a large terrace on the square. Outdoor seating.

Il Vicoletto, Vicoletto del Poncivo, 28838 Stresa +39 0323 932102 Booking essential.

This is a very popular osteria-type ristorante, small and welcoming, with an outside terraced area. The pastas and risottos, the tagliata and other red meats and their seafood platters are all excellent. Outdoor seating.

Osteria Degli Amici, Via A. Bolongaro, 33, 28838 Stresa +39 0323 30453

This osteria-pizzeria, occupying a labyrinthine building on the corner of quaint little Piazza Possi, offers good pizzas and fine pastas and risottos in a variety of different locales, also enjoying a large terrace area in the middle of the little square itself. Outdoor seating.

€€€

Due Piccioni, Via Principe Tommaso, 61, 28838 Stresa +39 0323 934556 Booking advised.

This excellent family-run trattoria is recently refurbished. The menu offers traditional pastas and risottos as well as a good selection of meat dishes and tasty variations on the ubiquitous lake fish recipes.

La Sacca, Via Sempione Sud, 50, 28838 Stresa +39 0323 3116 (5-minute taxi ride from our hotel)

In the hamlet of La Sacca on the road leaving Stresa to the southeast, this family-run hotel-ristorante offers a less ambitious and less extensive menu than some, producing some very fine variations on classic seafood, lake fish and pasta dishes. Do not be dismayed by the somewhat cavernous main dining room; there is a more welcoming (covered) terrace available for dining. Outdoor seating.

€€€€

La Stresa, Via Principessa Margherita, 22, 28838 Stresa +39 0323 33240 Booking essential.

La Stresa offers a smart, minimalist, modern locale with welcoming, friendly service. Traditional antipasti are served in an imaginative nouvelle style which also characterizes the excellent pastas, steak, lamb and tuna tartare and delicious desserts. There is some outdoor seating.