Eating in Varenna

We were in Varenna in May. Stayed at the Michaelangelo B & B (which has a rooftop terrace right next to the church steeple with a 210 degree view of Lake Como! Had breakfast up there every morning!)

Ate at three places, none of which had views:

1. Restaurant with tables in the passageway a bit waterward of the main road heading toward the boat/RR station from the main square. Very good.
2. Pizza restaurant in the main square. For a pizza restaurant, it was good.
3. Another restaurant in the passageway. Pass the first restaurant by a street or two, and turn left. Also very good.

We left our guidebook for others when departing Milan for the states. If I still had it, I could give you the names. They are all mentioned in the guidebook.

What I remember about Varenna restaurants is not what we ate, but where we were at the time....along the promenade with the lights twinkling. Ristorante La Vista is one such place. I don't know if it's where we ate, but the reviews look good, although numerous reviews mention that it is pricey. Perhaps somewhere to go for a glass of wine or an after dinner drink.

We went for a day trip from Milan, several years ago, and had a lovely lunch at Il Cavatappi, and imagine that it would be equally lovely and delicious for dinner. The service was great, also. Highlight of the lunch was not food-related, but a sweet couple got engaged! Management was in on it, brought over the ring in some sort of antique box, with dessert. She said yes, and all of us in the restaurant (it's pretty small) burst into applause.

Many thanks for the replies

Il Cavatappi is the first of the three restaurants I mentioned. Very good, would recommend.

Gerard,

Ask your hotel staff for recommendations for local restaurants.

On past trips to Varenna, I've always enjoyed the food at Albergo Olivedo, which is right by the Ferry dock. For light lunch items, I always stop at Al Barilott which is a small wine bar right in the main square by the Church. I've heard that the restaurant at Albergo Milano is excellent (albeit on the pricey side), however I've never dined there.

This was several years ago now, but we had an excellent meal at a restaurant called Quattro Pass'. It was recommended by the hotel. I had an excellent filet with green peppercorn sauce and the pastas were excellent also. It gets very good reviews on TripAdvisor. We did not like the restaurant at Albergo Milano. The view was spectacular but we found the food lacking. Maybe it's just us.

We ended up eating twice at Ristorante del Sole. Once outside next to the square and another time in a cozy dining room filled with a lot of Italians. I had a delicious seafood pasta. I believe the hands-on owners are a husband/wife team.

We stayed for 3 nights in Varenna 3 years ago at the Albergo Milano. We ate at La Vista restaurant the night we arrived and it was excellent. We also ate at Ristorante Borgovino and Osteria Quatro Pass and would highly recommend them as well.