Il Gatto Nero — Restaurant in Cernobbio

Summary: This service mentality of Il Gatto Nero has vanished during the last 12 to 18 month and given our recent experience there is not a lot of hope left that this will change soon. The manager / owner is unwilling to listen to feedback and by no means interested to ensure that her guests will have a memoizable experience. Do yourself a favor: Don’t visit, plenty of other great alternatives available in the area. The average rating of 1,5 stars out of 5 in the last 12 months on TripAdvisor says it all.

What has happened: The last 3 years we have been visiting the Il Gatto Nero based on recommendation by the hotel concierge in 2020 during our summer vacation. In 2020 the experience was worth remembering based on a spectacular view on the lake come and good food with a high chance to visit this place again.

In 2021 we made an early online reservation to ensure that we get a table on the terrace. Unfortunately, the service experience was not at the same level as the year before. We had the impression the service wanted to run us through 1st, 2nd and 3rd course in a record time. At the end we found out that the road downhill would close at 10:00 pm for construction work. An experienced service would have mentioned this at the beginning to make the guests aware. No word about the fact, but the service team seemed to be aware of this as they told us on our way out of the restaurant.

This year we have made an online reservation once again with the comment that this visit is to celebrate the 2nd anniversary and to get a nice romantic table on the terrace. After arriving at the restaurant, the restaurant manager and owner was asking us to follow her and she walked us 2 levels below the terrace level in a very tiny garden with surrounding plant walls and a limited view on the lake. She was giving us the table in the 2nd row. I asked her whether we can get the table in the first row, which she refused with the comment, that this table was already booked a long time ago. I asked her whether we could get another table in case somebody will not show up.

While we still tried to make ourselves comfortable the service came to ask whether we have already chosen our meal, which made us realize that in 2022 an up-class restaurant is still working with online menus, which are even not smartphone optimized. Nevertheless, we have decided to stay and did choose our food and wine. The starter was served less than 10 minutes after the order without a amuse-bouche, which the other tables have received. The vitello tonnato was okay, but not great. The main course was served in high-speed following the main course. Our mood started to decrease and after the main course we have on decided for a cafe, which came - what a surprise - in record time. We have ordered the bill, which took in comparison to the food relatively long. With the bill the waiter presented a bowl of cookies, which in such a restaurant would be usually served with the cafe. Not in this place.

When leaving we realized that one level above multiple tables have been free with a much better setting and surrounding. I decided to give feedback to the manager / owner, who was sitting in the corner of the restaurant. I explained to her my experience also mentioning that no other table was offered even though they have been free, and we have been mentioning that we would get reseating in case the chance exists. She was saying she has received 2 no shows and the tables have not been available. Basically, she tried to find foolish excuses. After telling her, that the service experience was also by far not meeting our experience and is not in line what you could expect from a restaurant she was making outrageous gestures. The problem starts from the top. I think her behavior says it all: Her ignorance ensures that no feedback is getting close to her, and no improvement is to...

For the consumers- the Google reviews were mixed but after my experience here I can only imagine one person had something they weren’t happy with and got several accounts to submit one-star reviews on the past several weeks.. there’s no way this is a “one star” place and you can conclude that from the good reviews. The portions are absolutely adequate and we had several servers attending to us our entire duration. We were sat where I requested in my reservation which was incredible for our big party, as well. Very clean, very beautiful, very delicious, very kind.

Further- I’d like to publicly thank Beatrice and Paulo from Gatto Nero and highlight the hospitality my family and I received. The food was delicious and obviously you can see that the view is ethereal from the pictures. Beyond that, to be treated so kindly and have transportation arranged for our large group to get back to the city, safely, is something we will always remember about our trip to Como. (Essentially, my family and I were dropped off and abandoned by our hotel’s private transpiration. It was distasteful and made me feel uncomfortable and unwelcome as a guest of my hotel.) Beatrice/Paulo worked diligently calling both public and private transportation services to get our family of six back to the city. (If you are from out of town, note that it is extremely difficult to get back to the city relying on transportation services, especially with a larger party.) We are infinitely grateful for the staff’s kindness and sincerity. From entrance to exit we were well taken care of and promptly attended to. I know Gatto Nero sees a lot of “big names” and I imagine we were treated just as someone of a more prominent social status would have been. That in itself speaks volumes to the character of the establishment and those running it. I have worked in the service industry, myself, and was blown away by the little things most people wouldn’t even notice.. impeccable attention to detail throughout the restaurant and from the servers. Our server recommended the Bolognese because she said it reminded her of how her grandmother made it which was heartwarming (and very tasty!). Thank you, again, to your staff for helping our family return safely. This was one of our favorite meals together because of your kindness. Bravo - gold standard service and a true example of “treat others how you want to be treated”....

We were genuinely excited to dine here, especially after hearing such great things about the view—which, to be fair, was absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, that ended up being the only redeeming part of our evening. We don’t typically write negative reviews or criticize service, but our experience from start to finish was deeply disappointing.

We sat for over 30 minutes with menus before our server came over to ask if we had questions. When our server finally arrived, he didn’t introduce himself or even greet us. The first things he said was "Yes, I'm ready". When a member of our party tried to ask a question about a dish, he shouted (over the extremely loud music), “Decide because I can’t hear you.” We placed our entire order at once—cocktails, wine, and all courses—and the server walked off, dropping our menus loudly on a nearby table as he left.

A short while later, he returned with cold bread and oil and vinegar, but we weren’t given any plates, so we had no way to eat it. We assumed he was waiting to serve the wine with the first course, but even once our food arrived, we didn’t have wine glasses. We had to ask for the bottle ourselves, and despite finishing it during the first course, we received no wine service at all—no refills, no check-in, and no offer of a second bottle.

After the first course, we saw another server bring out our entrees, only to turn around and head back into the kitchen when he noticed we still had dirty plates on the table. Our main courses didn’t arrive for another seven minutes, and unfortunately, every plate was cold. My steak, ordered medium rare (see photo below), was served nearly well done, and the chicken dish was very dry and clearly overcooked.

Throughout the meal, our server made several rude and sarcastic remarks, and we had to ask three separate times for bottled water before another staff member finally brought it. At the end of the evening, no one—our server, the host, or even the manager we spoke to while arranging our car—checked in to ask how our experience was.

Overall, we were extremely disappointed. This was, unfortunately, an abysmal experience from start to finish. We had really hoped for a memorable dining experience, but sadly, it was memorable for all the...