Osteria Cantinafrasca — Restaurant in Cernobbio

I hate posting negative reviews… I really do. But my hopes for this are that the owner and staff can see this as an area of improvement they should evaluate (given the other one-star reviews here, it seems quite a few others have had a similar experience). So, if you’re the owner, take it or leave it. If you’re a potential patron, feel free to read on…

My husband and I are visiting northern Italy from the United States. We’ve been all over - Rome, Tuscany, small towns in the countryside, Milan, Bologna, Modena, etc. and have had a wonderful time with even more wonderful experiences with the locals, especially with the restaurants we have dined at. It’s obvious that the locals and business owners truly care about their visitors and they genuinely seem to want to help out in any way they can - Even though there can be a language barrier, everyone has been beyond patient and helpful with us, which is something that I’ll treasure forever and never forget.

HOWEVER, we had a vastly different experience this one time at this restaurant. My husband and I walked in last night around 9pm and asked one of the staff members if the kitchen was still open. He said yes, we sat down at the bar, and we were given a wine list. My husband ordered a cab and I ordered a water (I’m pregnant otherwise I’d also be partaking). The presumable owner brought my husband his glass of wine and when I asked for a water, he looked extremely irritated and I assumed it was because of the language barrier, to which I then said “Applogies, my Italian is not the best.” He grabbed my water and as he sat my water down, I asked “is your kitchen still open?” In very clear English, he was clearly irritated and responded with “yes, I am a restaurant.” This was the last time we spoke to him.

We waited for about fifteen minutes for a food menu, but it never came, even though he walked by us multiple times and never spoke a word to us. My husband was so uncomfortable that he insisted we pay for the wine and water and leave asap, which is what we did.

Here’s the thing - I know that some people are off-put by the increase in tourism, but you don’t have to be blatantly rude about it. In fact, tourists are trying to spend money at your restaurant and support your business! It was so blatantly obvious that this owner didn’t want us there, so much so that he might as well put a sign on the front door that says “local Italians only.”

Cernobbio is a beautiful town with wonderful people, which so happens to keep evolving in popularity - My advice to you is to be okay with it and treat ALL of your customers well, or find a different location, because at this point all you are doing is tarnishing...

This was the first restaurant we ate at during our 4 night stay in Cernobbio. Fortunately for us, all the other restaurants we ate at during our stay had much better service than this place did. The older man at the counter seemed to have better things to do than to serve the customers who chose to eat in his restaurant. We couldn't manage to get a smile out of him once, although he seemed to enjoy chatting up a table of other English-speakers sitting nearby. I guess his service depends on if he likes you or not. When I asked for his suggestion for a wine, he replied dryly that none of them on their list would correspond to what I was looking for. When I asked what the gnocchi sauce had in it (specifically listening for milk or butter ingredients), he rudely said that it only had "carrots, onions, and potatoes" in it, "as indicated on the menu". I bit my tongue and refrained from telling him that I was asking precisely because it wasn't very clear on their English menu, and because I didn't want to come across as a native English-speaking snob in Italy. We also ordered water, which he forgot to bring to us, but we never saw him again until we got up to pay. He served us and forgot about us. When paying, we checked the bill and sure enough, the water was on it. We told him we never got said water, and he just shrugged and subtracted it from the total. No "oops, I'm sorry I forgot" or anything. Like I said, thankfully the rest of our stay wasn't similar to this first experience. We were really afraid it would be, after having this kind of first impression. Concerning the price, it was also a bit steep. Almost 60€ for two people (two glasses of wine, bruschetta, pasta and gnocchi, and the coperto.) I understand it's a touristic area, but relative to other restaurants we tried during our stay in the area, the quantity for the price was rather stingy (see photo). I cannot recommend this place based on our experience, even if the food...

We ate at Cantina Frasca while staying at the nearby Hotel Terzo Crotto after reading great reviews. The cantina's owner is also the waiter and prepares the menu for the day and the sauces. After giving us some time to peruse the menu, he came over to walk us through it as well as explain the sauces for the day. We decided to split an order of the baked bree which came out looking like a normal block of bree, but when cut into, erupted int a gooey volcano of deliciousness. After this, my wife went with the pasta arrabiata and I had the selection of sliced meat. The pasta was excellent and the saice was fantastic. The owner suggested the house wine with it and it complimented the smoky, semi-spicy flavor well. My meats were succulent and bathed in a sweet cream sauce. Everything was clearly prepared fresh and tasted light.

I'm not sure if the owner hated us or just has a dry sense of humor and since I have a similar one, I think we hit it off.

Te atmosphere was very warm and relaxing and felt like we were sharing the owner's place with him. We enjoyed sitting overlooking the street. Everything was quite...