Bar Riviera — Restaurant in Comunità Montana Parco Alto Garda bresciano

On our second last day of holiday, we took a trip to Gardone and decided to stop at Bar Riviera for some ice cream. It looked lovely from the outside, but unfortunately the experience didn’t match.

I ordered a strawberry ice cream, my husband asked for the peach melba, and my son got a milkshake. The server took our order—my choice was made clearly by pointing and saying “the strawberry one.” Shortly after, the waitress came out to say they had no peaches, so my husband said he’d just have the same as me.

What arrived, however, was nothing like what we’d ordered. The ice cream brought out had bananas, kiwi and strawberries—definitely not the strawberry option I pointed to. I don’t like bananas and knew I wouldn’t eat it, so I asked my husband to go up and explain.

Unfortunately, rather than being met with understanding, he was met with hostility. The staff insisted I’d ordered a “Coppa Italiana,” which I absolutely hadn’t. The situation escalated quickly, with the staff raising their voices and insisting we pay for something we hadn’t ordered. It became quite uncomfortable as people around started to stare.

I went up myself and calmly explained, even pointing out the section of the menu I had referred to when ordering. The server continued to insist I was mistaken. My husband suggested she may have got confused but didn’t want to admit it. Eventually, the manager agreed to only charge us for our drinks.

The whole thing could’ve been easily resolved with a simple apology or offer to replace the order. If they had, my husband would’ve happily eaten the incorrect one so it wouldn’t go to waste. Instead, we were left feeling embarrassed and disappointed by how it was handled.

Not somewhere I’d...

Bar Riviera is more than a touristy café on the Gardone promenade. With over 80 years of family history, it offers that rare feeling of arriving somewhere new… and instantly feeling at home. From the first sip of your aperitivo, you’re no longer just a visitor—you’re part of the rhythm of this lakeside town. Watching the world go by here feels like an art form. And when you finally rise to leave, you do so with a full heart and the sense that you've made true friends, in a place you’ll always...

Nice little bar for getting a lunchtime snack and a drink. I recommend the Mediterranea toast (mozzarella and tomatoes) which was really tasty. Does great cocktails too. The only thing I haven't liked here was the hamburger which seemed to be microwaved.

You also seem to need to pay at the till as they do not seem to come round to your table so much once you are finished with...