Ristorante Wimmer — Restaurant in Comunità Montana Parco Alto Garda bresciano

If you're anywhere near Lake Garda and don’t stop in at Ristorante Wimmer, you’re missing out on one of the absolute highlights of northern Italy.

After two weeks of dining across Italy—and having visited this region many times before—I can confidently say: Ristorante Wimmer is the best restaurant I’ve been to. Full stop.

We ate there nearly every day, and each visit was as magical as the last. The huge steak was grilled to perfection—tender, flavorful, and expertly seasoned. The seafood salad was fresh, delicate, and bursting with Mediterranean character. The mussels? Ridiculously good—rich, garlicky, and so moreish we ended up getting them for take-out more than once.

And speaking of take-out—when we wanted a quiet evening playing cards on the deck of our hotel, Wimmer still had us covered. Not only did they package everything up beautifully, but the owners even gave us free wine when we came to collect our order. That kind of generosity and warmth is rare.

The wine selection itself is lovely—elegant and local, and the perfect companion to every meal. And the desserts were the kind that make you linger a little longer at the table, savoring every bite and the stunning views across the lake.

But what truly sets this place apart? The staff. They’re not just friendly—they're genuinely lovely, going out of their way to make you feel at home, remembered, and welcomed. After a few visits, it didn’t feel like we were dining out—it felt like we were visiting friends.

Ristorante Wimmer isn’t just a restaurant. It’s an experience. A ritual. A reason to come back to Lake Garda again and again....

Today I want to talk about our visit to Ristorante Wimmer in Gardone Riviera at Lake Garda.

Unfortunately, I have never experienced such unfriendly and brazen service as I did there. We were served by a waitress who behaved absolutely inappropriately on all levels. After placing our order (which went fine up until that point), our food arrived, but unfortunately, the wrong dish was brought by another waiter. We pointed this out, and the waiter said he would take care of the exchange. Shortly afterward, the waitress came and initially wanted to argue with us, claiming that we had ordered incorrectly. There was no apology or anything of the sort, just a dismissive, 'No problem, but now you’ll have to wait.'

After the meal, the waitress didn’t come to our table even once, and when she finally cleared the plates, she neither asked if we enjoyed the meal nor if we wanted anything else to drink. We then decided to pay promptly. The waitress brought the bill, collected the payment without saying a word, and walked away without a single comment.

I have truly never encountered such poor behavior from a service staff member and cannot recommend a visit to Ristorante Wimmer to anyone. Despite the food being somewhat decent (though certainly not an Italian culinary masterpiece), I cannot award any stars due to the service. It’s a shame that such behavior is tolerated from a service...

We booked a table here but it was given away when we arrived. We had to wait while another was rearranged and laid out. I ordered a drink from their menu, and was immediately told very rudely they didn't have it. They didn't even check? Why have something on a menu but not be able to serve it. The drinks we did get were never taken away when finished, nor were we asked if we'd like another one. The entree of tomato and mozzarella was very tasty and came out quite quickly. However, our mains were horrendous. They didn't have the pasta listed on the menu (bit of a theme happening...) which was tagliatelle. Instead we were told to have spaghetti with the porcini mushrooms and shrimp. Our mains took almost an hour to arrive... When they finally did, the pasta was bland, there was hardly any sauce, and only a few loan shrimp. Overall, this was one of the worst restaurant experiences I've had in Italy, and would not recommend this place to anyone. A recommendation to the restaurant: The waitress who took our drinks order should be fired for her rudeness...