Ristorante Tancredi — Restaurant in Sirmione

❌ First Impressions: Cold and Unwelcoming We arrived slightly early for our reservation and found the doors still closed. The staff’s attitude during this moment was indifferent at best—no effort to greet or explain, just a cold “we're closed.” Upon returning a little later, we were led directly to an outdoor table with no option or inquiry about seating preferences. Not a great start, especially considering this is a Michelin-starred establishment.

🍽️ Drinks & Starters: Confused Service, Lackluster Offering I asked for a non-alcoholic beer—none available. I was instead offered a fermented tea-like beverage, which was passable but uninspiring. My colleague had a glass of champagne, and others at the table requested a wine pairing. This led to confusion: the server didn’t seem to grasp the request and simply offered a bottle instead. After further prodding, they managed to serve only one glass per person, defeating the idea of a “pairing.”

Also disappointing: no one ever offered me anything beyond water for the rest of the evening. I don’t drink alcohol, but does that mean I’m relegated to tap water for a fine dining experience?

🥖 Food: Outdated, Boring, and in Some Cases… Awful Here’s where it really fell apart. For a Michelin-starred restaurant, the food was remarkably uninspired. Think “fancy 1990s dinner party” food—chorizo with fish (done to death), a green taco that tasted as strange as it sounds, and stale bread. Yes, stale.

Some dishes were outright unpleasant. Others just bland. Nothing creative. Nothing fresh. The desserts, too, were underwhelming and under-portioned—barely a sweet note to end the evening.

👎 Atmosphere & Service: Stressful, Inhospitable Several critical issues compounded the poor experience:

Smoking: A neighboring table of five chain-smoked throughout the evening. We were outside, yes—but for a high-end restaurant, there should be a non-smoking dining policy, especially during food service.

Lighting: Table lights were turned on, immediately attracting swarms of mosquitoes, which landed in drinks, food, even the bread basket.

Staff Attitude: The waitstaff were not friendly and seemed impatient, especially when English or non-Italian was spoken. That made my international guests feel uncomfortable—hardly the elegance you'd expect.

💸 Value: Not Worth the Money Given the poor service, uninspired dishes, uncomfortable setting, and inattentiveness to even basic guest comfort, the value here is non-existent. This was meant to be an enjoyable and impressive client dinner—it ended up being a minor embarrassment.

✅ Final Thought Out of courtesy, I left a tip—because I’ve been a waiter myself. But I cannot recommend Ristorante Tancredi. Not for business, not for pleasure. Certainly not for anyone expecting modern, thoughtful cuisine and a Michelin-grade experience.

Verdict: One star. Not worth the trip. Not...

The service at this restaurant was not Michelin quality at all. Not only was the staff inattentive , they were unfriendly.

The entire dinner we thought we were forgotten about. There’s a difference between what we experienced and the Italian culture of a slow meal. There were 14 tables and only 4 waitstaff who were clearly running around and rushing. Every time they came to our table they were quick and nearly running to us and away from us.

Some notable examples: they gave us the food menus and came back a few minutes later and asked if we were ready to order. They did not ask if we had any questions or offer to explain the menu we were sharing a la carte dishes and they brought 5 dishes out at once - there was no pacing at all - we finished our meal with over a half a bottle of wine left we ordered wine and they placed the wine in an ice bucket far from the table - they refilled our glasses once and then never came back. We eventually brought the bucket over to our table to fill it ourselves. They never commented or apologized for not doing it themselves I saw another review about someone having no options for non-alcoholic drink options and that has not been fixed

The food was excellent. But based on the service, I would...

A Michelin Star Experience… in Heat Endurance Visited: 29 June 2025

Tancredi, perched above the stunning Lake Garda, had me at hello. The view? Absolutely breathtaking. A postcard-perfect setting that promised a memorable lunch.

But here came the plot twist.

Despite a blazing Italian heatwave, we were made—yes, made—to sit outside. We politely asked not once, not twice, but three times to be seated indoors where it was air-conditioned and empty. Each request was met with a firm “no.” Meanwhile, the servers enjoyed the cool indoors while we slowly melted like gelato.

The food? Honestly, we couldn’t enjoy a single bite. It’s hard to appreciate fine dining when you’re drenched in sweat and praying for a breeze that never came.

A beautiful location can’t make up for a complete disregard for guest comfort. When the weather is extreme, they seemed to align their hospitality to it as well. Sadly, Tancredi missed the...