Villa Pioppi Restaurant & Pizzeria — Restaurant in Sirmione

First and foremost, we made a reservation for our table, yet the experience we encountered was far from satisfactory. The staff apologized for unexpected guests arriving, which is not our concern, and it’s clear they were short-staffed.

We waited an unacceptable 1 hour and 20 minutes for our food. During that time, we asked three different waitresses for clear glasses of water, and only one glass was eventually brought to us. After this lengthy wait, we finally inquired about the food, which had yet to arrive.

When we requested an additional bottle of wine, we were informed by one server that we needed to speak with the manager. When I approached the woman I assumed was the manager, she seemed confused about our order and incorrectly stated what had been served. We pointed out that we received our forks but hadn’t been served the food yet. Given the lengthy wait and the confusion, I kindly requested compensation due to the circumstances, noting that our appetizers and main courses arrived at the same time. She claimed she wasn’t a manager and promised to send someone to assist us.

Eventually, the manager arrived but did not resolve the issues effectively. We ordered coffee, and once again, our order was mixed up—resulting in us receiving an unnecessary coffee that we had not ordered.

I must emphasize that the level of organization was extremely poor. Apologies do not suffice in this situation. Although we were informed that the coffee charge would be removed from the bill, my request for a complimentary bottle of wine due to the significant wait time was denied. I also asked for an “amaro” at the end, which is simply inadequate as a gesture of goodwill.

As patrons who had reserved a table, it was frustrating to see other diners being seated while we waited. The wait staff struggled to manage table turnover and didn’t inform us of the delays. Adding to our disappointment, we ordered bread without any olive oil, salt, or pepper—what kind of service is this?

While we appreciated some aspects of the service, the overall experience and food quality did not meet our expectations. The restaurant clearly needs to improve its organization and management to prevent future...

An absolute disappointment. While the location and historical nature of the villa suggest a beautiful setting, the atmosphere created by overcrowded seating, chaotic wait staff and far below quality food completely destroys any reputation Villa Pioppi might have had.

We arrived on time for our reservation, and struggled to identify the exact entrance. People went in from the side and the front, with little to no signage.

Drinks were ordered, which arrived promptly, and then food: 1 appetiser of pumpkin flan, 1 tortelloni and 1 costata di scottona.

The flan was average, while the accompanying bacon was as salty as the Dead Sea, and far from crisp.

The tortelloni were average, and while some dishes on the menu are marked as being frozen at origin and defrosted, the tortelloni weren't; yet a few were cold in some parts, giving suspicions of being frozen or refrigerated.

Last but not least, the beef, a rib-eye of 500g, for which I had high hopes. The waiter asked my preference of how cooked, to which I requested medium, but when it arrived, it was nearly blue rare. I've never sent back anything but this I requested to be cooked more. The same steak returned with some sections more cooked and others still just as rare. This could be understood if the 500g was made of width, but this was not the case; it was barely 1cm thick.

The entire experience was a letdown, being held up entirely by its location and view. My recommendation is to find another spot, Villa Pioppi is not...

Wow! Where to begin? I was a resident at Villa Pioppi in September/October 2022, for over one week. The purpose of the visit was to attend a wedding. We enjoyed many meals at Villa Pioppi, and we also enjoyed use of the pools, bar, accommodation and gardens. This is an absolutely stunning venue. It’s a really special place.

Our accommodation was a ground floor room overlooking one of the pools. It had a great view of the lake also. The room was spacious, clean and well-equipped. Our small dog was allowed to stay with us, which made it even more special.

The food here is absolutely excellent quality and very reasonably priced. Additionally, the food served on the wedding day was truly amazing, and designed to the unique specification of the Bride & Groom, if I understand correctly.

The staff are so attentive and caring. They were exceptionally conscientious on the wedding day of course, but even on the other days they wanted to be useful as much as possible. Drinks at the bar were always made with a smile, and were always reasonably priced.

Of course I was very sad to leave but we had a truly amazing time here. It will always be a special place because of the wedding, but even for those just looking for a hotel in the area, you simply cannot go wrong with Villa Pioppi. It is brilliantly located (only a short walk from historic Sirmione), with the best staff and the highest quality food & drinks you could wish for. I can’t wait to return...