il Gigi bar — Restaurant in Stresa

My family and I wanted to enjoy a cup of coffee and indulge in some sweet treats at the end of a hectic day of viewing the beautiful town of Stresa. The place looked elegant and welcoming, but the reality was far from it. We waited to be seated, and no one assisted us even though all of the staff passed us multiple times. We decided to set the tables ourselves as courtesy to a seemingly overworked staff. No one came to provide the menus, so again we took amongst ourselves and walked up to the cashier counter. We were rudely instructed to go back to our tables and wait for services to be provided. We respectfully agreed. When the waitress came with an attitude, mind you, we gently told her we know what to order and that there's no need to look at the menus. She walked off with a grudged face and never came back. After waiting for some time, we again walked up to the cashier, and he said we could order from the counter, contrary to what he said earlier. Fearing what might be done to our orders we asked to cancel the services and we left with a beautiful day ruined by three incompetent hormone-enraged teenagers running the place that probably more concerned about getting off work than actually doing...

Stresa’s prices are generally high due to the islands and the strong tourist flow, and without these attractions, the town has little to offer. This bar is notable for its tasty pastries and croissants, which help justify the higher costs. It is located just across the street, close to where the boats depart for Switzerland and nearby Italian towns, which is a great advantage. The staff is young, so service can occasionally be slow, but they are polite, unlike at some other places I have visited here in Stresa, where people can be quite rude. In conclusion, if I had to recommend one bar in Stresa, it would be Gigi Bar for its delicious pastries and...

Great food and drinks. Such a shame the service is terrible. We chose to seat outside to avoid the bunga-bunga music. Waitress literally ignored us for 20 minutes. She later explained that due to a bottleneck in the kitchen, she was not allowed to take food orders until the kitchen was ready. OK, they were busy but half the customers were ordering a quick coffee and a pastry from the counter. So no excuses really. We politely requested a discount for the 45 minute wait, but they refused. Avoid the tourist trap food places on the lakefront. Go down the alleyways one block behind. There are numerous little family owned ristorante with excellent food and...