Villa Pizzini — Restaurant in Stresa

I've read several of the other reviews and am bewildered as to their generosity. Then I looked at the dates. I can only conclude that Villa Pizzini has got a bit above itself and thinks a tiny bit of deliciousness on a plate constitutes a meal. It doesn't. And it especially doesn't when you've walked up the mountain to get there. We stayed overnight as part of a walking tour from Lake Maggiore to Orta. This was supposed to be the highlight as regards the hotels. It fell well short on several scores: room was chilly as the heating was turned off after their lunch guests had departed and didn't go on again until the evening. We went out for more walking to keep warm. Second: the bed was tight against the wall so my husband had to climb over me to get in and out. Funny at 24; not so much at 74. Third: my towel stank of the damp. I should have complained but only discovered this while in the shower and just used my husband's instead from then on (another couple said their whole room smelt horribly damp). Finally, and most important, the restaurant: walkers are hungry. They are also a sociable lot so putting three couples as far apart as possible was not a good start. Liz from Glasgow soon dealt with that and we ended up in a row. Could we have one long table? No - because my hubby wanted the tasting menu, Liz was vegetarian and the others wanted à la carte. So a space between each table was insisted upon and if I wanted to sit with my husband I had to have the same tasting menu. Style over substance is the only way to describe it. Tiny tiny tiny portions. First course, salad leaves, to be eaten with your fingers to fully appreciate the different flavours. I haven't recorded in my diary the exact content of every dish but it's safe to say it was an expensive and very disappointing "meal". One thing I did record is that saffron risotto with liquorice is disgusting! The rest tasted fine but was so tiny it was lost in the plate. Our fellow walkers were shocked - not that they got much more on their own plates. Being hungry, my husband had ordered the cheese course (extra of course). Teensy weensy again - and no choice at all. Simply brought to the table on the plate. I'd given up by this stage and was just glad that our previous hotel had given us a good breakfast and insisted on us taking the packed lunch which we normally decline. We'd finished it while waiting for "dinner". Was there anything good? Yes, the bread was lovely and the wines surprisingly reasonably priced. And the waiter - not the owner but the other chap - charm itself. Breakfast was completely different: a truly fabulous buffet spread, including a platter of cheeses. Why can't they offer the same generosity to their dinner guests? If you can't avoid going there, don't order the meat tasting menu and take...

I've read several of the other reviews and am bewildered as to their generosity. Then I looked at the dates. I can only conclude that Villa Pizzini has got a bit above itself and thinks a tiny bit of deliciousness on a plate constitutes a meal. It doesn't. And it especially doesn't when you've walked up the mountain to get there. We stayed overnight as part of a walking tour from Lake Maggiore to Orta. This was supposed to be the highlight as regards the hotels. It fell well short on several scores: room was chilly as the heating was turned off after their lunch guests had departed and didn't go on again until the evening. We went out for more walking to keep warm. Second: the bed was tight against the wall so my husband had to climb over me to get in and out. Funny at 24; not so much at 74. Third: my towel stank of the damp. I should have complained but only discovered this while in the shower and just used my husband's instead from then on (another couple said their whole room smelt horribly damp). Finally, and most important, the restaurant: walkers are hungry. They are also a sociable lot so putting three couples as far apart as possible was not a good start. Liz from Glasgow soon dealt with that and we ended up in a row. Could we have one long table? No - because my hubby wanted the tasting menu, Liz was vegetarian and the others wanted à la carte. So a space between each table was insisted upon and if I wanted to sit with my husband I had to have the same tasting menu. Style over substance is the only way to describe it. Tiny tiny tiny portions. First course, salad leaves, to be eaten with your fingers to fully appreciate the different flavours. I haven't recorded in my diary the exact content of every dish but it's safe to say it was an expensive and very disappointing "meal". One thing I did record is that saffron risotto with liquorice is disgusting! The rest tasted fine but was so tiny it was lost in the plate. Our fellow walkers were shocked - not that they got much more on their own plates. Being hungry, my husband had ordered the cheese course (extra of course). Teensy weensy again - and no choice at all. Simply brought to the table on the plate. I'd given up by this stage and was just glad that our previous hotel had given us a good breakfast and insisted on us taking the packed lunch which we normally decline. We'd finished it while waiting for "dinner". Was there anything good? Yes, the bread was lovely and the wines surprisingly reasonably priced. And the waiter - not the owner but the other chap - charm itself. Breakfast was completely different: a truly fabulous buffet spread, including a platter of cheeses. Why can't they offer the same generosity to their dinner guests? If you can't avoid going there, don't order the meat tasting menu and take...

Villa Pizzini is situated in a stunning setting close to the summit of the Mottarone mountain, high above the town of Stresa on the shore of Lake Maggiore. We chose to stay there primarily on the strength of the reviews of the food served in the restaurant, and were not disappointed. On the contrary, the food was wonderful and a total delight. Thank you, Sabina.||Our room was furnished with elegant simplicity and a bed which made for very comfortable sleeping. On our first morning, it was entrancing to open the shutters and witness the bay below gradually coming into view as a thick blanket of fog dissipated.||Coming down to our first breakfast, we encountered a table dominated by a tantalising array of delicious-looking cakes and pastries. Unfortunately, the one of us who would gladly have devoured everything on hand was required to abstain from doing so, while the other has no sweet tooth. Having explained this to Ivan, the following morning we were thoughtfully presented instead with a delicious selection of six local cheeses and bread. Ivan was also extremely helpful in providing suggestions as to places to visit and things to do.||Ivan and Sabina come across as an extremely friendly couple, devoted to what they are doing. It was a pleasure to meet them and a joy to stay at Villa Pizzini. We hope to return.||Just one caveat: Villa Pizzini is situated high up the mountain and reached via roads that are often narrow and serpentine - and trafficked by Italians driving at high speed, with possibly a mobile phone in one hand and a cigarette...