Ristorante L'Escale Trattoria & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Tremezzina

Had a great night at l’escale, it pitches itself to be a more “approachable” option vs the hotel’s signature restaurant “LA TERRAZZA GUALTIERO MARCHESI” with crowd favourite traditional Italian dishes such as steak Fiorentina and spaghetti carbonara but in an elegant high end setting.

However don’t expect to pay bistro prices. A glass of wine will set you back 30 euro plus and look to spend at least 100 euro per person in food. But if you’re prepared for the price tag it’s well worth it.

The service was attentive with a dash of over the top humour (we ordered the tiramisu that was prepared at the table and our waiter “confessed” that he was looking forward to the dessert more than we were)

The atmosphere was bustling yet also managed to feel intimate, we were sat inside and were greeted with a modern yet personality full decor with many interesting elements as potential conversation starters. The indoor part of the restaurant is a perfect date location, it seemed that in this section the majority clientele were couples with several sat side by side as opposed to the traditional opposite. My only minor criticism was that even though we were sat inside it was slightly on the cold side so would say this is more of a summer place for those sensitive to lower than average temperature (we came in April).

Last but not least was the food, and this did not disappoint. We ordered several dishes and surprisingly the standouts were the more traditional options where we found they were able to execute elevated versions of dishes we’d had before with a twist. The beef tartare for example was made at the table, broken down ingredient by ingredient, and served with raspberries, a well thought together addition which broke through the meatiness perfectly.

Am glad we didn’t look at the reviews before coming as it may have persuaded us to not come. This is an amazing restaurant! Bottom line is L’Escale is an experience as opposed to somewhere where you just go to “get full”. Perhaps they could have one or two cheaper wine options, perhaps they could charge a slightly lower markup for food but the counter to this is for those who are looking for good value for money food and wine can definitely find better value options elsewhere in the region. However if you’re looking for a truly memorable time, amazing food and wine, and fantastic service all in a majestic yet approachable setting then...

This was a VERY special dinner with the family while we were traveling to Lake Como and celebrating 20 years of marriage. I can’t say enough great things! We were a party of 5 and I give them a 5/5 (I’d actually say 6!)

For our Food: The Apps- fresh bruschetta with fresh burrata; zucchini with ricotta; spinach salad with some delicious soft cheese.

The Entrees: Spaghetti carbonara; lasagna; ravioli with lamb and a delicious pea sauce; and the BIG winner- my veal ossobuco alla Milanese. (This was probably the best Veal ossobuco I’ve ever had!!!)

Desserts: a most wonderful chocolate mousse with chocolate gelato; a vanilla soufflé with cherries and a chocolate sauce and vanilla sauce; and a tiramisu, prepared right at the table side.

Everything was delicious! The service was outstanding. The view and ambiance even more spectacular.

While this had been our most expensive meal on this trip (and on many of our trips) it was truly an experience. Worth doing if you want something special and memorable.

They normally have a live musician, but they were not there the night we ate. We were, however, treated to the most wonderful play list (my wife and I loved every song- it took us back to our early times of marriage when we listened to the Pottery Barn dinner collection CDs.. while we would cook and eat. They were kind enough to share the playlist with us, Sotto Fondo...

I hate to write bad reviews, but I feel I need to warn people about this place. I do not mind paying a lot for a quality meal but this however was far from good or even decent quality, absurdly small portions, and insanely priced. The meatballs were so dry they were hardly even edible. The service was decent and servers were pleasant however a bit slow. To top it all off we were seated next to a family that was wildly inappropriate, loud, and vulgar throughout the entire meal, adding more to such an off putting experience. They should have been asked by the restaurant to stop it was disruptive to everyone else’s dining experience. I truly cannot believe we paid as much as we did for this almost comically terrible meal.

Again I do want to say that the servers were lovely people but it’s so sad that such a nice hotel has such an awful restaurant. The view was the only saving grace, it was amazing but could not compensate for the rest of the nightmarish experience...