ALMA — Restaurant in Varenna

Update: a few mins after posting this review, the owner replied me with a sarcastic tone addressing how I'm not an expert of luxury food as the rewards given me by google claim me to be.. not exactly how one treats a customer who spent 100 euros for an appetizer and wine, i guess. Problem is , their understanding of English is relative so...as they bring wrong wines they also can't understand reviews. So bad since they work mostly with affluent strangers (as a not rich Italian would not certainly spend so much money there) As you can read later, I affirmed their wines are good, and I'm perfectly fine with spending ten euros for a glass. I usually spend 15/18 for a glass in Milan and Como 5 stars hotel. But, This is an objective review so I want to help as many people know who to expect before sitting and waiting in line to get a table. That's the reason people value my reviews so much. Another thing you might notice , is how they don't get to reply to anyone claiming their pizza is frozen , as they can't keep up with a lie, especially cause there is a legal risk since they don't underline which foods are frozen in the menu. To the owner: I'll love to take a video at your kitchen next time I come by. I'm happy you feel confident about it. Transparency is important.

The not modified review follows (their reply was in my screenshot so they can't deny what thei previously wrote):

many wines are good, be prepared to pay 10 euros per glass, which might be worth it, if you get someone to suggest you the right one. wouldn't wish you to try the food, the location makes the price 2x/3x what's worth, and some of the food doesn't taste restaurant-like at all. I wonder how they cook in such a small place. as many others have stated, some things seem to come out of freezer and put in microwave oven: maybe it's not just a feeling. hope the toilet got better cleaning after the first weeks, tons of people use it but no person was ready to clean. unluckily varenna has become a tourist trap. just have a walk there, and go eat in another town.

Update 2: yes when I spend 100 euros for 2 people drinking some wine and eating one dish I expect toilets to be as clean as the ones in la Florida, that has a star in the restaurant, not in the pasteurised milk based cheese making commercial fabric.. which wouldn't be where I take a burrata from, by the way. Also, you should update your wisdom about Michelin restaurants cause there are 3 in Valtellina with that reward. Haven't you ever...

We wandered in on a cloudy afternoon around 4 PM. Having not had lunch, we were in need of a snack.

The staff were very attentive and the rest take a seat in the first row along waterfront. They came to us quickly with menus. I I must note that I was taken aback by the price, however, it did justify itself!

I asked many questions, most importantly, how do they have such a interesting menu in such a small kitchen. The on-site chef, who was taking our order explained that they work with a very famous Eurotoque chef named Christian Benvenuto. He curated the menu, and the meals are prepped in his kitchen, and transferred to Alma for the finishing touches.

Daniel helped us choose an interesting rosé from Friuli winemaker Zorzettig to accompany a charcuterie plate and a lemon risotto.

We started with the charcuterie plate. The ingredients are sourced from a nearby agri-tourism La Fiorida. They are located just a half hour drive away, and all of their ingredients are come from their location or nearby. The cheeses are magnificent and the meats are good as well.

Our main dish was the risotto. I’m not sure when lemon risotto became popular, but this is the second time this season that I have had the ordering it. The plate was beautiful with tartare of red prawn, caviar, and truffle oil. The mix of flavors was surprisingly excellent. The wine was paired perfectly.

The only disappointment was the bread… I rarely eat bread, so I gladly shared it with a visitor that you will seeing my photos.

We finished by sharing a tiramisu.

It’s a small place, but well worth the wait if you come during the...

We arrived to be greeted in a very kind manner by the waiter, we were lucky to find a table for 3. The food was good, we ordered a Parma pizza and 2 lemon risottos. We tried the craft beer which was great. The view is breathtaking of course, but what made me give 3 stars was the rush to push us out. We spent almost 90 euros, we came in at around 12h and at 13h we were all done and paid and we were just waiting for our friend that went to the wc, the manager was looking several times at the empty table. A waiter came and ask if he could clean the table as he had a reservation for 1pm. I think if that was the case we should have been advise before we sat and ask if 1 hours would be enough for us. I understand that they need to seat new clients but they made more than 90€ in just one hour with us, wouldn’t be that bad to let us wait for our friend. Also another remark, the manager seemed to be micromanaging the waiters and everytime he went inside he was arguing...