Bar Il Molo — Restaurant in Varenna

I had a terrible experience. I had contacted the bar through Instagram, asking if reservations were necessary, and they were super polite and said they didn't take reservations. When we got there, my fiancé and I spoke to a waitress asking if we could get in line to sit at the tables with a view of the lake, and she said she didn't know. I insisted and asked another waitress, and he said that when someone left, we could sit down. We waited for 40 minutes for a table to be empty, and that's what we did! As soon as my fiancé approached the table, a super arrogant waitress arrived shouting "no no no". My fiancé asked if he could make a reservation or something like that and she said they don't take reservations, but she also didn't tell us how we could sit down. The table was left there without anyone, they vacated 3 tables and no one could sit down. What is this restaurant for then? Since it's not for eating and drinking, I made a point of coming here to complain about the way they treated us and other customers who were also confused about how they could sit and eat, the waiters were rude, it's a shame that a restaurant with such a beautiful view of the lake doesn't know the most important thing: to treat customers well. For those who are thinking about going, there are several restaurants with a view and without going through the stress of being...

The best part of eating here on our first night in Varenna is that the experience was so disappointing we decided to make our own dinner and eat at our Airbnb on subsequent days. Beautiful view, inviting tables and then a menu that makes you think it was designed for picky eating children (includes more than a page of 20+ Types of ice cream sundaes). We ordered two risotto dishes and both were terrible. Overly pasty and thick — tasted like it was made with soup stock. The bread was inedible and stale. We had three different waiters for our 1 hour visit and not one was attentive. We had to flag them down for anything at all… a glass of wine, cappuccino, etc. No one seemed to know or care what anyone needed at any table. No smiles or greetings or any type of service. Major attitude and obvious unhappiness from all three makes us think the management is to blame. This is a tourist trap and makes you think they hate Americans and Brits. If you come across it, limit your visit to a cocktail and enjoy the view before you eat elsewhere.

And when I saw that their rating in Google was 4.0 I started reading through the reviews. Many of the good reviews are from “local guides”!? Kick backs?? Disgraceful for the restaurant...

Beautiful spot, definitely a tourist trap. As tourists, you already pay for the jacked up prices (ofc I'm willing to do that to see Lake Como) but when the service or food isn't great then it's really a bummer.

The views: absolutely stunning!!! 😍 It's worth your drinks cost

The food: MEDIOCR! the pinsi calabrese looked and tasted like it came from to your Walmart pizza box, the Greek salad dressing, terrible but the produce is fresh, the bread for oil/balsamic vinegar dipping isnt store made. The carbonara was decent.

The service: we were happy not to be lake front but a tourist couple beside us asked a couple of times if they can get a lake side table many times, they kept rejecting them yet allowing other tourists on those tables. They kept giving the excuse "a storm or some bullshit weather excuse" yet allowing better dressed or people who just steal those tables sit there. Some tourists don't even check in or wait to be seated and allow such nonsense. service is APPALLING! STAY AWAY! 😤

If you want the same views and not really wanting a meal, go to the many gelaterias around with benches and...