Hosteria del Platano — Restaurant in Varenna

DO NOT GO HERE. My partner reserved a table for 8pm, with the restaurant closing at 8:30pm. We arrived and I am both allergic to gluten and dairy severely and on top am vegan, as you can imagine after gluten and dairy are eliminated it isnt too hard to remove the meat part of a dish. Anyway, we arrived at 8pm and were met by a male waiter who we spoke with and then passed us onto a female who was on the phone. I had read online this restaurant catered for people with my dietary requirements so this is why we proceeded to book. The female waitress sat us down and gave us menus which we proceeded to look at, having all the while asked her if they had gluten free pasta etc. To which she answered 'yes but it is bought'. I saw there was no dish I could see being adapted to vegan so I said to my partner I would speak to the waitress. When she came over I told her I was vegan to which she said 'we have nothing for you'. This did not end there, when I realised they were literally willing to NOT cater for me I said that's ok then. She then responded with 'what's ok? I reserved this table for you' I was completely taken by surprise as she became incredible aggressive and had raised her tone. The only other people dining in the restaurant were seated next to us and I was fully aware of how they were trying to eat their dinner whilst listening to this. I said 'no, we'll leave' hoping that would be it to which she aggressively responded 'no I made a reservation for you and I would recommend when you phone you tell us you're vegan as this is not a thing around here and nowhere will cater for you'. I cannot explain how derogatory this remark was made and I literally felt like crying. She proceeded to tell we basically could not leave because we had made a reservation, it was now 8:10pm and I reminded her there was no one else seated in the restaurant and she said 'NO, all the other tables are reserved'. I find it incredibly hard to believe the whole restaurant was booked out at 8:30. On a softer note, we walked back towards the main town of Varena and went to Albetho del Sole they were amazing with tons of gluten free and vegan options. With the waiter checking everything with the head chef. They literally could not have done more for m and I've truly never had better service. Please if you have any dietary requirements or you like to be treated like a human being please do not go here. It has completely spoiled my experience so far and I have never felt more humiliated. I never write reviews but having depended on reviews to find places I can eat if I save one person this experience it...

The food is delicious but the service is awful. I was told that I had to select a minimum of 2 courses for lunch. I don't know if this is true or if it was because I was dining alone. Either way I needed more time to choose and when I asked for a few minutes to choose I was told that there were people waiting for my table. My second time there I was given a 7pm Tuesday dinner reservation and turn up to discover they were closed on a Tuesday and I had not been contacted. Very disappointing customer service given how good the food is. It's also a shame because if they had approached it differently I would have been there every day I could since I am based in Fiumelatte for a month but it seems that when you are booked solid you can afford to treat customers this way. They clearly did not want my service because I would not be spending enough money there. It has really affected my experience of the area. Having read some of the other poor reviews it seems this maitre d' can be pretty...

Undoubtably the best food we have had in Italy! The location is beautiful overlooking the lake. The service was brilliant, very professional and welcoming! The food was top class. Rose was delicious! We loved it! The atmosphere was very warm and welcoming! Tonight we had a massive thunder and lightening storm after our meal and we were able to brave it indoors in the restaurant! All staff worked hard to make the move from outside to inside as seem-less as possible for guests! No interruption to gusts at all! Very impressive service and professionalism! The storm went on for hours and a taxi was not possible! So the owner of the restaurant, a true lady, dropped us home! We can’t thank her enough for the delightful evening and the kind offer of a spin home! VISIT THIS RESTAURANT! it’s a must if your in the area - truly top class! This amazing lady has ran it for 19 years and has mastered the art of...