LOCANDA CAVALLINO — Restaurant in Varenna

We recently had dinner at Locanda Cavallino and ordered the beef and the vegetarian raviolli, some wine, pannacotta and tiramisu.

It is worth mentioning that the service was excellent. Fast and attentive. However, we didn't expect less since you pay 2,5 per person for the service and bread (the bread was below average and that is a crime in Italy).

The raviolli were simply not good. Not much more to say there. The meat tasted good, perfectly cooked, came with a nice sauce and oven cooked potatoes. Both quite pricy , in the range of 21 to 25 each plate and the portions are tiny.

The desserts are okay but not mind blowing.

Overall, the place is quite expensive for what you get and we wouldn't recommend it.

5 starts minus 1 for the raviolli, 1 for the price and 1 for being excessively overhyped in google. How was this a 4.8 when we visited?! Total: 2.

Oh and it's worth mentioning that the menu online (google profile) is not updated. So if you wanted to try that amazingly looking pork belly, don't even try because it will...

Food is delicious here. They do secondi very well. Our first visit, we had the famous local Lake Como dish: the creamy risotto with lake fish. Our second visit, we had Tuna and breaded chicken (with Caesar’s dressing). They were both excellent. Good selection of wine too.

Service here is professional, but not warm, friendly, or welcoming compared to other local restaurants that we’ve experienced in mid lake (Bellagio, Menaggio, Varenna, etc).

Would we dine here again in the future? I would say yes ONLY IF we can sit inside. Our most recent visit, we were seated outdoor and it was extremely unpleasant due to bugs, especially flies - see my pictures.

The restaurant needs to do more to address the flies issue (rather than simply throwing their hands up in the air and say “this is nature”). In Singapore, Dubai, and Thailand, upscale restaurants have found ways to deal with flies to make sure they don’t come to bother the customers. There’s no reason why Italians can’t learn from these...

Locanda Cavallino is owned by Martina , whose mother Tete (sp?) owns the next door Hotel Olivedo, Piazza Martiri , Varenna. Their family apparently has owned the Hotel Olivedo for several generations, and Tete and Martina have been the kindest hosts for our stay there at the Olivedo. The Locanda Cavallino is a wonderful Restaurant and the Food and Service is Superb !! It is Elegantly designed and the staff is professional and courteous. It is the perfect setting for a Elegant evening. I had a Chinese fusion Crispy Chicken on a bed of Greens that was delicious. My wife had the Bolognese Pasta which was also very nicely done. Martina seated us immediately, although I believe the Restaurant was nearly fully booked. Reservations I believe are necessary, as this was a friday evening. This is worth taking the Ferry from Bellaggio/Menagio ... as the place is just minutes from the Ferry...