Nilus Bar — Restaurant in Varenna

WE WERE NOT CHARGED FOR THE AFFECTED DISHES

We stopped for lunch at Nilus Bar because it was the only restaurant open in the village.

We ordered 2 traditional bruschettas which arrived promptly. The bread was thin and completely soaked with water from the chopped tomatoes. Price tag €7.50 each.

We then ordered:

Pappardelle with pesto sauce and crunch y bacon €16 Lasagna x2 €12 each Crêpes Zucchine €13

The Pappardelle were extremely oily and with strange tasting vegetables. After a couple of mouthfuls, we found a piece of hair well intertwined with the pasta.

The lasagna servings were microwaved. They were extremely hot inside and cold on the outside. There was no trace of meat, and one of us found a piece of plastic in it. YES PLASTIC!!

We stopped eating and called the waiter/manager immediately, to inform them of the nice surprises we found in our plates.

The lady inspected the plates and recognised that there was indeed a hair and a piece of plastic in them.

She apologised and explained that the plastic was probably from the lids used to cover the lasagna in the fridge (!) and that the hair must have been carried by the wind (!)…

Jokingly we asked: is there wind in the kitchen?? And how strong was the wind for the hair to wrap itself around pappardelle???

She understood that we were not happy with her explanation and walked off.

When the bill arrived we saw that the two lasagnas and the pappardelle, which we left nearly untouched, had not been added to the bill.

Although they were honest, I think they should monitor the kitchen more closely. The restaurant is in a nice location, with amazing views of the lake, and it’s a shame that the food they serve is not up to...

(reposting since for some reason, Google removed my review claiming it was in violation… As if I had not actually been at this restaurant. I reviewed the terms of service and nothing in here is in violation of the terms.)

Decided not to eat here the next night because of the rude service from the night before. Felt uncomfortable being there. My husband had tried to help clear the table our first night from a previous customer so we could sit down with our 3 young children (just moving some dishes to one side of the table), since staff was very busy and unable to get to our table. A white man with grayish hair pulled into a short pony tail (Oct 12, around 6-7pm) snapped at my husband, “are we not moving fast enough for you?!?!” My husband replied kindly and said “oh sorry! Just trying to help.” He then ordered a dry red wine and the same waiter snapped,”what kind? Am I supposed to just pick it for you?!” The rude abrupt abrasiveness continued from this waiter. We felt like we were being bullied. Why not find a different job if you are so annoyed by customers? Without customers don’t have a business.

The next night we paused and considered eating here again for the views and the decent food, the kids had enjoyed it. We started to sit at a table, then realized it would just be an uncomfortable experience worrying we are going to make the staff mad simply for breathing, we decided to leave. As we walked away a female staff member walked out and made it clear she was glaring at us for leaving. This only affirmed we had made the right decision. Some reviewers got lucky with better staff, but it seems there’s also quite a few reviewers who’ve had the same rude...

Surprised this has so many reviews with so many stars. Ate here this evening during sunset, we were lucky enough to get a table right next to the water. The only good thing was the view, unfortunately.

Pizza was like a frozen pizza had just been put in the oven - evidently not a fresh base and not what I expected from an Italian restaurant at Lake Como on the shore in one of the prettiest places in the lake! When our local pizzeria back home (south west England) is better than a restaurant here there is clearly an issue with the restaurant here!

It became clear very quickly that the places where Nilus is situated are just there for high customer turnover and tourists, no focus on the quality of food at all. Really disappointing that places like this exist in such a prime area to enjoy the evening and watch the sunset. I hope one day the standards rise and better restaurants take over instead.

Not one bit Italian in the slightest - best to walk up the hill to find a cosy restaurant which focuses on food, however, you won’t get the view. It’s a shame you can’t get both great restaurants and great sunset views in Varenna (except for the nice hotel...