Ristorante Crotto di Pino — Restaurant in Varenna

We chose this restaurant as we stayed nearby in an apartment and we read the glowing reviews that people had left. I definitely wouldn't say this place had an atmosphere, even with a few more tables arriving it was very quiet, with no music. The menu arrived after a while and was a very small limited menu that I wouldn't say catered for all needs, but we expected with a small menu the quality would be good. Unfortunately this wasn't the case. The leg of lamb was a little piece of lamb with some wedges, definitely not leg- we ordered more wedges on the side. The stewed beef with vegetables came with polenta and we had to order more wedges to go with this meal. The vegetables apparently were in the sauce as they didn't arrive. The two pastas were ok but very small in size.

The tiramisu was lovely and I can tell this is a family run business. But over all it definitely needs to up iyt's game for the prices that we paid. Sorry we...

Highly recommended! We went to this place for lunch - party of three & a dog. Although they were not serving lunch yet, they welcomed us and we enjoyed the breathtaking views and some drinks. We ordered the chocolate pasta, the truffle pasta, and the fresh fish from the daily menu. Everything was absolutely delicious, perfect portions that left just the right amount of space for dessert! The tiramisu and lemon cake are simply divine! The staff is extremely friendly and were very welcoming to our dog as well. She got lots of treats & pets as they have a dog themselves and she felt right at home that she even fell asleep! There was a family with small children next to us, who also thoroughly enjoyed themselves and took the opportunity to get to know us & our dog! All in all, a perfect afternoon spent here and would...

Crotto di Pino sits a short car journey away from Varenna town centre, but is absolutely worth the journey. If we had to choose a single place to eat on our holiday (19-23 June), we would have been happy to go there every day. The food is authentic and locally sourced, and we loved everything we ordered. The menu is clearly carefully selected (with 'special' dishes that change), and it showed (see Tiramisu in photo). The view was gorgeous, where you can see the lake and mountains, with very natural green surroundings. There was a cosy and homely atmosphere inside the restaurant. The owners were absolutely lovely! They accommodated us until closing as we waited for our taxi, and offered us the best limoncello we have ever had. We will definitely return if we ever come back...