Ristorante Il Barone — Restaurant in Circolo dell'Isole

A complete rip-off — stay away. We came for a family dinner hoping for a nice evening. Ordered a tomahawk — it was disgusting: full of fat, half burnt, half raw, totally inedible. The waitress saw it and offered me a Fiorentina cut. I thought it was an apology — instead, they charged me almost full price, just 50 bucks less. I wanted to share one big piece of meat with my husband, not get a second giant steak shoved at me as some fake “compensation.” They served me an 800g slab of meat for 120 bucks, meant for two people, not for a woman eating alone. They knew it was for me only — a normal filet of 200g would have been enough. I ate only 2 pieces. Even worse, I asked for it well-done — it came raw. I had to send it back and wait again. By the time I was finally served, my husband had finished eating 45 minutes earlier. The wine came late — after the food was already served. The potatoes? Dry, old, rock-hard — like they had been sitting in the fridge for two days and reheated. When I said something, the waitress claimed “it’s a new art of potatoes.” Ridiculous. And then the worst part: the fatty, disgusting piece you see in the photo? That’s the meat they served to our four-and-a-half-year-old daughter. Let that sink in. Who serves that to a child? The waitress even admitted, “Sorry, it’s not our day, everything went wrong.” And yet they still charged us almost full price. At the end, they offered me a 20% discount for next time. I left it on the table. There will never be a next time. They ruined our evening. Bad food, fake apologies and abusive pricing. With only 4 tables occupied, they were clearly desperate to make money and decided to scam whoever they could. Proof of the bill attached....

We spent our last dinner in Ascona here. We came here without a reservation, it was fine however the people were coming and coming so I would recommend to reserve. Service exceptional, the best in Ascona so far, extremely friendly and knows the profession very well. We are german speakers and even though the waiter’s language skills were not high the communication was good without misunderstanding. Regarding the food, exceptional if there would be a more descriptive word to say perfect I would use it. My wife is vegetarian there are very good options not just pizza which is great. Homemade desserts are highly recommended especially the tiramisu. The list of wines is extended and you can find very good ones. To Switzerland it is rather average in terms of price (3-course per person) This restaurant is a keeper, next time we are in Ascona definitely come back....

Birthday lunch in Ascona, near where I live. Made this solo traveler’s day. Excellent recommendation of wine by the glass (on request) by my waiter. Pleasantly crisp notes, full-bodied for a white. Had the red shrimp with avocado as appetiser, it was a hit. Pasta as main course - perfect texture, faultless red shrimp, but found the potage a tad too grassy. Bit of a clash with the squid ink pasta. Service was impeccable and attentive, never obtrusive. Good ambience, unpretentious setting, fairly extensive menu. Was very well looked after by the waiter. Hope to be back to try the rest...