Cafè Retrò Ristorante Tivoli — Restaurant in Circolo di Carona

During my stay in Lugano Paradiso for a week, on June 2023, I attended a medical congress. Although the hotel was disappointing, I discovered a pleasant café-ristorante called Retro Tivoli just across the street. The café had a relaxed and lounge-like atmosphere, with comfortable seating on the terrace offering a side view of the lake. The large tables were stylishly set, and the background music added to the relaxing ambiance. The cuisine at the café consisted of a mix of Italian and Mediterranean Swiss dishes. The starters were delicious, representing the flavors of both regions, while the main courses included clean cooked pasta, pizzas, and appropriate main dishes. The restaurant's approach to food was straightforward and without unnecessary frills, resulting in a satisfying dining experience.

After the disappointment of the city on three other evenings, my colleagues and I decided to return to the café Ristorante on our last evening. It turned out to be a lovely way to bid farewell to Lugano. I can wholeheartedly recommend this restaurant for both coffee breaks and lunch during the day and dinner at night

I must further highlight the exceptional service I received at the café Ristorante. Unfortunately, I misplaced my new AirPods Pro Max between the street and the restaurant terrace on the last evening. When I informed the restaurant about the situation and shared the Apple search location, they went above and beyond to search for my lost item. To my surprise and delight, they managed to find and return my AirPods. I am incredibly grateful for their efforts and will always look forward to returning to this restaurant whenever I am in town.

In summary, my experience at the café Ristorante in Lugano Paradiso was a delightful contrast to the disappointing hotel stay. The restaurant provided a relaxed atmosphere, tasty cuisine, and friendly service. Its dedication to customer satisfaction, as demonstrated by their efforts to find and return my lost AirPods, further enhances my recommendation of this...

The menu seems promising and the food was delicious, so the chef is to be recommended. Our waiter was also nice and welcoming, until someone else came around asking for the "best" bottle of wine or the most expensive one, diverting his attention. But ok, I get it. What I don't get is how the restaurant's owner, I presume (signore Matteo?), thinks it is fine to make a video call with his daughter in high volume, so that everyone around, including us, can hear her high pitch voice and their conversation, and also clearly see her on the phone if we happen to look at the entrance, where he was sitting. How disrespectful! Also, even though our card worked fine everywhere else in Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France (etc), here it mysteriously didn't work and we had to pay in cash (funny, I also heard the waiter whispering to his boss that someone else had also payed in cash... Faulty credit card reader, a way to avoid taxes?.... I don't know, but that's rather bizarre when today's technology and credit cards work so well...). Final bonus: we were completely bombarded by mosquitoes, which may be normal here by the lake, but maybe some candles or anti-mosquitoes electric devices would be advisable. Can't really recommend this restaurant as the overall experience left us with a bitter taste. Not the chef's...

It was simply a DISASTER!!!! We (2 adults + 2 children) reserved a table before going. At the entrance we were met by a waiter who guided us to a table that seemed set up for six. He simply removed one table and told us to sit. No body came to serve us for the next 10min after which the guy came to tell us to move to another table because they actually had a reservation for six and the other table could only accommodate 4. We agreed and changes. Another 10min pass and we tell another waiter to take our order. After another 5min the first waiter came to take our orders. We were not sure how long it would take but we're feeling a bit unsure if we will eat soon. But after another 5min he came back to tell us if we could wait outside till he finds a table for us because he had another reservation for another group. We said OK but then told the guy we were going to leave. He told us ok bye.... No apologies! 🙄🙄🙄We were with hungry kids, tired, and wasted our time...