Circolo sociale di montagnola — Restaurant in Circolo di Carona

Ignore the travel guides; they’re clearly amateurs who don’t understand quality food.

Went here with my entire family in 2004; the food was well prepared, inventive, hearty, and full of flavor. Ambiance, service and vibe was also great. Fast forward to our Sunday dinner in October 2019; what a shock and disappointment.

It bore no resemblance to our prior experience. Had a Very Expensive $93 dinner for two; haphazard food preparation and lackadaisical service. The polenta itself was fine; but $93 For some heavily salted, swimming in oil mushrooms, and a small bowl of salad with just lettuce (again with gobs of oil) and some white wine?

Either the ownership doesn’t know, doesn’t care, or their customer base is so unfamiliar with quality food they just accept whatever comes their way.

Go elsewhere for a pizza, pasta or polenta and wine for less than...

We visited this grotto just out of curiosity. The food we tried was not very good - basic risotto. English was not well spoken, but we managed to order with limited italian and english mixed.

However it felt like "why do you come here", can't say why. Maybe it was the language barrier. A tip to the waiter: if there is no common language, don't hide :)

No ambiance really. In summer, you might have better seating outside. The place looks beautiful and there are possibilities to so much more, but seems the owners really don't want to do anything? Not sure. Potential is there.

In summary: you get your belly full with ok food, it is not too pricey either, but this is not the place you come...

Abbiamo riservato per le 13.30 di domenica. Abbiamo mangiato costine per 3 persone, io contorno di polenta, il mio compagno polenta e funghi, i bimbi patatine. Le costine erano davvero salate, ma visto l'orario e il tempo che ci vuole per cuocerle ce le siamo mangiate cmq. La polenta era davvero asciutta. Al momento di pagare facciamo notare la cosa alla cameriera ma lei dice che sono gusti, che sicuramente siamo noi a sentire salate le costine e che il giorno precedente ne hanno vendute tantissime.. mah che risposta è?! Volevo quasi chiedere se allora ci aveva servito quelle del giorno prima, ma va beh....anche la polenta che era davvero asciutta all'inizio dice che fosse strano, poi torna e si corregge e mi dice probabilmente era perché era fatta già dalla mattina. Ma se una cosa non è più così mangiabile, perché la servono comunque?! Ero stata lì qualche anno fa ,ero uscita più soddisfatta. Non credo...