Trattoria del Lago di Manuela Buetti — Restaurant in Circolo di Locarno

For quality assurance I use three separate topics: Staff, Location / Ambience, Food/Price

Staff: The staff as described in other reviews were "interesting". They seemed not to be too attentive and very forgetful. They try to cover their unprofessionality with jokes and silly/clumsy behaviour. For example we asked for the bill and waited around 20 minutes, telling the waitress multiple times that we would like to pay. She forgot and showed us that she forgot and after the third time she mentioned that she gets the owner to get the bill as only she can do it. Other example is another couple waited for a seat and there were plenty of free seats, she told them to wait 2 minutes and they waited ten until the other waitress noticed that there were people standing around in the restaurant waited to be seated.

2.0 out of 5.0

Location / Ambience The location of the restaurant was okay. It was in the shade so not too hot and the lake was barely visible even though it was close to it but it was fine. It is located next to a main street but its okay soundwise. The ambience and the the furniture however is rather old and not too comfortable. The furniture is cheap (plastic tables/chairs) and the decoration is sorta like a generic bar where hardcore alcoholics go to.

3.0 out of 5.0

Food / Price We ordered their "cordon bleue" which was 32.00 CHF per person. The portion size was good it was a very big portion for 32.00 CHF. However, don't order that. The mixed salad you get for that is probably the best out of the whole dish. The salad was rather crunchy but the sauce of the salad itself seemed to be a bought sauce that was rather acidic. For the cordon bleue you get fries and vegetables. The plate was heated which was good and stands out and the presentation of the food was also good. However the fries are premade fries which you can buy at any super market and if you have ever been to a public beach in switzerland the spices on them is the same. They didnt really stand out as they werent really crunchy. The vegetables which consisted out of carrots, green beans and califlower were deep fried and therefore where watery, tasteless and blend. It was not very tasty. The cordon bleue was premade and had a strong smell on it as if it was rather old and just got heated up again. The cheese was not evenly melted and was very greasy and salty which covered the bad smell of the meat but not the overall impression of the food. The ham inside the cordon bleue was tasteless blend and overcooked and had absolutly no taste. The meat also was sorta overcooked and therefore very chewy. For 32.00.- which is fairly cheap I expect a bit better quality and a smaller portion.

1.0 out of 5.0

To sum it up the total rating is 2.0 out of 5.0 which is not very convincing even though the restaurant is fairly cheap for swiss measures. Would not recommend but you do you.

Sidenote: I had a really bad stomach ache afterwards which was not...

Today I had risotto at the Trattoria. After a few bites, I noticed that I had bitten onto something strange. I took it out of my mouth and realised that it was a piece of glass 4 cm's long and 1 cm wide. Needless to say I was shocked! How did this piece of glass get into my food and what if I had swallowed it? I showed it to the waitress and she mumbled a lame : "Entschuldigung". I left the restaurant in a state of shock! How can this happen and how can they be...

Get an appetizer and see if you want a full meal from this place.

The gnocchi was way too soft and came out way too quickly, I’m guessing it was microwaved. It was also extremely bland, both the gnocchi and the sauce.

The braised beef and mushroom risotto was decent, but the beef was far too salty.

Yes, the prices are cheaper here, but frankly not worth it for us. Just spend a tiny bit more for a...