Acqua e Farina — Restaurant in Circolo di Lugano ovest

You must come here. It is hard to find as it is off a hallway inside a building off the main shopping street just one block parallel from the lakefront. Well located, really.

As you can see from the pics, it’s a medium-sized homey restaurant good for families, group of friends, couples & solo diners (like myself). It is fairly priced (being Switzerland, that is). The copper pizza over is the centerpiece of this casual eatery. In addition to dining in, from the boxes stacked by the pizzaiolo, they must do a robust take-away business.

I asked for a glass of a local chilled white and was served a delicious Chardonnay (less sweet than American Chardonnays). Loved it. Asked for a glass of sparking water & was served an entire bottle.

I came for a pizza & had a pizza; loved it. Kept it simple: Margherita with fresh mashed tomates, very light seasoning, basil leaves & the just amount of mozzarella. Do not expect an over-cheesed American pizza. This one is just like the ones you enjoy when visiting Italy.

My bill was $26.96 USD for pizza, glass of wine & bottle of sparkling water &...

We just ordered two pizzas and a green salad here and unfortunately, the experience was deeply disappointing. The service was, quite frankly, a mess. Two waiters, both visibly overwhelmed, rushed about in disarray with no coordination, creating more confusion than comfort. One of them, wearing gold rings, outright lied to us about available tables. We counted several empty ones and simply asked to sit for 10 minutes not an unreasonable request.

My wife’s green salad, described as a mix of three types of greens, arrived with only two and not even a drop of dressing. No apology, no explanation—just indifference. As for the staff, the unfriendly demeanor of a waiter named Pedro, paired with the cold arrogance of his colleague, left us feeling more like a burden than paying guests.

This establishment may boast a reputation, but based on our visit, it’s undeserved. Hospitality was absent, and basic courtesy seemed optional. What a shame for a place that could be so...

Upon arrival we were seated and quickly tended to by our lovely and very accommodating server Gaia.

Since my father had an appetite for a simple pasta, we asked her if it would be possible to prepare spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncini for him wich was not on the menu. We never experienced a simple pasta dish this delicous. The garlic was beautifully fried, not at all overpowering and with a light sweetness. the pasta was made from scratch, which took a while, but was very worth the wait. Fitting with the name aqua e farina the dish was built up from scratch with very basic ingredients, skillfully combined into something that is way more than the sum of its parts. It really tasted like the cook put their heart into it.

My Pizza was as delicious as the pasta. Even the marinara sauce was a delight by itself. Paired with a perfect crust and flavorful provolone cheese, the perfect amount of black pepper and fresh basil.

We will be coming back...