Where to eat in Varenna: missoltini, risotto and Lake Como flavours

Local specialties and traditional dishes

Varenna, a jewel overlooking the eastern branch of Lake Como, preserves a gastronomic tradition that combines lake flavours with those of the Lombard mountains. The cuisine is sober, hearty and tied to the rhythms of the seasons and lake fishing.

Missoltini are the signature dish: agoni (small lake fish) sun-dried and smoked with bay leaves, then grilled and served with polenta. Their intense, slightly bitter flavour is the very essence of the lake. Risotto with perch fillets, butter, and sage is the other great classic: delicate, creamy, with the fish just seared in foaming butter.

Among first courses, Valtellina pizzoccheri (buckwheat pasta with cabbage, potatoes, melted butter, and Casera cheese) and casoncelli (ravioli stuffed with meat and amaretti, dressed with butter and sage) represent the mountain cuisine. Lavarello in carpione (marinated with vinegar, onions, and bay) is an essential traditional starter.

Best trattorias and osterias

Varenna is a small village with a limited number of restaurants, but the average quality is high. The best trattorias look directly onto the lake, with outdoor tables on the lovers' walk or on terraces facing Bellagio and Menaggio.

The venues in the small harbour square are the most characteristic: you eat watching boats bobbing and mountains reflected in the water. Trattorias along the climb towards the castle offer more homestyle menus and slightly lower prices.

Some historic hotel restaurants offer refined cuisine with local ingredients, in elegant settings with gardens overlooking the lake.

Polenta as the star

On Lake Como, polenta is not a side dish: it is the heart of the meal. Polenta taragna (with buckwheat and melted cheeses), polenta with porcini mushrooms, polenta with braised meat: every season has its version. In winter, order it with venison stew or braised wild boar.

Street food and snacks

Varenna does not have a major street food tradition, but food shops and bars along the promenade offer sandwiches with Valtellina bresaola and local cheeses, stuffed focaccia, and artisanal gelato.

Pastry shops offer almond cake, brutti ma buoni (hazelnut and egg white biscuits), and pan meino (sweet bread with elderflower and butter, typical of the Lario area). For gelato with a lake view, seek out the gelaterias on the promenade: pistachio, hazelnut, and stracciatella are the most popular flavours.

Local wines

The hills above Lake Como do not produce large quantities of wine, but nearby Valtellina offers extraordinary reds. Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG, from dried Nebbiolo grapes, is a powerful and complex red. Valtellina Superiore DOCG, in the sub-zones Sassella, Grumello, Inferno and Valgella, produces elegant and long-lived reds.

Varenna's restaurants offer good wine lists featuring Valtellina and Lombard productions. For tastings, the Valtellina wineries are reachable in an hour's drive.

Markets and local products

Varenna's market is small and held on Wednesday morning in the main square. For a larger market, take the ferry across the lake to Bellagio (Saturday) or Menaggio (Friday).

Products to take home include: Valtellina IGP bresaola, Bitto and Casera cheeses, packaged missoltini, valley honey, and Lario olive oil (limited production but excellent). The shops in the centre sell packaged products and gastronomic souvenirs.

Budget tips

Varenna is less expensive than Bellagio and Cernobbio, but the lakeside restaurants have medium-high prices. A lake fish first course costs 14-18 euros, a main 18-24 euros. To save, look for trattorias in the upper part of the village, away from the promenade, where lunch menus cost 15-20 euros.

The focacceria and bars with tables offer quick meals at reasonable prices. Buy bresaola and cheese from a salumeria and eat on a lakeside bench: the view is free and better than many restaurants.

The ferry to Bellagio costs just a few euros: consider having lunch there and dinner in Varenna (or vice versa) to vary the experience.