Discover Como – Food

There is no better place than Como to enjoy the flavors from Lake Como and the mountains. These are precisely the elements that make the city and its surrounding villages unique. There is the water with its twait shad, lavaret, and perch. And there are the flavors of the land, polenta, and desserts that tell of tradition. Stopping by a trattoria, you can relax with a casual lunch, while at the most renowned restaurants, you can experience luxury, elegance, and exquisite food.

Lake Como’s flavors

The first sensation that greets anyone arriving in the city is Lake Como’s breeze, which opens before the eyes of those who see it for the first time, those who rediscover it after years, and those who experience it every day in its immense beauty. Lake Como is the symbol of the city and the villages that surround it. Lake Como is history, it is life, it is elegance. Lake Como gives local fishermen twait shad, bleak, lavarello, perch, salmon trout, pike, and chub, often found in Como’s recipes accompanied by the local savors, such as polenta and risotto.

To taste Lake Como’s deliciousness, one can stay in town or move to the picturesque villages along its shores. In Lenno, at the “Trattoria del Grifo” you can savor risotto with perch and missoltini (in dialect ‘misultitt’) with polenta, the dish par excellence of Como tradition. Misultitt are twait shads, dried in the sun and pressed with salt in wooden ‘missolte’ (vats).

Where to taste traditional Lake Como’s dishes

Ristorante Frate, via Bellinzona 160, Como
Trattoria del Grifo, via Mattia del Riccio 19, Lenno

The flavors of Como

Como is not only a lake. Como is also mountains, tradition, and authentic food. Among these are cheeses, with their triumph of flavors: semuda, zincarlin, and Triangolo del Lario. You can find them at fairs, where ‘Comaschi’ celebrate their local dishes, or in the town’s food shops. The cheese pairs well with polenta, which celebrates the savors of the mountains, but also with products from Lake Como, such as missoltini. To taste a dish from the Como area is to have a unique experience, as unique is the place where these products are born. Como is known for its typical sweets: cutizza, resta, and miascia. The cutizza, a kind of pancake made with a simple dough of flour, eggs, milk, and sugar, and sometimes with apples added, is a delicious snack for children and adults.

Where to taste the flavors of Como

La Polenteria, via Scalini 66, Brunate
Osteria del Gallo, via Vitani 16, Como

A casual lunch

Como is a mix of different places and experiences. In Como, you can stroll around and come across unexpected corners where tasting traditional dishes while taking a dip into history or find places where you can feel at home, enjoying products of the highest quality. Lunch, especially at weekends, is one of the most eagerly awaited moments when you can get together with family and friends. Como offers numerous possibilities for casual lunches to enjoy together. In town, not far from Stadio Sinigaglia, is the “Osteria Figli dei Fiori”. The restaurant offers big plates to be placed in the middle of the table and shared with friends, allowing customers to taste different traditional Italian dishes, from starters to main courses. Just outside the center, a unique location offers typical Lombard cuisine in an atmosphere that takes you back in time. This is the trattoria “Tira, Mola e Meseda”, a dialect name, where you can enjoy pizzoccheri, polenta and ossobuco. In Moltrasio is the “Trattoria La Moltrasina 1902”, established a few years before the foundation of Como 1907 as a meeting place for the people of Moltrasio before becoming a restaurant, with a beautiful view of Lake Como and mountains. Here, you can find a modern version of traditional dishes, including the typical risotto with perch.

Where to enjoy a casual lunch

Osteria Figli dei Fiori, via Borgo Vico 34, Como
Tira, Mola e Meseda, via Castellini 17, Como
Trattoria La Moltrasina 1902, via Raschi 9, Moltrasio

Dinner in an elegant atmosphere

Como is elegance, sophistication, and luxury. The city and the province offer magical places to enjoy the highest quality products in an atmosphere of remarkable refinement. Just outside the city center is the “Ristorante Navedano”, surrounded by greenery and with a long tradition dating back to 1896. The restaurant offers traditional tastes with a modern twist. Strong points are the raw materials, seasonality, and a wide choice of wines. Lomazzo is home to the Michelin 1-star “Trattoria contemporanea”. A former 19th-century cotton mill houses the restaurant. The kitchen serves excellent raw materials and offers a contemporary dining experience. In Carate Urio, right on the lakeshore, is “Acquadolce”, an exclusive location with a garden with private access from Lake Como and a refined place for a gastronomic experience that links tradition with a modern twist, with a splendid view over the Lake Como’s waters.

Where to enjoy a fine dinner

Acquadolce, via Regina Vecchia 26, Carate Urio
Ristorante Navedano, via Velzi 4, Como
Trattoria contemporanea, via del Ronco 10, Lomazzo