Ahhh…Lago Maggiore. And, how about sitting on a pleasant veranda enjoying a scrumptious lunch on the Isola dei Pescatori (Fisherman’s Island). So pleasant. That’s exactly what we experienced on our visit to Stresa on the shore of Lago Maggiore.

In my last article, I shared our experiences in the town of Stresa, which sits on the western shores of Lago Maggiore. Clicking on the map thumbnail to the right will familiarize you with the location of Lago Maggiore in comparison to the other lakes making up the Italian Lake District.

Today, we will relax a bit as we dine at Ristorante Verbano. That’s the restaurant in the photo, below. It is part of the Albergo Vergano. ‘Albergo’ is another way to say ‘hotel’ in Italian.

The dining terrace sits just behind the wall with “Albergo Ristorante” painted on it

We had hoped to stay here at this exquisite hotel on the island, but alas, we waited a bit too long to book a room. See my suggestion at the end of this article for a view of this charming albergo.

Getting There

As Ristorante Verbano sits on an island, we must arrive by boat.

Here comes our ride to Isola dei Pescatori.

This boat dock is situated just in front of our hotel, as explained in last week’s article.

Watch your head Ellen as you descend to the passenger area.

That’s a boat much like ours racing beside us.

See the two white car ferries in the background? We will be riding on one of those in a couple of days as we make our way east through the Lake District to Lago di Garda.

We are getting closer to lunch time as we approach our island dock.

Of course, there is more than just dining on the island.

Eating There

As the menu suggests, we are at Ristorante Verbano, the ‘restaurant on the island’.

But, first things first. It is time for our customary wine toast!

Hmmm…so many choices for just one meal. As we are on an island in a lake, seafood seems appropriate. On the left are the fish dishes, and on the right, the meat dishes. Today’s menu is presented in four languages.

I’ve made my lunch selection. And that is none-other than I, your scribe, enjoying my wine.

As I turn to look at the lake, this is what I see. A beautiful day on a beautiful lake of clear water.

Our food has arrived! And here it is.

Ellen’s selection is whitefish with lemon and capers. The fish is just-caught-that-morning fresh and comes right from the Lago Maggiore.

Notice how the fish has been shaped into a cylinder to form a base for the zucchini…a nice presentation.

Here are our other selections, including risotto and a tasty cheese course.

As we leave Ristorante Verbano, we can see our destination for tomorrow…but that’s another story.

Here are just a few photos from our walk back to our boat that will take us back to Stresa.

Our assurance of a safe boat ride back to Stresa!

A Suggestion for Right Now

I have a suggestion that I think you will appreciate. Take a quick look at the short introductory video on the home page of Albergo Ristorante Verbano’s web site. It presents you with a most pleasant way to start your day…and it will most assuredly give you cause to head to Isola di Pesciatore.

Just click right here and enjoy: Albergo Ristorante Verbano

That was an excellent meal. The location, the nice sunny day, the ambiance, the service, the food, the drink…all worked together to provide us with a memorable experience. An experience that I hope you can enjoy someday for yourself.

Ciao for now,

Steve

Index of Articles

Would you like to dine with a view like this one? Then you need to eat at Ristorante Bovio.

This lovely restaurant is situated on the slope of the hill upon which the Piemonte town of La Mora is situated. Whether you are dining on the terrace for lunch, as we did, or eating in the beautifully appointed dining room in the evening, the view is magnificent.

As seen from the restaurant, that’s the Church of San Sebastiano in La Mora, blessing Ristorante Bovio. And, well blessed it is.

As with virtually every meal we have eaten in Italy, we start with wine…and usually the first bottle is a white wine. Here we are poured our new favorite white northern-Italian wine, Arneis. Note the unique bottle holder at the table in the background…it keeps a white wine at just the perfect temperature. Here you see Craig’s look of anticipation.

With every toast, we celebrate having the great friends with whom we are traveling, sister- and brother-in-law Leslie and Craig Johnson.

The terrace of Bovio is oh, so pleasant. And, it is a gorgeous day in the Langhe area of the Piemonte. Craig, Leslie and wife Ellen await our first course.

“Would care for a scrumptious bread product?”, asks Leslie.

“Yes!”, I say.

Most every Italian restaurant has olive oil available for dipping one’s bread, but here, we also have butter. I’m assuming that there is nothing wrong with putting butter on a grissino. Would you agree?

As an appetizer, we tried the fried zucchini blossoms, which we found delicious.

Also tasty were the mushrooms over creamy pollenta, topped with black truffles.

In the dining room, we found a covered plate of several black truffles, topped with a truffle shaver, ready to do its job.

While we were seated, we saw a local man park his vehicle and unload a box which he took inside the restaurant. I followed him to the kitchen to see what he had for sale and found that he brought these large mushrooms. The chef liked what he saw and the grower left with cash in his pocket.

If we had been at Bovio for dinner, we might have sampled some of their spirits…but as it was lunchtime and we had a special place to be after lunch, we passed.

Lunch has arrived and here it is. A nice Bolognese pasta, mushroom risotto, beautifully-cooked scallops, and a bit of beef with scalloped potatoes were enjoyed as we ate with a view.

And of course, we needed more Arneis.

As is an Italian custom, dessert consisted of cheese. And we had a large selection from which to choose.

We mad a selection of seven cheeses, accompanied with honey and fruit preserves.

The dining room awaits evening diners. And they will also have that nice view during their meal.

Ahhhh, what an outstanding meal. As we leave, we take one last look at the idyllic Langhe countryside, as seen from the terrace of Ristorante Bovio.

BONUS MATERIAL

Above, I mentioned that we had plans for the afternoon. What might those plans be? We have reservations for massages at the Chateaux Castello di Guarene spa in the hilltop town of Guarene.

That’s the castle sitting smack dab in the middle of the areal photo.

According to the Relais Chateaux Castello di Guarene website, the castle was built by Carlo Giacinto Roero di Guarene, who laid the first stone in 1726 on 13 September at 8.30 pm.

The grounds of the castle are well manicured and provide a pleasant place to relax for guests at the hotel.

The spa is actually located in the subterranean depths below these gardens.

To get to the spa, one goes down a couple of flights of stairs into the bowels of the hill. And then a long tunnel through the hill leads you to the spa.

At the end of the tunnel, Craig and Leslie stand on a balcony which juts out from the side of the cliff below the castle grounds. There is a nice view from that balcony.

But the inside of the cavernous interior reveals an ideal spa atmosphere.

Ristorante Bovio

Relais & Chateaux Castello di Guarene

That’s it for lunch at Bovio, and then a relaxing time at the Castle Guarene spa.

I have to admit that such a lovely lunch, followed by a couple of hours of relaxing spa time, is a great way to spend an afternoon in northern Italy…or anywhere else for that matter. If you are able to reproduce this day’s itinerary, you may find me floating in the grotto pool.

Ciao for now,

Steve

BLOG

Eat Here: Ristorante Verbano

Getting There

Eating There

A Suggestion for Right Now

Eat Here: Ristorante Bovio

BONUS MATERIAL