Magic in Italy: Dinner in Sirmione

Trip Report Index:

Introduction
Getting There
Hotel Review: St. Regis Rome
Hotel Review: Hotel De Russie
Visiting Rome
Hotel Review: The Westin Europa & Regina
Visiting Venice
Hotel Review: St. Regis Venice San Clemente Palace (previously reviewed)
Driving around Lake Garda
Hotel Review: Hotel Sirmione
Day in Sirmione
Hotel Review: Hotel Ideal
Night in Verona
Dinner in Sirmione
Lake Idro
Lake Iseo
Lake Maggiore
Hotel Review: Sheraton Milan
Retrospect

After strolling around Sirmione, dinner at one of the many restaurants in town is a great way to finish the evening.

Some people look for a dinner restaurant in Sirmione that has a view of the lake. This can be a mistake, because most of the best restaurants don’t have a view of the water. Ristorante Signori has a great view, but I’ve never eaten there and cannot vouch for the food. Instead, I enjoy a view of the lake from my room at Hotel Sirmione and eat at restaurants with no lake view but great food.

With so many restaurants to choose from, here are a couple of my favorite ones.

La Nuova Botte has good pizza and offers a dining venue down a quiet side street. Their prices are reasonable and service tends to be on the pleasantly speedy side.

They have a really good wine selection.

One of the mains they offer is Salt-Baked Branzino, which is a treat if you enjoy fish and haven’t had the dish before.

Click here for a video of their tableside Branzino preparation.

Ristorante Risorgimento is located right at the entrance to the main piazza in town. Click here to see their full menu. It is a smart idea to make reservations ahead of time if you want a particular table, since they fill up fast during dinnertime especially the outside tables.

Click here for their website.

While looking over the menu at our most recent visit, we ordered some Aqua Panna and a basket of bread was brought to the table.

The restaurant only has a couple dozen seats outside, but they have a great view of all the restaurants around the piazza and of the night sky. I’ve eaten just about every other restaurant in that piazza and they’re all ok, but this one stands out in my book for food and service.

For my most recent meal, I started out with cream of potato soup with quail egg which sounded bland but turned out to be so, so good. I would have scraped the sides of my bowl if I hadn’t had a tasty main coming.

Next was the Spaghetti with Breton lobster. It seems that I always order the same thing at this restaurant, but it’s just so delicious that I look forward to it and simply don’t want to get anything else.

The spaghetti was al dente and buttery, and the chunks of lobster were flavorful and cooked just right.

While preparing some of the dishes, the waiter rolls his tray out into the piazza to cook.

Kind of like Benihana, but way cooler.

It’s very entertaining to watch, and when he is done he deftly transfers the food onto a plate and straight onto your table.

This time around my husband ordered the peppercorn steak and loved it.

For dessert, we decided on a trio of creme brulees with three different flavors. My favorite was the citrusy one in the middle.

Another time I tried the chocolate surprise which was in the shape of an Octopus and had a little bit of chocolate, fruit and filling.

For a more dramatic dessert, the Crepes Suzette is the one to get. Prepared on the rolling tray, it not only gets stares from passersby but is delivered piping hot. Take note that it tastes strongly of alcohol though.

Have you eaten dinner in Sirmione? If so I’d love to hear what your favorite restaurant is.