Ristorante La Griglia, Gravedona
Tucked along the Gravedona waterfront, La Griglia has been feeding locals and in-the-know visitors for years with honest, unfussy cucina lariana — the traditional cooking of Lake Como that puts the lake's own fish front and centre. A terrace table in summer, with the water lapping a few metres away, is one of the most satisfying places to eat on the upper lake.
What to Order
Start with missoltini — agone fish (a small lake sardine) salted, pressed and dried in the sun, then grilled and served with polenta. It is a dish that has been eaten on this lake for centuries and tastes like nowhere else on earth. Follow it with risotto al pesce persico, a creamy saffron-tinted risotto loaded with the sweet, delicate perch fillets that are the lake's most prized catch.
If you want something heartier, the grilled lavarello (lake whitefish) with a drizzle of local olive oil and a wedge of lemon is impeccably simple. Pair any of these with a chilled Lugana DOC white from the southern end of Lake Garda — the region's go-to match for lake fish.
Atmosphere and Practicalities
The dining room is unpretentious — checked tablecloths, framed photos of the lake, a chalkboard specials menu that changes with what the fishermen brought in. The terrace fills fast on summer evenings, so booking ahead for dinner is strongly advised from June through August.
Lunch on a weekday is the insider move: quieter, often cheaper with a fixed-price menu del giorno, and you can linger over a grappa watching the ferries cross the lake in the afternoon light.
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