Ristorante Il Cavatappi
Tucked into a vaulted stone room just steps from Varenna's ferry dock, Il Cavatappi is the kind of neighbourhood restaurant that regulars guard jealously — honest Lombard cooking, a well-chosen regional wine list, and a small terrace where the lake view is included in the price of your risotto. Book ahead; it fills up fast.
What to Order
The missoltini — sun-dried agone fish pressed with bay leaves, a centuries-old Como tradition — is the dish to start with; pair it with a glass of Valtellina Superiore Sassella for an unimpeachably local combination.
Follow with the risotto al pesce persico, a silky saffron-tinged risotto topped with fillets of lake perch, or the slow-braised lake trout with capers and polenta — both dishes use fish landed on the Como shoreline that morning.
The Wine and the Atmosphere
The wine list leans into Lombardy's underrated appellations — Franciacorta for bubbles, Sforzato di Valtellina for a powerful red — with a handful of broader Italian selections for variety.
The room is warm and candlelit in the evenings, with exposed brick and copper pots on the walls; it feels like eating in someone's very stylish cellar, which is essentially what you are doing.
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