Locarno
Da Valentino

Da Valentino

Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera/Svizra, Switzerland, Swiss Confederation, 6600, Locarno

Wein • Fisch • Mittelmeer • Restaurants


"I had wanted to visit this restaurant for a while, so my expectations were high - and more than met on a quiet Saturday afternoon having lunch on the cozy terrace. Everything we (my husband and I) ate tasted fresh and delicious. Ours was not a special occasion, but if we weren't already married I'd certainly include Da Valentino on a shortlist of wedding party locations - excellent food, excellent service (and impressively multilingual - I overheard the same waiter speaking very fluently to three different parties in three different languages) and a suitably romantic setting with different size rooms for different needs. And if I needed to propose, this would also seem like a good setting... Another bonus point is the location: the restaurant is located only a few steps away from the main square, yet already amidst a quiet residential area, away from the exhaust gases and noise so prevalent when eating on the lakeside restaurants in Muralto.As for the prices, yes, they are elevated, but for the extra quality it seems well worthwhile to pay a tad more than for an average restaurant meal in Switzerland. To put this in proportion, a fabulous light three course lunch for two was about the price of six pizzas in an average Italian restaurant in Switzerland. (Meat and fish main courses would have made this more expensive.) I'd much rather eat like this occasionally and simpler on other occasions than average all the time. The menu is brief but it would, for example, have been possible to find a vegetarian starter and main course had we wanted to eat vegetarian only. I will make sure to plan future trips at times when Da Valentino is open (it is closed on Sundays and Mondays)."

America-Caverna degli Dei

America-Caverna degli Dei

vicolo Torretta 3, 6600 Locarno, 6605, Switzerland

Cafés • Kebab • Mexikaner • Europäisch


"I’ll start by saying that my Polpo croccante was very good and my parents’ Scialatielli con Code di Gambero were good as well. However, we will never come back to this restaurant on any of our future trips to Locarno. We arrived with our family of 7 and asked for a table. We did not have a reservation. The waiter gave us an excuse about how it would rain soon and that he could not give us a covered table. We said that it’s ok as the chances of it raining were pretty low. We got sat at two small tables barely big enough for four people. We asked if it would be possible to have an extra table and they said it wasn’t as we had not made a reservation and all other tables were reserved as it’s the 1st of August (a big holiday in Switzerland). We accepted without protesting although some tables had no reserved sign on them and proceeded to order drinks. We ordered two Hugo cocktails, four cokes and one Gin Mule. The Hugos barely had any Prosecco in it, my Gin Mule had zero taste of ginger and the cokes were from a pre-opened bottle and had lost all their bubbles and were flat just like my Gin Mule. We thought we’d brush it off and hope the food would be better and just order some wine and water for the meal. As mentioned before, most of the food was actually good, except for the extremely salted nuggets my niece ordered as well as the raw unseasoned chicken my other niece got. She did order the chicken breast on the black rock grill but I do think they could have pre grilled/seasoned it a minimum as it took a while for her to cook it all on the table. They also brought her some weird spicy sauce that was absolutely not the bbq sauce she ordered. A few minutes after we received our food, the lady who I think is the manager came to ask if everything was good. I told her that no it wasn’t and told her everything I just wrote. Instead of acknowledging everything I said about the food and drinks, her and the other employee who’d been serving us since we got there chose to focus on the table part and blame us for not having a reservation when really that was the least of our problem. They kept on blaming us and I repeatedly asked them to just let it go and let us eat in peace because I did not want to make a scene, wasn’t expecting any free things, only wanted them to hear our complaints but they kept on blaming us until I eventually almost yelled that we just wanted to eat and go and that mare them leave us alone. We finished our meals, paid and left as fast as we could. They were happy to take our money without even apologizing although they did not even provide us the ice cream that is included in the two children’s menu we got. It truly was the last straw. There are many many other good places to eat in Locarno but this place is definitely NOT one of them. They don’t care about their customers being satisfied at all."

Locanda Barbarossa

Locanda Barbarossa

Via Delta 142, 6612 Locarno Ticino, Switzerland

Wein • Cafés • Kaffee • Europäisch


"I 've been to many Michelin starred restaurants and for me, Locanda Barbarossa stands out among them and is probably closer to a two than a one star place (in the best of ways . I loved the connection to locally sourced ingredients in the Sapori Del Orto menu. Each course was a culinary delight highlight chased highlight. I would like to particularly mention the beautiful interpretation of all things tomato: just an explosion of tomato flavour like I have not tasted before. I will also never forget the candied green walnuts on the risotto with figs and goats cheese (another plate of pure comfort and the confit lake trout with beurre blanc foam, or the veal tartare hidden in a flower of radish. The perfect end to the meal was a wonderfully sweet play on the blackberry, with a caramelized milk panna cotta that was to die for. I also added the foie and the braised beef ravioli to the tasting menu, and both dishes were absolute stand outs as well (the sauce and foam on the ravioli! . Service was very competent and efficient, proficient in all languages and always incredibly helpful with suggestions (and refills of the scrumptious maggia bread! . To boot, the restaurant is beautifully set in the outskirts of Ascona, and I was lucky enough to be able to eat in the garden perfect atmosphere! I really cannot recommend the place enough and hope to be able to return soon!"