Travel
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Travel
Trattoria Baita Belvedere, Bellagio. Welcome to the Family Farm
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| Watching the sunset from Trattoria Baita Belvedere, with views over Bellagio and Lake Como |
Benjamin Franklin once said 'Eat to live, don't live to eat'. While he might be right in most cases, there are certain exceptions from this rule... Like when you find yourself in a little trattoria on top of the mountain, overlooking Lake Como.
Trattoria Baita Belvedere is a family run restaurant in Bellagio. And it is special from quite a few points of view. First of all, all ingredients are either produced right there on the family farm next to the restaurant, or locally produced (like fish from the lake). Second, from the terrace, guests can enjoy some of the most breathtaking and unique views over Lake Como.
As Trattoria Baita Belvedere is situated on top of the mountain, you certainly need a car to get there. There are no sidewalks and the road is steep, with horseshoe curves through the forest and to be honest, it looked pretty dangerous to me. On the other hand there aren't many cars. But this should not impend you from having lunch or dinner here. The owners of the restaurant run a daily shuttle service from downtown Bellagio to the restaurant. They even drive everyone back to their hotels after finishing the meal!
Trattoria Baita Belvedere has a friendly and informal atmosphere, with old photos and tools once used for farming decorating the walls. From the very first moment we stepped inside we were treated like family, we were given an amazing table on the glass covered terrace (they also have an open air terrace, but in May when we were there it was still too cold for eating outside), from were we could admire the sunset and the views. To be honest, the lake was so beautiful from up there, I almost couldn't take my eyes away from it.
The dishes served in the restaurant follow old, traditional recipes from Northern Italy. And since pizza was invented in Napoli, in Southern Italy, quite a long way from Bellagio, there is no pizza to be found on the menu. Instead, all main dishes are accompanied by polenta (boiled finely ground yellow cornmeal).
We started our dinner with a selection of cold cuts and cheeses from the farm and I'm not exaggerating when I say they were some of the best we've ever had. Definitely a must try and a great way to stir the appetite, especially if served with local wine.
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| Local cold cuts |
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| Local cheeses produced on the farm |
As a first course, I insisted on going for lasagna, as it is my favorite Italian dish after pizza. Over the years I became a bit of a lasagna snob, so I was happy to dig in this homemade lasagna goodness. My husband on the other hand went for the crepes, as he is a big crepes fan and he didn't regret his decision at all.
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| Lasagna |
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| Buckwheat crepes |
By now, we already realized we ordered too much food. The rations at Baita Belvedere are pretty generous and we certainly didn't take into consideration that all the cheese and pasta was going to fill us up before we knew it. But we were determined to go on and try the main course as well, simply because the temptations was too big. Unfortunately I was never a big fan of polenta and this didn't turn me into one either, especially as I was already feeling stuffed, but the rabbit was nicely flavored, juicy and delicious and it reminded me of the rabbit my mother used to cook when I was a child.
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| Stewed wild boar served with polenta |
My husband seemed pretty happy with the wild boar too, so we took our time and worked our way through the main course while watching a gorgeous sunset.
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| Roasted rabbit with herbs, served with polenta |
We never skip dessert, so we ended the evening with a little something sweet. Yummy!
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| Tartufo |
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| Latte cotto |
Trattoria Baita Belvedere might not win any awards for creativity, but it surely compensates with fresh ingredients and a lot of soul. The dishes served are unpretentious, but fully flavored and at the end of the day I believe this is what matters most. There were many families with kids and though at one point it got pretty noisy, is was also nice to have all that child laughter around. Many of the guests were local too, and the owners of the restaurant seemed to know quite a few of them, and that projected even further the family atmosphere.
Trattoria Baita Belvedere is a relaxed place, but nothing fancy. It can be very romantic given the absolutely wonderful views of the lake and Bellagio itself. It also serves delicious fresh food and for that it is definitely worth a visit. Before we left we even bought cheese and marmalade produced on the farm, and as we approached our hotel, we had the feeling that we were coming back from visiting grandma! For families with kids, I believe this restaurant can be a god-sent. It really has the fervent atmosphere of a home where the whole family gathers for the Christmas dinner. And everybody behaves! To be honest, I've never seen anything like it.
Trattoria Baita Belvedere is a relaxed place, but nothing fancy. It can be very romantic given the absolutely wonderful views of the lake and Bellagio itself. It also serves delicious fresh food and for that it is definitely worth a visit. Before we left we even bought cheese and marmalade produced on the farm, and as we approached our hotel, we had the feeling that we were coming back from visiting grandma! For families with kids, I believe this restaurant can be a god-sent. It really has the fervent atmosphere of a home where the whole family gathers for the Christmas dinner. And everybody behaves! To be honest, I've never seen anything like it.
- 360º View Of Lake Como From The Gardens Of Villa Serbelloni
Lake Como is known worldwide for its luxurious villas, perfectly manicured gardens and dramatic landscape. So the small town of Bellagio, considered the pearl of the lake, is guaranteed to knock your socks off from the very beginning, even though it has...
- Romantik Hotel Castello Seeschloss, Ascona. Accommodation To Fall In Love With
We started exploring Lake Maggiore in the beautiful Ascona, Switzerland's lowest lying town. I said it many times before, and I will say it again - it's impossible for me to find a single spot in this country that doesn't make me fall head...
- La Fontana Di Venere Restaurant, Rome. Great Food & Young Atmosphere
Will I just state the obvious if I said Italian cuisine is one of the best in the world? At least that's how we feel about it! And when we found out we were going to spend one evening in Rome between flights, our first thoughts didn't...
- Hermans Vegetarian Restaurant, Stockholm. A Food Revelation
First of all I will start by saying that neither of is a vegetarian. We like meat, though we are not crazy about it. We could easily skip it from our menu for a few days without even realizing it, but we somehow always end up with some meat on our plate...
- Hjerta Restaurant, Stockholm. A Hidden Gem With Romantic Atmosphere
We arrived at Hjerta Restaurant just in time to see the sunset over the Stockholm's canals. As we approached, we instantly new that booking in advance was a very smart move from our part. The large terrace was packed with chatty groups of friends...