Felicity Hodgson

The negative reviews here are nonsense. I have eaten here several times in the last eight years and the food is always great and the staff, warm and welcoming. I just ate a ravioli in walnut sauce that was out of this world. Ignore the haters..

Elle Coles

We were in Stresa for our honeymoon, and found Il Portico to be the most welcoming, charming and value for money restaurant we visited. Service was quick and efficient yet you didn't feel rushed. The man who welcomed us (who I believe was the owner) was simply wonderful. His attention to customer service was unlike I have seen before. Even when we walked past during the day we were met with a friendly "Ciao!" as if we were old friends. We arrived and left the restaurant with big smiles on our faces. Highly recommended to anyone visiting Stresa.

Serafina Mirschel

Everyone was very nice and the food was delicious!! Highly recommended and would go again!

Ligia Andreea Andreias

I am a bit confused looking at the other reviews. Not sure what people expect in the center of an extremely touristic place. Service was good, polite staff. I guess on the food depends what you like. I had prosciutto crudo & melone, veal fillet with green pepper sauce, and for dessert Catalan cream. It was all good and seemed fresh. Yes it was a bit expensive, but again, middle of a very touristic place, on a quiet street. I really have no particular complaints.

This is a fabulous, friendly, buzzy, great value pizzeria (with many other choices available). The pizza itself was very good indeed and we were served by the wonderful Giuseppe who could not have …

Great food and excellent staff. Very friendly and happy to adapt the menu to suit your taste. We had salads, pasta, pizza and profiteroles over two nights and we were very happy with the quality a…

Ci siamo fermati per il pranzo, locale scelto perché forse è l'unico o uno dei pochi che hanno menù senza glutine, pulito e ordinato,proprietario simpatico , una buona scelta di piatti, il mio piatto di filetti di pesce persico ( fresco) mi è piaciuto molto, porzioni piuttosto abbondanti. Siamo stati bene, ci ritorneremo.

Non so cosa si aspettano i signoroni e le signorone che hanno messo voti bassi. . E' semplicemente un buon ristorante classico italiano menu vario (leverei qualche portata) ma soprattutto ideale per turisti , ma nessuno vieta a un italiano di fermarsi a mangiare del buon pesce e della buona carne. porzioni normali prezzo adatto a STRESA rinomata località turistica . La mia signora é celiaca e ha ricevuto assistenza adeguata ed é stata seguita. Se ricapita mi fermerò di nuovo.

Ristorante elegante e accogliente, Il Portico offre una vista spettacolare sul lago. Ho cenato all’aperto durante il tramonto: il panorama rende qualsiasi piatto ancora più speciale. Ho provato tagliatelle al tartufo e un filetto di pesce locale: ingredienti freschi, cottura perfetta e presentazione curata. Lo staff attento ha reso la serata piacevole, spiegando le ricette e raccontando storie dei prodotti locali.

Rapporto qualità-prezzo ok. Gli gnocchi alla sorrentina erano buonissimi e le porzioni nella norma. L'unica cosa che mi ha dato fastidio è stato mangiare attaccati all'ingresso. I tavoli erano troppo vicini fra di loro e l'ambiente è molto informale, poco carino con il personale che urla. Non adatto per una cena romantica.

ad182uk / ad_182_uk

Was wandering around on our first night and as we went past here we were offered in by the staff to a nice little spot so jumped in. Service and food all great. Calzone was huge. Walked past the next day with 3 friends and was shooed away before even speaking to anyone. Very odd, makes sense the reviews are mixed. It seems they will do what they want but when we were there as a two it was all good. My verdict. Try it, the food was great - don’t be awkward or rude and the staff will treat you fine.

Nancy Han

Came up on this place last minute. Food was good and service was great may be because they were not busy. Paris call us I think we had a great time.

Honestly, the food is not great for the price. The service was decent, though. Overall, the experience was rather bad...

Honestly, the food is not great for the price. The service was decent, though. Overall, the experience was rather bad...

Honestly, the food is not great for the price. The service was decent, though. Overall, the experience was rather bad...

Honestly, the food is not great for the price. The service was decent, though. Overall, the experience was rather bad...

Be careful with the menu of this restaurant. The side dish is NOT included in the main course. So when the waiter asks you about salad or potatoes, it means you are ordering an ADDITIONAL dish. And t…

Be careful with the menu of this restaurant. The side dish is NOT included in the main course. So when the waiter asks you about salad or potatoes, it means you are ordering an ADDITIONAL dish. And…

Be careful with the menu of this restaurant. The side dish is NOT included in the main course. So when the waiter asks you about salad or potatoes, it means you are ordering an ADDITIONAL dish. And…

We arrived at lunchtime and wanted pasta, alla Vongele if possible. We stumbled across il Portico and the chap outside almost dragged us in! We ordered linguine alla Vongele and a bottle of Pinot G…

This restaurant was recommended by the holiday rep as being one of the best value for money restaurants in town. We were served very good food at good prices. It is very busy in the evenings so b…

Sabato sera. Girando per Stresa vediamo questo ristorante che alle 19:00 era già pieno, ultimo tavolo lo assegnano a noi. Abbiamo preso paccheri alla contadina, penne zucchine e zafferano, un orata in crosta di patate. Piatti abbondanti, servizio veloce nonostante il pienone. Prezzi nella norma, cibo di qualità

Ho cenato e pranzato nel giro di 2 giorni però devo dire che non sono molto soddisfatto della cucina, linguine alle vongole e tagliatelle ai porcini le ho trovate molto molto asciutte,in particolare le vongole "sciaquate"con poco sapore. Spaghetti allo scoglio anch'essi poco saporiti. Frittura mista invece era buona. I prezzi sono adeguati per la zona, il servizio e tutto il personale sono stati molto apprezzabili. Pulizia e posizione ottimi. È comunque un luogo dove probabilmente tornerei.

Bill Yu

We found the restaurants in the Stressa square too busy so chose this resto that was in a less busy alley. We ordered 2 kinds of pizza (4 formaggi and seafood), perch, mushroom risotto, and steak. The best tasting was the risotto. The least tasty was the perch.

+1

The location is not something worth mentioning but the service is fast and enjoyable. The tables are carefully arranged and everything is clean. Unfortunate the food was somehow lacking taste. From…

4 of us went, 2 had lasagne which they said was nice, my wife had pasta with mushrooms which tasted ok but was lukewarm. I made a mistake and ordered grilled mixed fish. I had sea bass - this was o…

Locale situato in viuzza incantevole nel centro di Stresa. Personale gentile, prezzi buoni, cucina ideale solo per turisti stranieri.

+1

Questa è la milanese da 18 euro che mi hanno portato.

Per quello che abbiamo speso mi aspettavo di più.....almeno nei sapori. Gli scialatelli tutto erano tranne che un piatto da 15 € . L unica portata decente è la tagliata di tonno che consiglio. La crema catalana non era crema catalana. I dolci sembravano quelli confezionati. Stiamo ancora aspettando il ketchup....

Siamo andati qualche giorno fa,eravamo in due. Io ho ordinato gli spaghetti alle vongole veraci in realtà ho mangiato della pasta in bianco (totalmente scondita) priva di sughetto e quindi asciutta, non sapeva di nulla ed era accompagnata da quelle poche vongole sopra (fredde) e qualche foglia di prezzemolo. L’altra persona che era con me ha preso le tagliatelle ai funghi. Dunque,anche questa scondita,senza sale e asciutta,i funghi erano molto amari,presuppongo non adeguatamente trattati. Il rapporto qualità prezzo totalmente inadeguato,l’acqua a 3.50 e la pasta la faccio meglio io. Insomma,solita trappola per turisti. L’unica cosa buona era il servizio.

Abbiamo preso linguine alle vongole e spaghetti ai frutti di mare , stendiamo un velo pietoso ,non sono capaci a prepararli meglio levarli dal menù i dolci buoni ,prezzi alti ma sul lago maggiore e così, non lo consiglio

Isabelle Fahle

Small portions (side dishes were minuscule) the lemon filet fish perche had a gross lemon gooey sauce - pizzas average, etc but what I most disliked about the place was the service. The “hustling” nature of the service - hustling people in off the street (I don’t respond well to this) and then pushing apero and desserts down your throat (hey we’re not in America) - and then ultimate gentle suggestion to leave a tip (again We’re not in America - culture in Italy is not a tipping culture like in US- yes leave something extra if you’re happy - but don’t put pressure on guests to pay for your employees ;-)

Matt Heap

Waited over 2 hours to unfortunately only receive our starter. We tried our best to be patient although eventually had to leave which is extremely uncommon for us. Several other tables were clearly frustrated at the excessive wait times. Likely just need more staff for this to become a far better dining experience. On a positive note the starter and wine were nice enough.

Eric David

Everything was absolutely perfect. Except for the fact that after we were done eating we found four used toothpicks at the bottom of the bottle of olive oil we were using to eat our food with. The waiter insisted it was used to unclog the olive oil. I don't know about you but I've never heard about olive oil getting clogged, let alone for individual toothpicks in the bottom of the same bottle. We even checked the ones that adjoining tables and there was none in there. Not only that but the tips of The toothpicks were chewed up which tells me that a bunch of disgusting people decided to play a prank. Now while everything else was great this is something that should have been checked. We were all incredibly nauseated and couldn't even finish our meals afterwards

Viktor Andermo

The antipasti with clams and mussels in tomato sauce was actually pretty good, while the lamb was mediocre (more bone and fat than meat that was not that tender) and the potatoes were too salty. But most important. Unprofessional service with no customer focus. They we’re running around and shouting around us. Avoid this place if you’re looking for a calm place and an experience.

Li

We went here in lack of different options as it was after 2pm, we were hungry and the place we wanted to go to had already closed its kitchen for lunch service. Well, what can I say: The taste of the food was disappointing. It wasn't bad, but just your very average let's-sell-tourists -something-Italian kinda place. Oh, and service was rude. When I changed seats, as they sat a big group right next to us (without even a meter distance, just like 30cms and we're still in the middle of a pandemic) they talked to me like I'm a little school girl and tried to mansplain to me, how there is zero risk for us...

Went inside to avoid smokers outside but was warm inside, no air-con but beats smoke smell. I ordered beef with mushrooms and wife ordered chicken. Waitress was pleasant and friendly enough though we…

Went inside to avoid smokers outside but was warm inside, no air-con but beats smoke smell. I ordered beef with mushrooms and wife ordered chicken. Waitress was pleasant and friendly enough though …

Went inside to avoid smokers outside but was warm inside, no air-con but beats smoke smell. I ordered beef with mushrooms and wife ordered chicken. waitress was pleasant and friendly enough though …

As disgusting as expensive, don't!!! Food looks like vomir, nice waiters though, too bad for them. 102 euros for two vomir plates

I had an extremely disappointing experience at the portico restaurant stresa. The tris di mare apetizer lacked any discernible taste, it wasn’t even fresh seafood., you can feel from the smell. Th…

Tourist trap. pizza was worse than frozen pizza. Staff was rude and argumentative. Avoid this place.

One guy doing everything. He was nuts. Horrible food. My son wanted marinar sauce with calimari .they refused. My daughter pasta was awful. He Said we could get something else but had to pay for …

Group of 4 people, ate out in quite a few restaurants always had clean plates good service until we came here!!! Thought it had a good buzz/vibe on arrival but actually just arrogance. Ordered food…

Che delusione! Un secondo di pesce (orata) misero, contorno di patate impresentabile per cottura e aspetto. Abbiamo dovuto bere solo acqua perché il vino della casa era troppo acido. Il prezzo pagato meriterebbe un livello di qualità ben superiore.

Ristorante inqualificabile - spaghetti allo scoglio scotti e qualità del pesce di terza/quarta scelta - frittura di pesce con panatura inesistente o dove presente bruciata. Il proprietario chiama ogni passante per sedersi tirando dentro chiunque. Su questo è molto bravo!! Peccato che quando gli ho detto che non era di mio gradimento lo spaghetto allo scoglio si è infastidito e ha avuto un atteggiamento MOLTO ARROGANTE. Certi “imprenditori” che di imprenditori non hanno nulla dovrebbero solo chiudere. Unico punto positivo sono le ragazze che servono ai tavoli, educate e cordiali. A mio avviso anche imbarazzate di dover lavorare in un ristorante del genere!

Stata lì ieri sera con mio marito e una coppia di amici. Pizza immangiabile completamente insipida ...frutti di mare gommosi e impasto più che pizza sembrava pane!abbiamo fatto presente la cosa perché la sottoscritta dopo la prima fetta non ha mangiato, il proprietario ha chiesto se andasse tutto bene ....ovviamente dopo la risposta negativa(ho mangiato perché avevo fame e sembra una pizza del supermercato) di mio marito non ha minimamente cercato di venire incontro al cliente,anzi! Siamo andati in cassa a pagare ....nemmeno un minimo sconto visto che nn ho mangiato! Assolutamente non consiglio questo posto!abbiamo mangiato malissimo, la pizza peggiore che avevvismo mai mangiato!

Ristorante più deludente e scandente in cui abbia mai mangiato. Personale scortese e maleducato. Per non parlare del cibo praticamente immangiabile, di bassa qualita e TUTTO surgelato. Se fosse stato possibile avrei messo 0. Sconsigliato totalmente

Purtroppo non è stata una bella esperienza, Anzi tutt'altro. A partire dal menù, antipasto cozze assolutamente poco gustoso è molto probabilmente scongelato, linguine alle vongole che odoravano di pesce asciutte senza sugo e con un gusto tutt'altro che invitante, orata di pesce che puzzava di pesce patate al forno in stile quattro salti in padella per arrivare ai dolci della Bindi a €6 l'uno! Dai profitterol ai tartufi persino alla loro crema catalana unico dolce di loro produzione... prezzi assolutamente esagerati soprattutto in proporzione al rapporto della qualità assolutamente scarsa è assolutamente riservata ai turisti stranieri! Forse l'unico piatto buono poteva essere la pizza ma di sicuro dopo la mia esperienza non la testerò di certo più in quel posto...

Linguine con vongole, scotte, fredde e insapore. praticamente in bianco. Orata alle patate con poche patate, vino bianco della casa fermo ma sarebbe stato meglio di un’altra casa. D’altro canto servizio veloce e personale gentile. Non lo consiglio.

Avevamo prenotato, arrivati puntuali subito seduti ma quasi 1 ora di attesa prima che arrivassero i piatti e non ne è neanche valsa la pena: pasta poco condita e insipida, carne niente di che (filetto) e insipida, milanese piccola e anche questa insipida! È inutile ma anzi controproducente mettere tanti tavoli all'aperto (e troppo vicini fra loro tant'e ' che il gomito del signore seduto dietro di me mi è arrivato nel fianco più volte) se poi non avete abbastanza persone in cucina che riescono a stare dietro alle comande! Probabilmente sono pochi in cucina e corrono come dei pazzi ma non ce la fanno e preparano i piatti con poca cura perché di corsa! Sconsigliato.

Il cibo è stato abbastanza buono, ma il personale!!! Sarcasmo e mancanza di rispetto totale: non so se sono dipendenti oppure uno di loro sarebbe il proprietario! Sono tutto tranne professionali.. presa in giro appena hanno saputo che provenivo dal Marocco ( che non hanno mai visitato sicuramente) dicendo che per lavarmi le mani dovevo cercare la fontana del centro storico, poi aprendo il bagno dice (MARRAKECH).. HO FATTO DI TUTTO PER RIMANERE CALMA E RISPETTOSA.. mia madre non mangia la sera quindi ho ordinato io e mia sorella, e quindi sono stati malcontenti dicendo che non dovevamo prendere un tavolo per tre😳 DOVEVO PER CASO LASCIARE MIA MADRE PER STRADA ? DICE CHE LA GENTE STA CERCANDO SOLTANTO DI STARE AL CALDO (SUL SERIO?) Ho girato il mondo e MAI MAI ho incontrato persone del genere.. ma succede spesso quando non si oltrepassa la frontiera del suo paesino ..

Scarsa professionalità. Sgridare un giovane dipendente davanti a tutti con quell'atteggiamento da presa in giro é veramente ridicolo. Buttadentro come nei peggio locali turistici all estero. Tagliare di salumi completamente imbevuto di olio della giardiniera nel centro. Linguine alle vongole richieste senza aglio, ma ne erano piene. Almeno il fritto era buono.

Pessima esperienza, da non ripetere mai più. In 2 persone abbiamo ordinato dei garganelli ai gamberi e zucchine, un fritto misto, un'orata in crosta e delle patate arrosto. I garganelli erano asciutti e i gamberi crudi, appena scottati. Ho cercato di non darvi troppo peso, sperando nel fritto misto, ma anche in questo caso sono rimasto deluso: i calamari erano assolutamente insapori e quel che è peggio assolutamente crudi. Credo di non aver mai mangiato un fritto misto peggiore in vita mia. Per contro, la mia ragazza è rimasta soddisfatta dell'orata, mentre le patate erano accettabili. Personalmente, lo ritengo un posto da evitare.

Felix Liberman

Be careful with the menu of this restaurant. The side dish is NOT included in the main course. So when the waiter asks you about salad or potatoes, it means you are ordering an ADDITIONAL dish. And this is despite the fact that the prices here are unreasonably high. And the most unpleasant thing is to discover the fact of the setup only when you receive the bill.

Graham F

Went inside to avoid smokers outside but was warm inside, no air-con but beats smoke smell. I ordered beef with mushrooms and wife ordered chicken. Waitress was pleasant and friendly enough though we never got the water we asked for. My beef came and looked insipid. The mushroom sauce was cold. I returned to waiter, no problem. It was returned and the sauce was hot. Fine. Tasted awful though, like water with some weak solution of something in there. My wife was part way through her chicken when she cut into a thicker part to find it was pink. More parts were pink. She couldn’t eat it as it was and said for me to check my beef. She returned it to be cooked properly which it then was upon return to her. I tried to cut into the thickest part of my beef but even the steak knife struggled to break it. It was raw. Other parts were also pink and uncooked. I called the waiter. He said “what’s wrong with it now?” I stated it tasted awful and was also raw and I wouldn’t be eating it. He said it was the sauce so I told him at least twice to taste it. He wouldn’t. He tried to pass off the beef as cooked, so I protested more. He then got angry with me so I told him “don’t get angry with me, it was you who cooked it”. He asked what I wanted, I said I didn’t know maybe a bowl of pasta, something they may be able to cook properly. I got nothing further so ended up having fries and the bread left for my dinner. The red house wine was passable but not great. This goes down as the worst meal I’ve had but only on account that I actually never ate much of it at all where other bad meals I’ve eaten but not enjoyed at all. They also charged for the water we didn’t receive. The option of a one star goes directly to the waitress as the rest of the experience was truly awful.

Arber Kurti

the food was very poor and we found hairs in the pasta with mushrooms came unwashed, the mushrooms on the plate I found long hairs You are a piece of trash, your food was a piece of pasta and your behavior was very low, you do not represent Italian restaurants, you are a piece of trash.

+1

Chandler Pegg

Service extremely rushed, appears as rude as staff run up to table and run away again. Waiter forced us to have sides with meals even though .we didn't want and ended up paying 7 euros per portion for vegetables that were slices. Disgusting, stupid prices and rushed staff. Would not recommend. Food was average

Vinodh Vinayagamoorthi

We ordered a risotto and tortellini, which took over 45-50 mins and we had to remind them twice before we received it. This was the worst risotto ever. We wanted to pay with the card. The bill was €46.80 and the guy added €2 without my knowledge. When I questioned him about the €2. He wasn't happy and he started yelling in Italian. For people who are reading this review- please go to other restaurants where the food and service both are better.

Kai Biss

After we had to wait over an hour for our food despite having a reservation, the kitchen didn't manage to serve all the meals at the same time. The side dishes were already cold when the main course arrived. The food is average, the prices too high, the service miserable. There are better restaurants in Stresa. I didn't make a mistake, I can send you the invoice.

Ivan Janicijevic

Run as far away as you can!!! The worst experience, one of the worst pizzas I had, was chewy and tasted real bad! Got yelled by owner when asked a question. Staff is very nervous and unfriendly, it felt like a punishment. Also got overcharged for pizza, so had to argue and convince the staff about incorrect price.