Il Gatto Nero

One of my favourite restaurants and number one in Como Lake area . Very refined and cozy atmosphere with a breathtaking Lake view . Staff is very professional and a beautiful clientele . The dishes are carefully made , very well presented and with seasonal truffle . Over the years they have changed their menu . Now they offer a gourmet experience with great attention to raw materials and high quality . I have invited many friends to dinner from London or abroad and they all were enthusiastic about this unique place . I recommend it as one of the best places to visit .

Save your money for restaurants that value their patrons. Our table was not fully dressed with no side plates. Service charge of 15 euros was excessive for the service that we received. The food was blah in favour and plating was amateur..overpriced for what you get. I noticed that they had a lower section to the restaurant and took it upon myself to check it out. Once I did..it felt to me that they had intentionally sat tourist all together in the one dining hall and the locals were in a separate one...not cool in my book. I have spent less at Michelin star restaurants.

Beautiful view with a pleasant alfresco outdoor atmosphere perched atop Cernobbio over looking lake Como. Let’s be real. You come for the view. The food is good, but not overwhelmingly. The service was friendly, but very slow and uncoordinated. If it wasn’t for some bread given early on, our 15 minutes at the table waiting for our waiter to greet us would have been excruciating. Overall would recommend for the view. Just don’t come expecting a culinary experience since this restaurant won’t be awarded a Michelin star any time soon. As a suggestion to the restaurant, improving your service will improve the overall experience and turn the tables faster in order to accommodate more people throughout the evening. I’m pretty sure the kitchen can keep up with the demand.

The restaurant was empty when I got in just one family eating. They sat me right away. The place is on the mountain so it had a wonderful view, but where I was staying had the same view of the lake so it was no surprise. The food was not good, and expensive for what it was. There was not even music playing just an awkward silence. The appetizer I had was not good at all and I took one bite and left it, the waiter didn’t offer a substitute or even to remove it from the bill. It’s ok but definitely not coming back. Maybe you have a different experience.

For the consumers- the Google reviews were mixed but after my experience here I can only imagine one person had something they weren’t happy with and got several accounts to submit one-star reviews on the past several weeks.. there’s no way this is a “one star” place and you can conclude that from the good reviews. The portions are absolutely adequate and we had several servers attending to us our entire duration. We were sat where I requested in my reservation which was incredible for our big party, as well. Very clean, very beautiful, very delicious, very kind. Further- I’d like to publicly thank Beatrice and Paulo from Gatto Nero and highlight the hospitality my family and I received. The food was delicious and obviously you can see that the view is ethereal from the pictures. Beyond that, to be treated so kindly and have transportation arranged for our large group to get back to the city, safely, is something we will always remember about our trip to Como. (Essentially, my family and I were dropped off and abandoned by our hotel’s private transpiration. It was distasteful and made me feel uncomfortable and unwelcome as a guest of my hotel.) Beatrice/Paulo worked diligently calling both public and private transportation services to get our family of six back to the city. (If you are from out of town, note that it is extremely difficult to get back to the city relying on transportation services, especially with a larger party.) We are infinitely grateful for the staff’s kindness and sincerity. From entrance to exit we were well taken care of and promptly attended to. I know Gatto Nero sees a lot of “big names” and I imagine we were treated just as someone of a more prominent social status would have been. That in itself speaks volumes to the character of the establishment and those running it. I have worked in the service industry, myself, and was blown away by the little things most people wouldn’t even notice.. impeccable attention to detail throughout the restaurant and from the servers. Our server recommended the Bolognese because she said it reminded her of how her grandmother made it which was heartwarming (and very tasty!). Thank you, again, to your staff for helping our family return safely. This was one of our favorite meals together because of your kindness. Bravo - gold standard service and a true example of “treat others how you want to be treated”. Grazie mille!!!

Situated in the hills of lake Como this restaurant boasts exceptional views, even more so if you’re one of the lucky few to get a table near the outside. We scanned our QR codes to view the menu which is relatively simple. The food was nice although under seasoned, nothing special really but also nothing wrong at all. The service was ok, we weren’t kept waiting too long and everyone was polite. We left feeling underwhelmed though, no one really made us feel welcome, like we mattered, just one of many customers that the restaurant serves.