Dining Menaggio
Eating inMenaggio.
Where the cooking is worth the walk, how the village changes by the hour, and what it takes to get a table in August.
Lake Como Province of Como
How to eat well in Menaggio
The lake fish tradition is intact here, with perch, shad and missoltini in season, and so is the habit of eating early. Kitchens on this shore close sooner than visitors expect, and a table at half past nine is a request rather than an assumption.
The other advantage of the position is that lunch can be somewhere else. The ferry puts Bellagio and Varenna within a short crossing, and with a boat the whole of the mid-lake shoreline opens up. We keep a standing list for members covering both shores of the crossing, with the person to ask for at each; it stays unpublished because the places on it are small and would not survive being found.
For the village itself, its character, its property market and how to get there, read our guide to Menaggio.
01What we arrange
Lunch you can arrive at by boat
All with a mooring, all worth the crossing.
The quiet tables
Held for members at short notice, including in August.
Private chefs
From a single dinner to a full season.
Dining in Menaggio: questions
What is Menaggio like in winter?
It stays open. The population is largely resident, the shops and the piazza keep working, and the car ferry runs all year on a reduced timetable.
The ferry timetable thins noticeably between November and March, and some of the seasonal restaurants close, but the town does not shut in the way that smaller villages on this shore do. If you intend to use a house outside the summer, this is one of the more sensible places on the lake to own one.
What are the running costs of owning a house in Menaggio?
The predictable items are municipal property tax, utilities, insurance, garden and house management, and any mooring or condominium charge, but the figures are property-specific and we do not publish estimates.
Two things drive the number more than anything else here. The first is whether the house is on the terrace with a garden, where grounds maintenance is the largest recurring line, or an apartment on the promenade, where the condominium charge substitutes for it. The second is whether you are non-resident, which changes the property tax treatment. Take advice on the specific property rather than working from a rule of thumb.
Written by The Como Private Desk
This page is editorial information based on our own work on the lake, not a valuation or a survey. Prices and availability move; treat any figure as an indication and take professional advice before committing.
Sources
- Navigazione Lago di Como, Car ferry routes and the reduced winter timetable. Check both before quoting any crossing time.
- Comune di Menaggio, Population, lido and promenade arrangements, and planning constraint on the terrace above the town.
Elsewhere in Menaggio
Nearby villages
Guides
Dining across the lake