Whilst in Como Lake, I am making it my mission to try as many 1-star Michelin restaurants in the area as possible, and being close by, the first one on my radar is Il Sereno Al Lago. It is in the Il Sereno Hotel, a modern luxury property overlooking the lake. Upon arrival to the restaurant the dining room looked very casual, too much for a Michelin star establishment, the atmosphere not matching. My chair had to be replaced because it was uneven on the floor, and I was rocking back and forth from front to back. I ordered a gin and tonic for the aperitif, but it didn’t arrive, the waiter forgot about it as they were focused on choosing a whiskey for my guest. Luckily, I had a glass of champagne kindly offered by the restaurant, so I settled for this. Why make a fuss?
The snacks arrived and normally you can see what a restaurant is all about just from tasting these, they were underwhelming. A lukewarm, cold lettuce which was neither tender nor crisp, topped with quinoa giving some unpleasant notes and aftertaste in the mouth. The rest of the bites were pointless. “OK” I thought. It is not going to be so remarkable here tonight if this is anything to go by. Yet I was wrong, the meal completely transformed, and we had some surprisingly decent food.
The trio of bread was a delight, perfectly formed grissini, and a sourdough to rival any serious aficionado. I am unsure if they make it in-house but whoever made it, knows their craft.
I had never eaten a Cardoncello mushroom before, and the way it had been prepared and cooked was a new experience for me. At first, I was thinking it was like a porcini, thick and meaty in texture, accompanied by squash puree on the side, lovage and hints of coffee in a tuile. This mushroom was superb.
The second course of porchetta, this was proper. Tender, flavoursome, delicate slices laid out onto the plate. The combination of all the herbs, fig and walnut complimented the pork well. It had a slight fattiness too, but not too much, I enjoyed this a lot and wanted to keep eating it.
Truffle was on the menu, tis the season. I took this as a supplement to compliment the pasta course, it was worth it for this dish. As always, I can’t resist a filled pasta. I try my best to skip it but that never goes to plan. The tortelloni here were very satisfactory, they were cooked to the right bite, shaped well. Plump and addictive, with the truffle shaved on the top to complete them.
Trout can usually be underwhelming depending on where it is coming from. The one we had here was refreshingly surprising. Not your usual pale pink colour, more like an opaque off white. Cooked wonderfully, this was a good plate of food.
The highlight to end the savoury courses was ‘Veal Ossobuco my own way’ A very clever way of displaying the traditional Italian dish. The mistake we made was opting for more truffle to go on the top, we should have left it off as it didn’t work. As always nobody is going to say no as it’s more money for them! It was fine without it, an error on our part. No need to even suggest it as a supplement on the menu, as it got lost within the gremolata and pickled vegetables. Apart from that, this dish was an excellent take on Ossobuco, it didn’t annoy me in a deconstructed, gastronomy sense. Every element worked and at the same time being complex with clearly a lot of work having gone into this creation. It was elegant but with standout flavour and technique. I would order it again.
Now the dessert I just did not understand, if the waiter isn’t even sure about it on their menu, why is it still there? I had this feeling that he was trying to convince me to order something else, but I stuck to my guns and ordered the ‘crepe.’ My god what a mistake, it was weird, it reminded me of a caterpillar the way it looked on the plate. Take this off the menu pronto! I was told there was rhubarb in there and if my palate doesn’t mistake me, I am sure it was beetroot! Don’t try to cover it up, it was frankly speaking, rubbish and not delicious at all.
To sum it up, we had some great food tonight, but it isn’t worth to visit again. The dining room didn’t strike me as Michelin worthy, the staff were trying hard in the way that they know how to, but I found the room itself not being somewhere I would like to spend a long dinner in. The atmosphere was off, the room felt cold and basic. Saying this, it wasn’t a bad night, and it’s always interesting to have new experiences and tick another restaurant off the list. Onto the next then!
