Osteria Degli Amici

This place was great, had the Mushroom risotto and it was one of the best I’ve ever had. Service was also great!

Wir haben außen auf einer pavillonartigen Terrasse auf einem Platz in der Innenstadt Stresas vor dem Restaurant gegessen. Der Service war freundlich, persönlich und aufmerksam. Serviert wurde solide italienische Küche. Vielleicht wird ein etwas überdurchschnittlicher Anspruch angestrebt, doch nicht ganz realisiert. Dennoch verlebten wir einen angenehmen Abend.
Wir würden im Grunde gerne zwischen drei und vier bewerten, sind wegen des Preisleistungsverhältnisses dann doch zu drei gerutscht (das mag auch am Wein).

My wife and I were wandering around the old square of Stresa when we came upon this little gem. We were actually wanting to go to another restaurant, but they were closed and we did not realize how fortunate that would be.
We were warmly greeted by the head waiter and sat down in the front garden area and as you can see from the picture, it was quite charming. As I have noticed throughout all of our trip to northern Italy, every establishment uses the energy efficient bulbs that have an overly bright and harsh color. More old fashioned incandescents and candles give off a warming more pleasing light. But I digress…
Though our limited Italian is terrible, we were able to get across that we wanted a bottle of a good local red wine. The waiter suggested a fantastic Nebbiolo that was incredibly priced by US standards. We were off to a good start. We then had a plate of meats, their Antipasto Italia that was just delicious. Since we were in risotto country, we had to try the Risotto Funghi Porcini for 2. All we can say was «Wow». How could something be so rich and so light at the same time? However they prepare it here, I have never had it so good. My wife, who does not even like risotto, almost finished her huge portion.
Though we were full, the pace of the meal was slow and we enjoyed some more of our wine before the most perfectly prepared Branzino came to our table. We did not think we had room for more, but we could not resist. It was cooked perfecto and it tasted delicious.
This is a great place that you will really love and I am happy to be the first Unilocal review.