Restaurant in Lezzeno, Italy
Terrace dining with a real view. Book early.
A Michelin Plate holder on Lake Como's quieter eastern shore, Filo delivers Mediterranean-inflected contemporary Italian cooking from a terrace with direct views to Comacina Island and Villa Balbianello. Three tasting menus plus à la carte give you real flexibility. At €€€, it offers the most compelling experience-to-spend ratio on this stretch of the lake — book for a special occasion and go in summer.
Filo earns a clear recommendation for anyone travelling to Lake Como in search of contemporary Italian cooking served with a view that genuinely changes the quality of the meal. Holding a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, this Lezzeno address sits at a €€€ price point that makes it more accessible than the starred rooms that dominate fine dining on the lake, without asking you to compromise on kitchen ambition. Book it for a special occasion, a long lunch in summer, or any meal where the setting needs to do as much work as the food.
The visual case for Filo starts before the first course arrives. The terrace at Località Bagnana sits directly above the waterline with an unobstructed sightline to Comacina Island, Villa Balbianello, and the hills rolling away on the opposite shore. On a clear summer afternoon that view reads as close to a painted backdrop as dining gets in northern Italy — but the kitchen is doing enough to justify the visit on its own terms.
The menu structure gives you real choices. Three tasting menus , "Freestyle," "Classics," and "Vegetarian" , cover different appetites and price commitments, and an à la carte option means you are not locked into a set format. The culinary direction is Mediterranean-inflected contemporary Italian: the kind of cooking that takes quality regional produce and applies precise technique without losing the directness that makes Italian food work. Dishes like purple prawns with goat cheese cream, berries, and bisque signal a kitchen that understands contrast and balance, not one chasing trends for their own sake. That combination of structural restraint and flavour confidence is what earns the Michelin recognition and separates Filo from the simpler trattorie along the western shore.
For a special occasion, this is close to the optimal formula on this stretch of the lake. The terrace setting provides the visual drama that makes a meal feel like an event. The tasting menus give the kitchen space to sequence and build. And the price tier means a dinner for two with wine does not require the same financial commitment as a starred room in Bellagio or Cernobbio. If your priority is maximising the experience-to-spend ratio at Lake Como, Filo is a serious option.
Timing matters here more than at a city restaurant. The terrace is the heart of the Filo experience, and it is at its leading from late May through September when the light on the lake holds through dinner and the temperature stays warm enough to eat outside comfortably. A long Sunday lunch in July or August, when the light is high and the water catches it, is the strongest case for the venue. Midweek evenings in June or September are worth considering if you want the same quality without peak-season weekend crowds. Avoid scheduling a visit on a grey or rainy day if you have any flexibility , the interior experience, while pleasant, does not carry the same argument as the terrace.
Lezzeno sits on the eastern shore of Lake Como, roughly halfway between Como and Bellagio on the road north. It is reachable by car or by the ferry services that connect the central lake towns, which makes it a natural stop if you are combining a day on the water with a serious meal. Because the restaurant is small and the terrace is the primary seating, availability on summer weekends moves quickly. Booking two to three weeks in advance for a Saturday dinner in peak season is the safe approach. Midweek bookings in shoulder season are considerably easier to secure. The booking difficulty rating is Easy relative to the wider northern Italian fine dining category, but that applies mostly outside July and August. For a celebration dinner with a specific date in mind, contact as early as practical.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filo | €€€ | Easy | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Dal Pescatore | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Osteria Francescana | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Quattro Passi | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Reale | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Filo measures up.
Book at least three to four weeks ahead for summer visits, especially if you want a terrace table with the Lake Como view. The terrace is the core of the Filo experience, and prime spots on warm evenings fill quickly. For July and August, six weeks out is safer. Shoulder season visits in May or September allow more flexibility.
The venue data does not confirm a bar or counter dining option at Filo. Your choice is between three tasting menus — Freestyle, Classics, and Vegetarian — or the à la carte menu. If informal bar seating matters to you, this may not be the right format.
Lezzeno is a small village with limited dining competition, so the relevant comparison is Lake Como more broadly. Tremezzo and Bellagio both have restaurants at the €€€ price point with lakeside positions. If you want a step up in ambition and are willing to drive further, Dal Pescatore in Canneto sull'Oglio holds three Michelin stars and represents a different category of commitment entirely.
The venue data does not specify a dress code, but the €€€ price range, Michelin Plate recognition, and terrace setting suggest smart casual is appropriate. Avoid beachwear or overly casual dress, particularly for evening visits.
Yes, with the right expectations. The terrace looks out to Comacina Island and Villa Balbianello, and the three tasting menu format gives the meal structure. The Michelin Plate (2024 and 2025) signals consistent kitchen quality. For a landmark anniversary or proposal dinner, the view alone does a lot of work — just ensure you book a terrace table explicitly.
If the lakeside setting is the draw, the tasting menu format makes sense: it lets the kitchen pace the meal against the view. Three menus — Freestyle, Classics, and Vegetarian — cover most preferences, which is more flexible than many comparable venues at this price point. If you prefer to order freely, the à la carte menu is available and includes dishes such as purple prawns with goat cheese cream, berries, and bisque.
At €€€, Filo sits at the higher end of casual-to-serious Lake Como dining, but the combination of a Michelin Plate kitchen and a direct terrace view over the lake justifies the spend for most visitors. It is not trying to compete with three-star ambition, and it does not need to. For contemporary Italian with a genuinely strong setting, it delivers solid value at its price tier.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
