Almost Paradise

The food made our dinner memorable: the branzino was the best we’ve ever had, and the pasta was fantastic, too. We also highly recommend the excellent limoncello made in-house. Raouf, the owner, welcomed us so warmly and went above and beyond. The restaurant was clean, cozy, and inviting. We noticed him chatting kindly with someone working outside the building, then giving him wine after he finished for the day. We only discovered Raouf's Restaurant and Hotel on the last night of our trip, but we’ll definitely return to stay at his hotel and eat at the restaurant when we visit the Como, Italy area again.

The location was beautiful, and the hotel owner was very hospitable and friendly. We had booked a second-floor room but wanted one on the first floor, and changing it was no problem. The beds were a bit small and the decor somewhat dated. We were late for breakfast, so they prepared dinner for us instead, free of charge. Very satisfied with our day there.

It was a wet, quiet day in Brunate, with hardly anyone around, and this was a lovely place to spend some time. The service was so friendly and welcoming, and they even went out of their way to make polenta fries for us. I’d highly recommend it.

The staff were pleasant and courteous all evening, and they handled the issues gracefully by removing the pesto from the bill and offering us a limoncello. The food was disappointing for the price, though. The pesto sauce was far too oily, and the mushroom pasta had a gluey texture, perhaps from too much cream or frozen mushrooms. The hospitality was good, but the food quality left a lot to be desired.