A journey through taste: the culinary tradition of Lake Garda

What better way to discover a new place than through its cuisine? Lake Garda is a treasure trove of culinary treasures with a unique character: between the fish of the lake, the products of the Lombardy and Veneto hinterland and the delicacies of the Trentino mountains, the Benaco table is among the richest in Italy.

 

Lake fish specialities

Lake Garda is the ideal place for lovers of food and wine tours: numerous restaurants, typical trattorias, agritourisms, wine cellars and oil mills organise workshops and cooking classes where you can learn how to prepare fresh pasta, typical desserts or lake fish dishes.

With regard to the latter, among the most famous dishes to be tasted on Lake Garda are risotto with trinca, pasta with lake sardines, grilled fish such as perch or lavaret, and pike in sauce with polenta. Let's not forget the famous fish soup: a speciality much appreciated by locals and tourists alike.

But meat lovers will also find joys for the palate here: in the Verona area, for example, boiled meat with pearà, which we can often encounter during typical lake festivals, is very popular.

 

The tortellini of Valeggio

The hinterland also offers delicacies to be discovered, including the tortellini of Valeggio sul Mincio. The most famous version is prepared with very thin puff pastry and a filling of meat mixed with various herbs and cheese. Also worth tasting are the seasonal fillings, such as asparagus, pumpkin, red radicchio and mature Monte Veronese cheese, porcini and speck, chestnuts and many others.

  

Olive oil

Only Garda olive oil, also known as 'green gold' for its rich and delicate flavour, is used to season dishes. It is a low acidity, high quality oil suitable for all uses. It is ideal to be consumed with soups, white meat, lake fish, especially baked fish.

 

Garda wine

The international wine scene would not be complete without the excellent wines produced on Lake Garda. White wines, red wines, bubbles... there is something for everyone! Starting with the famous Lugana Doc of the highest quality produced by numerous Lower Garda wine cellars and excellent with first courses and fish, and continuing with the typical reds such as Bardolino, Garda Bresciano, Valpolicella and finally Groppello: a delicate and spicy red wine that is only produced here on the lake. All the excellent local wines are represented on the extensive wine list of our Rose & Sapori Restaurant.

 

As you can see, the temptations of the palate on Lake Garda are many, and it is certainly worth dedicating a few days to their discovery. Even the menu of our gourmet restaurant Rose & Sapori reserves a few surprises linked to the traditions of the area! Find out thanks to our special gourmet packages: Grand Gourmet and Midweek Gourmet. Both packages include a hotel stay with a rich breakfast buffet and a tasty dinner in our restaurant. And if you would like to discover the secrets of Lugana wine, choose our Lugana Wine Tour package with cellar visit and wine tasting.

See you on Lake Garda!