Sottovoce, the restaurant on and around Lake Como

Just 40 minutes from Milan (say from the northern suburbs), the Sottovoce restaurant, on the top floor of the Vista Lago di Como hotel, is the perfect food and wine side of a hotel with old-fashioned luxury.

An escape from the metropolis to be pampered by the placid, textural presence of Lake Como, its products and ancient hospitality. All, in just 40 minutes. That's what the Vista Lago di Como hotel, a 5-star Luxury brand belonging to the LarioHotels group, promises. 

A completely renovated 9th-century palace, in the center of Como and at the same time overlooking a unique setting, the Lake. To enter the VISTA is to immerse oneself in a muffled and enveloping atmosphere, made up of the luxury of yesteryear and a precise and quiet attention to every detail. Iconic pieces of Italian design are housed in the hotel's 18 suites, all overlooking the great protagonist, the Lake, while the furnishings are custom-made by the best in Italian craftsmanship.

Climbing the stairs of this house with an aristocratic flavor (or less prosaically taking the elevator) one lands on the top floor where the rooftop opens with the Infinity bar and Sottovoce restaurant. At the bottom, guarded and hidden, is the library, for a private lunch or dinner, strictly overlooking the Lake. A total of 24 covers in the restaurant and a long bar where you can enjoy a cocktail or one of the many labels on the select wine list.

Here, in the company of Bianca Passera, president of the LarioHotels group, we talk about design, sustainability and cuisine. A triptych that is reflected in the structure and hospitality of the Vista Como. Design can be breathed in every detail, from the iconic pieces scattered here and there throughout the hotel, to the woodwork, the fabrics used, the splendid marble in the bathrooms of each suite, and the Gio Ponti ceramics for the coffee with which we close our lunch. On the sustainability front, suffice it to mention that the hotel is a Benefit Society, which concretely means attention to consumption and waste, plastic reduction, energy efficiency, attention to people and, on the gastronomic front, many other things, all of which are not only told in words but documented in the annual Impact and Sustainability Report.

But let's get to the kitchen. Here, again with a sustainable approach, small producers, local suppliers and local excellence are preferred. Stefano Mattara is the Executive Chef, a student of Gualtiero Marchesi with several stellar experiences leading him to direct Sottovoce since the Vista opened in 2018. The same delicacy inherent in the restaurant's name can be found in the skillful care with which he enhances the cuisine of the territory, giving elegance and dignity to lake fish, served with technique and skill. Clean-cut, precise and often funny dishes vary from a more Italian tradition to a focus on Lake Como. Delicious and fragrant is also the bread basket, strictly homemade with sourdough. Among the appetizers really interesting is the Ceviche di lago, with char and whitefish, red onion, bear garlic, chili and lime. And continuing on the lake the Sturgeon, with tomato, cucumber, borage and caviar. And among the first courses, a more Italian dish that brings North, Center and South together, a risotto - the rice is an Italian excellence, Carnaroli Riserva San Massimo - with smoked burrata, fermented orange, Mazara red shrimp, pistachio granules, blood orange flavor and shrimp. All accompanied by San Leonardo's Vette 2022, a taut and dynamic Sauvignon, citrusy and aromatic.

It finally closes with a gin and tonic. Which is not really a gin tonic but a dessert, Gin tonic on a plate, with white chocolate and lime, effervescent rock, lemon sorbet and, of course, gin and tonic water. Fun and thirst quenching, nice to look at and excellent balance and freshness. 

In conclusion, back to the experience in toto, a soft pampering on Lake Como, for a timeless break just a few miles from fast and energetic Milan.

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