Bilacus

The view is fantastic; we lucked out and got a table on the edge of the terrace without a reservation for lunch. Service was a little lacking. Prices are a little high. Trio of fish was disappointing, especially since it is described as being accompanied by a side dish which ended up being a single spoonful of diced roasted vegetables. The ravioli with mushrooms in cream sauce was fantastic.

We have been eating our way through Italy and only wanted some nice pasta and wine for lunch. and this was it! The penne arrabiata was excellent, but the meat ravioli with mushrooms and cream sauce was spectacular! Eating on the terrace during a brilliantly sunny spring day didn’t hurt either!

Yea, it is ok. The bread was poor. The risotto was decent and the bolognese were the same.

We had dinner at Bilacus on our last night of a two-​week long road trip around Europe, and I am so grateful we chose this restaurant as I can’t imagine a better ending to our adventure. We had stepped in and made reservations during the afternoon while we were out walking around Bellagio, which I would recommend since the restaurant was quite busy when we came back later for dinner. The backyard terrace was very comfortable on an early May evening. The wine selection was good (although if you’re really looking for wine, check Apertivo Et Al basically next door), and the service was excellent. There were more than a few tables speaking English around us, so I’m guessing word is getting around to tourists. The highlight of our meal was the European Sea Bass (not the same fish as we’re used to seeing in the U.S.) plated with roasted potatoes and carrots. It wasn’t overly fussy, but full of flavor and the fish was perfectly prepared.

perfect! Great atmosphere in the garden/​terrace. Try the Caprese salad and Pampadelle with mushroom sauce.

We came there a bit randomly during family vacations. We ordered anti pasti, cheese, ravioli and trout. We also had a glass of chianti. The food was really good, it tasted fresh and at a decent price for such a touristic place.

If you want traditional Italian dishes, fine wines, great service and delicious deserts this is the place for you.
We had a great experience here. Everyone is super friendly. The food is awesome. We started with linguine and vongole then had pappardelle bolognse with mushrooms. Also amazing. And yes we could get those dishes back home BUT not as good as it was here.
Then came the real treat. In the little restaurant across the street, more of a take out kind of place. There was a lot of action. So I went over to see what was going on. Right in front were three copper pot mixers with what looked like large balls of dough being mixed. But it was polenta. Under the bowls were burners and in the bowls were mixing blades like in a cement mixer. There were lots of people buzzing around the three bowls with a man with s large knife slicing into the ball of polenta and another man with a large wooden paddle pushing the ball around in the bowl all the while the mixing blades are going. Then there were the bosses, the women who were supervising to make sure the men didn’t screw up. Lol.
I’m watching this whole thing in awe. The one mixer saw me watching and gave me a piece of the cheese that was going into the polenta to try. It was delicious! Then he pointed to a large bowl with about 10 lbs of the cheese in it and then a stack of about 20lbs of butter. He pointed to both and then the polenta. Although I didn’t understand a single word he said the message was quite clear. All that butter and cheese was going into the polenta.
Goodness gracious I thought how can that be. The volume of cheese and butter was almost more than the polenta!
Then a mob started gathering outside as the polenta was being finished after being continuously mixed, sliced, remixed with the wooden paddle, transferred from one mixing bowl to the next and cooked for 3 hours.
It was ready to be served. It was polenta pandemonium.
There was a mob for hours outside lining up to get their polenta.
At that point our reservation was ready we sat outside on the street side of the upper terrace and we could see what was going on over at polenta central.
The owner of Balicus who is the nicest guy came over and we were talking and he explained about the polenta. It’s made only once a year for a charity event and you can’t just buy it. You have to preorder it. And it is in very high demand, an understatement if there ever was one. You have no idea what was going on over there.
Well after we finished our two courses of pasta a plate of polenta appears in the middle of our table. My jaw dropped. I looked at it and thought to my self it looks very dense. So my wife and I each took a forkful and once the polenta got into your mouth it changed from a dense dry looking compound to the most velvety delicious thing you ever ate. From that moment of conversion which by the way my wife and I reached at the same time it was a race to the end. I think I one won by a forkful. Lol I then scraped the plate clean and licked the forks clean. So far it’s been the highlight of my trip to Italy.
Then we had our entrees. I had the local lake perch. Never had perch before. It’s a light and delicious fish. I highly recommend. My wife had the grilled prawns. Very fresh and delicious. We had also ordered a bowl of white beans with rosemary and red sauce. It was so good I would have eaten the whole bowl but just couldn’t do it.
Somehow we found room to eat some of the best chocolate cake ever and the owners mom’s apple cake.
We were beyond full but it was so good we just kept eating. We couldn’t finish it all no matter how hard we tried
I had a glass of Corsatto wine with my cake it’s an expensive glass of wine but it was Devine! And worth every Euro!
Well I had the wife pay the bill cause I couldn’t sit any longer. I had to get up and walk outside. I thought I was going to explode. I had to move around. I think the polenta was expanding and my body was trying to metabolize all that food and was generating lots of heat. I was sweating big time all of a sudden. Thankfully a walk along the lake and a glass of fine Grappa at Serbelloni settled me
Not planning on breakfast or lunch today.
Would I go back and do it again? You betcha!

It’s my first time in Bellagio and through Unilocal’s high review of this place, six friends and I decided to have dinner there. The food was amazing and the outdoor seating was perfect this time of year. The risotto with fish was so good that it got all six friends fighting for the last bite! Bravo! I totally recommend this place if you are looking for some good Italian food. We come from Australia, Sweden, Singapore and Belgium and all give this place a thumbs up.

Good food well-​served. The pumpkin soup is to die for! And the local white wine we enjoyed was very memorable.

I always eat here for a meal or two each time I am in Bellagio.
The food is fresh and delicious. The service is great, and the value excellent.
After you are filled with good food and drink the owner will probably show you a small photo album of Bilacus looking quite pretty over the course of the four seasons.

Fantastic location with the outdoor patio. I was in when they had the Como Lake perch risotto, it was absolutely perfect– small fillets on top of a well-​executed risotto with sage leaves. Get yourself a jug of wine and clear the rest of your day because you’ll be in a food coma.
Great service, fair value for money, I’d highly recommend.

Food: overall good…
Appetizer: melon with prosciutto… meet was fresh not too salty, melon was just right
Pasta
Pasta with bolognese… nothing special… sauce was ok not too salty but as you can see from the picture the sauce was a bit on the salty side
Atmosphere: nice and relaxing… there is an indoor restaurant and a patio outside which is nice for groups
Service: ok, waiter checked in from time to time but room forever to get the bill…
If I was in the area i would go back and try other dishes

This place has it all. Food was fantastic, location/​scenery on the terrace looks like a painting and the service was superb. Highly recommend the saltimbocca. I had high expectations based on the number of locals that recommended the place and it did not disappoint.

Loved it! We were greeted warmly and the service was very friendly. We had home made pastas and the duck antipasta. We were all smiles when we left.

If I ever go back to Lake Como — my first stop for dinner will be at Ristorante Bilacus. I had read about this place online and asked our hotel staff about it when we arrived in Bellagio. They said it was one of the best restaurants in the city and was run by a family. We reserved a table on the terrace and loved this place.
I am still dreaming of the homemade tagliolini in mushroom bolognese sauce. My husband ordered the filet, which he enjoyed. But the tagliolini took the prize. Delicious! Good wine list and fair prices. The wait staff wasn’t the absolute greatest, but I’d go back for the food in a second.

We found this ristorante by chance… it was up an alley from our hotel and off the beaten path… we came in one evening, were seated out on the patio under the arbor and everything was perfect! The salad, local fish entrée and the house wine was superb! We came back the next night in a steady drizzling rain and sat inside (of course). Same great service, food, ambiance… the owner came around and made us feel a part of the extended family!!!

wunderschöné Terrasse in der Altstadt aufmerksamer und schneller Service, auch wenn die Abfertigung ein klein Wenig an Massenabfertigung erinnert Das Essen war ok, der Wein war kühl, die Preise in Ordnung.