La Taverna Del Mago

Very special and unique experience in this small and truly authentic restaurant, away from the touristic restaurants and food for masses… For the first time in a long time, I had the privilege to taste authentic food, prepared with talent, care and best ingredients by a real chef. Everything we had was wonderful! A delight. Atmosphere simple, authentic, no noise, a moment of simple relaxation and culinary delight. So rare to find authenticity nowadays!!! We very much loved and appreciated it.

A true treasure at Lago Maggiore!
Fantastic food, beautiful location and an amazing host. You sit in a very nice garden, surrounded by flowers and fresh herbs, which is makes you forget the street outside. The host takes a lot of time to explain you the dishes of the day and what suits your personal taste. Same goes for the wine. The food is prepared close to perfection and served with so much joy that you can only enjoy your evening there. Can’t recommend this place enough, it’s a true gem hidden in a small garden near a shopping Centre and away from the tourist buzz.

This is a wonderful place for a delicious lunch at a great price. The chef speaks English and gave us a choice of 2 dishes. I love that he cooks what he wants and you need to trust him. You won’t be disappointed!

Wonderful Sunday lunch and also enjoyed their weekday lunch menu. The owner is really friendly and speaks English if needed. Would highly recommend it.

This place is a hidden gem. What a culinary experience, everything is made with the greatest attention to detail. The owner takes his time to explain all the dishes in this adorable small scale authentic restaurant. Pure passion for food and wine.I highly recommend it!

We had best dishes suggested by the owner as well he is the chef

Though we were a bit late to the booking, the chef was nice to offer his best option

Many thanks for your good time as well

It has been a while since our dinner

Wow, we were totally impressed by the great service. The food was also very good so we can highly recommend this restaurant.

Hard to say enough good things about the place. Pasta dishes to die for, one of the best beef tartars ever, and the great limoncello tiramisu. And for the kids great, freshly-made tomato sauce... that you end up finishing yourself.

If you like tourist traps with pretentious settings, that's not a place for you. If you like real food, served with passion and pride, go there... once, twice, three times. You'll keep coming back. As my family does.

I would say you should go here for the food, but that would be a disservice to the whole experience. The warmth that you receive during the experience is what all restaurants should aim to attain. The dishes are prepared expertly with care and the ingredients are top notch. Among the courses was the best gnocchi I've had. I highly recommend this restaurant. If you get a chance, have a chat with the chef, you'll be happy you did.

Excellent meal, great treatment of the staff. The pasta was super fresh and well cooked. House wine extremely well chosen by the owner. The price is extremely fair.

This is not just a "sit down, get some drinks and food to get full and leave as soon as possible for the next guests". This is: Slow down, take your time and enjoy. You`ll meet a nice guy who loves his creations, his dishes. The explanation of each primi and secondi is a presentation of his passion, of his work, his handcraft art. You can feel his love for what he`s doing there. Waiting for the food is a little bit like waiting for a christmas present. You´ll not only get full, you´ll be happy afterwards. It´s not about extravagance cooking from space with a range of non pronounceable ingedients, it´s home base cooking with a fantastic smell and flavour. The price is absolute fair. I´ve been around in Italy, mostly in Tuscani and visited lots of Restaurants but this Tavern is special, it´s outstanding delicious.

Perfect and delicious food, very kind and professional chef!

The best dinner we had in Italy.

Excellent service, exceptional food.

Amazing experience

La Tana del Mago, nome super azzeccato, ed è proprio lui il Mago 💯, che fa magie in cucina. Creando manicaretti succulenti e la maggior parte delle volte, che deliziano piacevolmente il palato del commensale. Il ristorante si trova a Pallanza, poco distante dal lago. Il menù varia ogni volta, con due primi e due secondi e per coccolare l'ospite, il dessert è il fiore all'occhiello, sempre fresco e preparato direttamente da loro. Durante l'estate, è molto gradevole mangiare fuori, sopratutto in compagnia. La qualità delle materie prime, abbinata alla competenza e alla maestria dello chef nè fanno un locale, che merita tutte le stelline assegnate. Consiglio di venire a trovare Maurizio, che saprà rendere felice il vs palato.

Ammetto di essere una persona a cui piace il buon cibo, il buon vino e la buona compagnia.. e quando tutto questo viene abbinato da un personale capace, professionale ma allo stesso tempo super disponibile rende tutto più magico.
E direi che il nome del posto si addice perfettamente. Consiglio vivamente di provarlo a chiunque piaccia godersi del cibo ottimo cucinato con tanta passione..
Provatelo perché ne vale veramente la pena.

Ps. Ero scettico sul menù al “buio” ma una volta arrivato lo chef al tavolo siamo rimasti a bocca aperta.. 5 stelle meritatissime ⭐

Très bon rapport qualité prix. Personnel serviable et bilingue. Menu du jour le midi avec un choix entre deux options à chaque fois. Tout était très bon. Je recommande fortement

Fantastisk och genuin italiensk restaurang. Stora portioner på secundo!
Kocken presenterar dagens meny muntligt så det gäller att hänga med.
Jag åt bläckfiskpasta med skaldjur. Min man tog Gnocchi med bla tryffel. Smak av hav och skog.
Sedan en angus biff. Mör med fin fettrand, till det en grönsaksragu. Och passande vin.
Vår hund fick vatten och ett litet ben.

Det enda negativa jag kan säga är att det är en del mygg i området. Så tips att ta på byxor och använda myggmedel om ni sitter utomhus.

Kommer besöka restaurangen igen. ❤

Siamo stati benissimo!! Abbiamo mangiato nella veranda esterna, in occasione di una festa. Antipasti di salumi e formaggi che erano davvero buonissimi, così come i ravioli ripieni. Ottima anche la porchetta, cucinata in modo sicuramente più delicato e meno speziato ma assolutamente gustosa. Abbiamo concluso il pranzo con l'amaro fatto in casa: top! Lo chef è una persona davvero alla mano, si vede che è competente e professionale. È stato un piacere inoltre vedere al lavoro il personale di sala, due giovanissimi ragazzi, molto sorridenti e con tanta voglia di fare. Passateci, non ve ne pentirete!!!