Orchidea - VARESE

Excellent food and service. read more Excellent food and service.

Our maxim is always “step off the beaten track” and so it proved in Varese. Nestled up a side street behind the very imposing Ristorante Orchidea is the Orchide... read more Our maxim is always “step off the beaten track” and so it proved in Varese. Nestled up a side street behind the very imposing Ristorante Orchidea is the Orchidea Il Retro. Very unassuming, but packed with locals when you entered. Immediately met by the smiling Maitre d’ we were ushered to a table with quiet efficiency. Menus delivered, he left us to peruse in peace, while effortlessly pandering to the needs of about 20 locals. We had pizza, since we have not tried any this trip and we want to save ourselves for later. Just as well we did ! They were enormous and delicious, perfectly cooked with quality ingredients. We had a litre of the house white what a good choice. Only €9 for a litre of slightly sparkling delicious young wine. You could easily get used to this sort of thing! A fantastic, delicious meal in a quiet little haven, and all for just €35, what’s not to like? I am assuming that Il Retro is actually part of Orchidea, hence this review.

The staff were very friendly and humorous, and the food we had were all quite good. One cockle in my vongole had sand in it, but that's common risk one has to t... read more The staff were very friendly and humorous, and the food we had were all quite good. One cockle in my vongole had sand in it, but that's common risk one has to take for shellfish I guess. They have tables outside which we liked a lot. They have a lot of options for pizza, but not many for pasta.

When we’re back in Varese we are coming to have dinner here fore sure. Great staf and great food, wine and coffee. read more When we’re back in Varese we are coming to have dinner here fore sure. Great staf and great food, wine and coffee.

To be honest we walked into this place as the most known pizzeria's close by (Capri Bella Napoli were fully booked but oh boy were we pleasantly surprised with... read more To be honest we walked into this place as the most known pizzeria's close by (Capri Bella Napoli were fully booked but oh boy were we pleasantly surprised with the food and the service! We decided to share some starters and all were great but the tuna tartare was absolutely sublime. Two of us then went for the Paccheri con Astice (large maccheroni type pasta with half a lobster and the other two for fish with a side order of grilled vegetables and oven potatoes. All of the above was washed down with a perfectly chilled Falanghina from the cellars of Mastroberardino. The aw's did not end there. We completed the meal with a home made dessert. I'm not one for dessert after dinner as frequently you get factory made stuff presented as home made but their tiramisú was by far the best I have ever tasted (except for the one I make myself, that one is the best : . As to the service they were extremely friendly, made sure we always had a cold glass of wine and/or water and were always up for a joke or two. We'll definitely come back here again!