"Fifty years on Bellagio's Serbelloni staircase, twice a Wine Spectator winner — book the pergola for a Lake Como birthday."
Climb the Salita Serbelloni, the stepped lane that runs up from Bellagio's waterfront, and Bilacus is the one with the vine-covered pergola at number 32. The Ostinelli family opened it in 1965; Aurelio Gandola took it over in 2014 and kept what worked — a long Italian cellar that Wine Spectator has twice given its Best of Award of Excellence, and a kitchen of handmade pasta, lake fish and Lombard classics priced at a fair €30 to €50 a head.
Chef Marco Rando came to Bilacus from Michelin-starred kitchens, and he cooks Lombard tradition with a light, modern hand — sous-vide where it helps, but nothing showy. The pasta is rolled daily; the fish is split between Lake Como catch and open-sea deliveries; the meat comes from local butchers and non-intensive farms. Owner Aurelio Gandola, from a Lake Como restaurant family, runs the room and the cellar.
Order the tagliolini with black truffle when it is on, or the lake-fish of the day off the grill; the cheese ravioli and the scaloppine pizzaiolo are the dishes regulars return for. Mains land in the €18 to €28 range and most people leave having spent €30 to €50 a head before wine — and the wine is the point here, with the list twice decorated by Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence, heavy on Barolo and Barbaresco. For more along the lake, see Ristorante Salice Blu up in Visgnola.
Bilacus is two rooms and a terrace. The vine-shaded pergola on the Salita Serbelloni is the seat everyone wants — open to the stepped lane, a few tables under the leaves. Inside is a warm, finely furnished dining room for cooler or wetter nights. Sound on the terrace is an easy hum of the passing lane; the interior is quieter. Lighting is soft and candle-lit after dusk. Dress is smart-casual, in keeping with Bellagio. The restaurant seats roughly sixty across both spaces, and in high summer the pergola turns more than once a night.
Book this room for a birthday because it balances occasion and ease: a vine-covered pergola on Bellagio's prettiest staircase, a cellar good enough for a proper toast, and a bill — €30 to €50 a head — that does not turn the night into a reckoning. The handmade pasta and a Barolo from the twice-awarded list make a celebration without ceremony. Ask for a pergola table. For more along the lake, see our Bellagio dining guide and the best Italian restaurants worldwide.
Not for a quiet tête-à-tête in peak season — the Serbelloni staircase tables fill with day-trippers, and summer service runs brisk to turn the pergola.
Yes. Bilacus pairs honest Lombard cooking — handmade pasta, lake fish, the tagliolini with black truffle — with one of Bellagio's best cellars, twice given Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence, at a fair €30 to €50 a head. The vine-covered pergola on the Serbelloni staircase is among the loveliest terraces in town. Book ahead in summer and ask for a pergola table.
Moderately hard in season. Bilacus is a Bellagio favourite, and the pergola tables on the Salita Serbelloni go first; from June to September, book several days ahead and request the terrace. Spring and autumn are easier and arguably nicer. The restaurant is at Salita Serbelloni 32, a short climb up the stepped lane from the waterfront, and reservations are best made by phone.
Smart-casual. There is no jacket requirement; Bellagio dines relaxed, and the pergola is open to the lane. Neat resort wear is the norm — a collared shirt or a summer dress reads right. Comfortable shoes help, since the Salita Serbelloni is a stepped climb. The mood is warm and family-run rather than formal, so dress for a nice dinner out and you will fit the room.
About €30 to €50 per person before wine. Mains run roughly €18 to €28, with handmade pasta a little less and the truffle and lake-fish dishes at the top of the range. Wine is the splurge: the twice-awarded list runs deep into Barolo and Barbaresco, so a good bottle can lift the bill. A couple with a nice wine should plan for €100 to €140 in total.
Yes, it is a strong birthday choice. The pergola on the Serbelloni staircase makes an occasion of any night, the cellar is deep enough for a memorable bottle, and the price keeps the celebration relaxed. Book the terrace a few days ahead in summer. See our Bellagio dining guide for more lakeside rooms.
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Bilacus has earned Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence twice. See where its Barolo-deep list sits among the world's most serious restaurant cellars.
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