RFK Rankings · Lake Como
Best Restaurants for Family-Friendly in Lake Como (2026)
Family dining · Lake Como · 6 rooms ranked · Updated August 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published April 14, 2026 · Updated August 16, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
The lake feeds children easily. Risotto with perch off the water, a slice of pizza on a terrace with the boats coming in, a gelato while the parents finish a bottle. Lake Como's best family rooms are the waterside trattorias and the casual pizzerias, not the Michelin tasting labs on the grand-hotel terraces. They run on lake fish, handmade pasta and a relaxed Italian welcome that puts a high chair down without being asked. These six, ranked, are where to take the whole table by the water.
1.Vecchia Varenna
The lakeside trattoria in Varenna's old core, perch risotto on a terrace over the water. Book the waterside table for lunch.
Vecchia Varenna sits in a fifteenth-century black-marble building on Contrada Scoscesa in the historic heart of Varenna, with a terrace that hangs directly over the water, and it has been run by the Castiglioni family since 1987. The Carnaroli risotto with perch fillets and aged Grana Padano is the dish to build a family lunch around, and the grilled missoltino with polenta is the local fish a curious child should try once. Mains run roughly 20 to 40 euros, with simple pasta for a younger appetite. The terrace is the point: the boats come and go, the lake is right there, and a child has something to watch between courses. There is no booking system, so come at the open for the waterside seats. Book the waterside table at lunch and order the perch risotto.
No reservations; arrive early for a terrace seat.
2.Trattoria San Giacomo
The Bellagio old-town trattoria on Salita Serbelloni, handmade pasta and even burgers for picky eaters. Take a table on the stepped street.
Trattoria San Giacomo has run on the stepped Salita Serbelloni in Bellagio's old town since 1973, three generations of the same family, beginning with the Nonna Pina the regulars still name. The menu is broad enough to feed a mixed table without a fight: tomato-and-basil fettuccine and osso buco for the adults, simple pasta and even a hamburger for a child who will not be moved. Prices sit in the mid-range trattoria band, and the in-house desserts are worth saving room for. The setting on the picturesque village steps is part of the meal, with a few outdoor tables and a relaxed dining room behind. It closes Tuesdays, so plan around that. Take a table on the steps and let the kitchen feed the whole table its own way.
Reserve ahead; closed Tuesdays, lunch and dinner.
3.Nilus Bar
The Varenna waterfront all-rounder, pizza, risotto and gelato since 1991. Walk in for an easy lakeside lunch with the kids.
Nilus Bar has worked the Varenna waterfront on Via Riva Garibaldi since 1991, a casual lakeside bar-restaurant that does exactly what a family on the move needs: wood-style pizza, pasta, risotto, salads and gelato, all in one place on the water. It bills itself as suitable for families and it means it, with step-free access and an all-day kitchen so a hungry child does not have to wait for a sitting. The pizza and the gelato are the easy wins, the aperitivo boards keep the parents happy, and the lake fills the view. It is reasonably priced for the waterfront, which the Varenna front is not always. Walk in for an easy lakeside lunch, finish on the gelato, and no one has to dress up.
Walk-in friendly; reservations also taken.
4.Ittiturismo da Abate
The fisherman-run lake-fish room in Lezzeno, where the catch decides the menu and dishes run near 10 euros. Reserve ahead.
Ittiturismo da Abate sits on the lakeside at Frazione Villa in Lezzeno, between Como and Bellagio, run by a young couple where the husband does the fishing himself, which is why the menu changes with the day's catch. This is the real lake-fish experience, perch, lavarello and whatever came in, turned into pastas and grilled plates, and the value is remarkable, with dishes around 10 euros. For a family it is the cheap, authentic choice, casual and unpretentious, and a genuine lesson for a child in where the food on the plate came from. It is small and closes Mondays, and if the boat does not go out, neither does the kitchen. Reserve ahead, then eat whatever the lake gave up that morning.
Reserve ahead; closed Mondays, small room.
5.Crotto dei Platani
The historic Brienno crotto with terraces and a private pier for the lake fish. Book a terrace and arrive by water.
Crotto dei Platani occupies a historic stone crotto on the Via Statale Regina in Brienno, a string of terraces, a garden and a patio stepping down to a darsena and a private pier on the lake. Arriving by boat is half the fun for a child, and recent visitors single the room out as family-friendly. The kitchen cooks traditional Lario lake fish and regional dishes across a proper a la carte, so the adults eat seriously while a child has pasta and a view. The outdoor space is generous, which matters with children who will not sit still, and the lake is right at the foot of the terrace. It is the smarter end of this list without tipping into formal. Book a terrace table and, if you can, come by water.
Reservations recommended; arrive by boat or road.
6.Pizzeria Portas
The reliable wood-fired pizzeria in Como town, generous pies and vegetarian options for fussy eaters. Walk in for an easy supper.
For families based in Como town rather than the upper lake, a dependable wood-fired pizzeria is the night that always works, and a central Como pizzeria delivers it without a fuss. Pizza is the universal child-pleaser, the pies here come generous and include vegetarian options for the picky eater at the table, and the bill stays well under the lakeside trattorias. The room is casual and unhurried, the kind of place a family lands when no one can agree and everyone will eat a slice. It opens for dinner and turns tables quickly, so a tired child is not kept waiting. There is no ceremony and none is wanted. Walk in for an easy supper of pizza when the day on the water has worn everyone out.
Walk-in friendly; opens for dinner.
Not for the kids
Right lake, wrong room
Materia, Cernobbio. Davide Caranchini's two-Michelin-star room in Cernobbio is a thirty-cover tasting-menu lab and the hardest weekday booking on the lake. The pacing, the price and the silence are wrong for a child. Save it for a dinner for two without the kids.
Mistral, Bellagio. The Michelin-level dining room at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio is a formal, jacket-leaning evening built around a long menu. There is no quick exit and no child's pace. Keep it for an occasion the children sit out.
How to dine out with family on Lake Como
Eat by the water and eat at lunch. The lake's family rooms are the waterfront trattorias and pizzerias, and a midday table gets the better light, the calmer terrace and the easier walk-in before the evening crowd arrives. Vecchia Varenna and Nilus Bar take walk-ins on the Varenna front, and arriving by boat at Crotto dei Platani turns the journey into the entertainment. Book the terrace tables in summer, when the waterside seats go first.
Italian rooms put a high chair down and bring pasta for a child without being asked, so a family is genuinely welcome here. A coperto, the cover charge, is normal and small, and a tip is not expected beyond rounding up. Order the lake fish for the adults and simple pasta for the children, share a gelato to finish, and let the lake do the work of keeping a restless child occupied between courses.
Frequently asked
What is the best family-friendly restaurant on Lake Como?
Vecchia Varenna is the top pick for families. The lakeside trattoria in Varenna's old core has been run by the Castiglioni family since 1987, serves a perch risotto and simple pasta that suit children, and sits on a terrace directly over the water where the boats keep a child occupied. There is no booking, so arrive at the open for a waterside seat.
Which Lake Como restaurants are good with young children?
Nilus Bar and Vecchia Varenna in Varenna are the easiest with small children. Nilus does pizza, pasta and gelato all day on the waterfront with step-free access, and Vecchia Varenna's terrace gives a child the boats to watch. Crotto dei Platani in Brienno is worth the trip because you can arrive by boat. All keep things casual and relaxed.
Is Lake Como expensive for a family meal?
The grand-hotel rooms are, but the family trattorias are not. Ittiturismo da Abate in Lezzeno serves lake-fish dishes around 10 euros, Vecchia Varenna's mains run 20 to 40, and a pizzeria supper in Como town keeps a family well under that. Skip the Michelin terraces, order lake fish and pasta at a waterside trattoria, and a family eats well without the resort bill.
Can you take children to lakeside restaurants on Lake Como?
Yes, and the waterside is the best place for them. The terraces at Vecchia Varenna and Crotto dei Platani give a restless child the lake and the boats to watch, Nilus Bar is built for casual all-day family eating, and Italian rooms bring a high chair and a plate of pasta without being asked. The trattorias and pizzerias welcome families; the formal tasting rooms do not.
Do Lake Como restaurants take walk-ins?
Several do. Vecchia Varenna takes no reservations at all, Nilus Bar and the Como pizzerias are walk-in friendly, and a midday table is far easier to land than a sunset one. Trattoria San Giacomo, Ittiturismo da Abate and Crotto dei Platani take bookings, which is worth doing for a terrace seat in summer. Eat at lunch and a walk-in is rarely a problem.
Is there a cover charge at Lake Como restaurants?
Usually a small one. The coperto, a per-person cover charge for bread and the table setting, is normal in Italian rooms and runs a couple of euros a head. Service is generally included, and a tip beyond rounding up is not expected. It is worth knowing so the bill holds no surprises, but it does not change the value of a casual lakeside lunch with the family.
Related rankings
More from RFK
Browse the full Lake Como dining guide, plan a slow morning with the Lake Como brunch ranking, find a table for one in the Lake Como solo-dining ranking, compare Italian dining worldwide, or open the full RFK rankings index.
Restaurants for Kings is reader-supported. Some reservation links are affiliate links with OpenTable, Resy or Tock; we earn a small commission at no cost to you, and a link never buys a place on a ranking. Editorial scores and ranking order are independent of any commercial relationship. See our ranking methodology.