We visited the Due Torri in Bardolino.
Remembering the showpiece of the 2-meter-long grappa bottle, we were tempted to visit this restaurant again on our way through the town center. The menu is extensive, leaving everyone spoiled for choice.
The restaurant is large, very large; in better weather, the restaurant can easily accommodate 200 people indoors and, usually, in the covered outdoor area.
Everything we ordered from the friendly, attentive service was delivered correctly – orange soda, house white wine, still water, appetizers, scaloppina, truffle pasta. Ordered and received! Quick, so fast, you wouldn't expect it to be so quick, given the busyness.
As for the taste: We've definitely had better. The dishes were edible, but overall rather inconsequential. Nothing special in terms of taste, no depth, no outstanding flavors. This is subjective, of course, but compared to other restaurants in this category, the Due Torri falls short.
To start, we were offered a glass of Prosecco on the house, served in a larger shot glass rather than a typical Prosecco glass – OK.
At the end, we would have also had Limoncello on the house, but we declined. The service staff is aware of the broken latch on the entrance door, but it doesn't seem to be a reason to have it repaired. When the door is open, which it often is, as very few people close it after passing through, it unfortunately lets in a cold draft from outside – early May, rainy weather, 13 degrees Celsius. Always a reason for attentive guests to get up.
What we specifically noticed about our ordered dishes:
– The "Bruschetta con pomodoro e aglio" came without garlic. While that may be pleasant for some, in this case it was simply a mistake, as garlic was explicitly mentioned both in the description and on the receipt provided at the table with the order. This unfortunately completely lacked the characteristic "Mediterranean" flavor. Following a complaint, an attempt was made to remedy the situation by offering a separate serving of garlic oil. Is a traditional, simple dish like bruschetta not as simple as one might imagine in Italy?
– The "Scaloppina al Vino Bianco" wasn't made with veal, as is expected in traditional cuisine, but with flattened pork loin. The menu, cleverly written in that respect, doesn't allow any conclusions to be drawn on this, so officially it's not a case of misappropriation, but it's still a shame. The meat was OK, the thickened butter sauce with white wine was OK, and there were no side dishes other than dry white bread, but that's not exactly what you'd expect in Italy. Still, it's a shame that no one told the German tourist this in an effort to boost sales, and the waiter didn't offer a small, matching pasta dish as a side dish.
– There was a long, black hair in the "Tagliolini al tartufo." A hygiene defect that can certainly happen in the kitchen, but less frequently, and doesn't have to happen if headgear were to be worn on the uniform.
``` Next up is the truffle, unfortunately not freshly shaved. This wasn't advertised on the menu, but the flavor of the dish was correspondingly bland. The taste and black appearance were more reminiscent of "Crema Tartufata" from a jar, a pickled, softened mushroom paste with a far-from-truffle aroma.
Conclusion: Solidly executed, but with some minor truffle issues, and below-average in terms of taste by comparison. We wouldn't visit a restaurant again, knowing that it started out quite ambitiously years ago.
Here, many things are now defined by the motto "quantity over quality." The value for money is OK, but after 10 days on Lake Garda and in a different restaurant every evening, this isn't an evening we'd want to repeat. Sorry!
Janina
.
07 Maggio 2025
6,0
Google
TripAdvisor