La Lanchetta - Lugano

We went for dinner at this restaurant, which was meters from our hotel. Lovely place, big veranda overseeing the lake, really nice. Menu is ok, some special things but o.k. intially we had to wait far too long for our drinks, clearly overwhelmed staff....The burger was rare, the vongole had some shells but now taste, really a pitty. Desert was already better and because the rough start we had our coffee and Contreau on the house. Well done to the owner, not the typical reaction that we were tourist and would never return. So we went back for lunch two days later and the food was great, days special, paste with truffel and parmasan fondu, really good, service even better, and a welcome back by the owner. Rough start, nut great finish, therefore recommend this place.

Everbody talks about this place so I checked it out with my family. We asked to be seated outside, but we couldn’t. Ok. Then a table got free, I asked if we could go and they refused. It is because I am with kids? No...idea. The waiter gives us the menu and drink menu, kids excited to eat, but after waiting to order, they tell us we cannot eat yet because kitchen is closed. Ok but then why give us menu? We took a drink, which came with nice appetizers, but will not come back, although the view is nice.

La Lanchetta has the best lake view in Lugano, the service is excellent and the Pinsa which is one of their main dishes is really authentic, a great place for Sunday lunch.

La Lanchetta enjoys a privileged location on the main highway leading out of Lugano to Castagnola, close to the Lido di Lugano and the small port and marina at Cassarate on the north shore of the lake.It combines a number of elements, lounge bar, restaurant and pinsa so we weren't too sure what to expect when our group of five plus baby walked in off the street with the pram.We now know that pinsa is a highly refined and upmarket version of pizza. Apparently, it's made from a soft wheat flour to a traditional recipe that dates back to Ancient Rome and is served as a long oval and not round like pizza. Since one of our group was until recently an executive of a UK pizza chain, we learned that this recipe is known to Brits but usually marketed as luxury pizza.Four of us chose one of the many pinsa varieties on offer, including our vegetarian who stayed faithful to her preferred Margherita style. I went for a combination of ham and brie which was full of flavour. All of us were delighted with our choices and so was my wife who opted for roast octopus from the restaurant menu.Service was attentive and friendly and I was more than happy to respond to the maitre d's parting request for a mention on Tripadvisor. I can see that they have not scored consistently well in the past but on this occasion they were just great.We washed down the pinse and the octopus with a bottle of Pinot Grigio which the waiter managed masterfully to eke out through the entire meal: a nice change from the usual hustle to sell another bottle!Overall good value for money by Swiss standards.

Marvelous pizza with a unique fragrant gouty dough on the palate one is not long since it is good first and second champagne vouchers of all kinds for an aperitif evening end dinner