What to eat in Lake Garda: 5 typical first dishes

What to eat in Lake Garda? Here are 5 of the most typical dishes of Garda, including traditional specialties and local street food from Trento and Verona.

Lake Garda is known for its amazing cuisine with traditional dishes made with fresh local food. There are many restaurants and local shops all around Lake Garda. Anyway, it is also very easy to prepare these delicious meals at home. All you need to know is where to get the ingredients, read the recipe, and a kitchen, of ourse.

So let’s dive in! What are the typical dishes of Lake Garda that you absolutely must taste? Here are the best 5 you should know.

Bigoli con le sarde del Garda

It is the number one of first dishes in Garda Veneto’s cuisine tradition. It is the happy marriage of a typical fish of our lake – the sarde or sardelle, meaning sardines– and bigoli (bigoi in dialect), a traditional Veneto home-made egg pasta that is extrusion pressed, and can be cooked fresh or dry.

Risotto con la tinca

After the bigoli and sarde, there is another first dish that you absolutely must try if you want to get to know and love our gastronomic tradition. Just choose one of the many restaurants with a view on the lake, and let yourself explore the delicate yet intense flavour of Garda tench with traditional risotto.

Carbonèra

It is a traditional local dish dating back to many generations that is still prepared at fêtes and festivals, especially in northern Lake Garda. The ingredients are simple, and are the ones that the land can easily offer: extra-virgin Garda DOP olive oil, polenta and cheese from Monte Baldo.

Risotto all’Amarone

Risotto cooked with the fine Valpolicella wine is one of the favorite dishes of the inhabitants and visitors of Verona and Lake Garda. It is prepared with ingredients that come exclusively from this area: Vialone Nano rice, Amarone della Valpolicella and Monte Veronese cheese.