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Food tours in Lake Garda: what to eat and which tour to book
Lake Garda is split between three regions, and you can taste it: Lombardy on the west shore, Veneto on the east and south-east, and Trentino at the northern tip around Riva del Garda and Arco. What ties it together is lake fish (lavarello/coregone, trout, pike and the small shad called agone or sardèna), olive oil from some of the most northerly olive groves in Europe, lemons grown in the old terraced limonaie around Limone and Gargnano, and wine: Bardolino and Chiaretto rosé on the Veneto side, Lugana white around Sirmione and Peschiera. Just south of the lake, Valeggio sul Mincio is known for its thin, hand-tied tortellini; in the north, Trentino brings carne salada and polenta.
Use this page to know what to order and where, with rough 2026 prices in euros. Each town works differently, so the areas below say which shore is good for what. The tours shown are real GetYourGuide listings, with prices as seen when we checked; confirm the price and meeting point on the booking page before you pay.
What to eat in Lake Garda
| Dish | What it is | Where to eat it | Typical price* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake fish, grilled or as a fillet lavarello / coregone, trota, persico | Whitefish (lavarello), trout and perch fillets from the lake, usually grilled, pan-fried in butter and sage, or served with polenta. Ask whether it is actually from the lake; perch in particular is often imported. | Lakeside trattorias in the smaller towns such as Garda, Torri del Benaco, Gargnano and Malcesine rather than the busiest promenades. | roughly €16–24 a main course |
| Pike in sauce with polenta luccio in salsa con polenta | Boiled pike flaked and dressed with a sauce of olive oil, anchovy, capers and parsley, served with grilled polenta. More common on the southern shore and towards Mantua. | Traditional trattorias on the southern and eastern shores; not on every menu, so ask. | roughly €12–18 a plate |
| Valeggio tortellini tortellini di Valeggio (nodo d'amore) | Very thin, small tortellini filled with meat, served with butter and sage or in broth. Valeggio sul Mincio and the hamlet of Borghetto, about 10 km south of the lake, are full of restaurants that make them. | Valeggio sul Mincio and Borghetto sul Mincio. | roughly €10–14 a plate |
| Carne salada carne salada (Trentino) | Beef rump cured with salt, garlic, pepper and herbs, served thinly sliced raw like carpaccio or briefly grilled, often with beans or polenta. A specialty of the Trentino end of the lake. | Restaurants in Riva del Garda, Arco and the villages behind them. | roughly €12–18 a plate |
| Garda olive oil olio extravergine Garda DOP | Light, mild extra-virgin olive oil from the groves along both shores. Many mills and farms sell it directly and offer tastings. | Oil mills (frantoi) and farm shops on the western shore and around Garda, Bardolino and Malcesine; the new oil comes out in late autumn. | roughly €12–25 for a 500 ml bottle |
| Bardolino, Chiaretto and Lugana wines Bardolino, Chiaretto, Lugana | Bardolino is a light red from the eastern shore, Chiaretto is its rosé, and Lugana is a white from the vineyards between Sirmione, Desenzano and Peschiera. Usually drunk young and cool. | Wine bars and cellars in Bardolino, Lazise and Sirmione, and winery visits in the hills behind them. | about €4–7 a glass; tastings at wineries often roughly €15–30 |
| Lake shad pasta bigoli con le sardèle / sarde di lago | Thick fresh pasta (bigoli) with a sauce of dried or salted lake shad (agone), a Veneto and lake tradition. Not on every menu. | Trattorias on the eastern shore; ask if they have it. | roughly €12–16 a plate |
Where to eat: markets and neighbourhoods
Bardolino and Lazise
Wine towns on the Veneto shore with cellars, wine bars and the Bardolino and Chiaretto vineyards just behind the lake. Good for an evening of wine and small plates.
Valeggio sul Mincio and Borghetto
The place to eat tortellini, in a row of restaurants around the old mills of Borghetto on the river Mincio. A short drive south of Peschiera.
Riva del Garda and Arco
The Trentino end of the lake, with more Alpine food: carne salada, polenta, cheeses, speck and Trentino wines. Prices are often more reasonable than in Sirmione.
Western shore: Gargnano, Limone and Salò
Olive groves, the historic lemon houses (limonaie) and lakeside trattorias serving lake fish. Salò is the main town with shops and cafés.
Sirmione
The most visited town on the lake, on a narrow peninsula with the Scaliger castle. Plenty of gelato and restaurants, but the old centre is crowded and priced for visitors; the Lugana vineyards are just inland.
Weekly town markets
Most lake towns have a weekly open-air market selling cheese, cured meats, olive oil and produce alongside clothes and household goods, each on a fixed weekday.
Food tours in Lake Garda compared
Every tour below is a real listing on GetYourGuide or Viator, checked on 2 Oct 2026. Prices move with season and group size, so treat them as a guide and confirm on the booking page.
| Tour | Length | Price* | Group | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Garda: Garda Hills Wine Tour and Tasting | 2 hours | from €45 per person | — | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
| Lake Garda: Panoramic Tour of the Farm and Olive Oil Tasting | 2 hours | from €35 per person | — | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
| Lake Garda: Guided Tour of the Olive Oil Mill with Tasting and Food Experience | 1.5 hours | from €26 per person | — | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
Lake Garda: Garda Hills Wine Tour and Tasting
On GetYourGuide · run by CittàdiLazise
- Length
- 2 hours
- Price
- from €45 per person
- Rating
- 4.8 ★ from 160 reviews (on 4 Oct 2026)
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
Lake Garda: Panoramic Tour of the Farm and Olive Oil Tasting
On GetYourGuide · run by Colle d'Oro sul Lago
- Length
- 2 hours
- Price
- from €35 per person
- Rating
- 4.9 ★ from 18 reviews (on 4 Oct 2026)
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
Lake Garda: Guided Tour of the Olive Oil Mill with Tasting and Food Experience
On GetYourGuide · run by Holidoit
- Length
- 1.5 hours
- Price
- from €26 per person
- Rating
- 4.3 ★ from 10 reviews (on 4 Oct 2026)
- Included
- Guided visit to the olive mill Olive oil tasting Aperitif or light lunch (depending on option selected) A glass of wine (or soft drink) Dessert
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
- Starts
- The experience takes place at Frantoio Venturelli.
Some links on this page are partner links. If you book through them TonyPlan earns a small commission — the price you pay is exactly the same.
Street food, sit-down or a cooking class?
Street food
There is little street food in the Asian sense. Eating on the move means a panino or piadina from a bar, a slice of focaccia, or gelato along the lakefront promenade. Market days are the best chance to graze on cheese and cured meats.
Sit-down meals
Most eating is sit-down: trattorias with lake fish and pasta, pizzerias, and wine bars. Lunch is about 12:30–14:30 and dinner from about 19:00; kitchens often close between services. In July and August the lakefront places fill up, so book in the evening, and expect a cover charge (coperto) of roughly €2–4 per person.
Cooking classes
Cooking classes around the lake usually teach fresh pasta (including tortellini or bigoli) and a sauce, often at a farmhouse or winery with a meal and wine afterwards. Olive-oil mills and wineries also run tastings that are easy to combine with a class.
How much to budget for food
| Style | Per person, per day* |
|---|---|
| Budget (street food, markets) | €35–45 (bar breakfast, panino or pizza lunch, simple trattoria dinner) |
| Mid-range (one sit-down meal a day) | €60–85 (two sit-down meals with wine) |
| Splurge (tasting menus, wine) | €120+ (a lakeside restaurant with a tasting menu and a good bottle) |
Vegetarian, halal and gluten-free
Vegetarian & vegan: Fairly easy. Pasta with butter and sage, risotto, polenta with cheese, vegetable dishes and pizza are everywhere. Check that tortellini are not meat-filled (most are) and that risotto stock is vegetable. Vegan options are thinner outside the bigger towns.
Halal: Halal food is rare around the lake. Fish, vegetarian pasta and pizza are the practical options; pork appears in many cured meats and some sauces, so ask. Larger towns such as Desenzano may have a kebab shop.
Gluten-free: Italy has good coeliac awareness. Many restaurants and pizzerias offer gluten-free pasta and pizza, and some are listed with the Italian Coeliac Association (AIC). Polenta, grilled fish and risotto are naturally gluten-free, but check for flour in sauces and shared fryers.
Food scams and tourist traps to avoid
- Tourist-menu restaurants on the busiest promenades (Sirmione, Malcesine, Limone) with frozen fish sold as 'lake fish' and high drink prices. Walk a few streets back from the waterfront, ask what fish is actually from the lake today, and check prices on the menu before sitting down.
- Fish priced per 100 g or per kilo, so a whole grilled fish costs far more than expected. Ask for the weight and the total price before it is cooked.
- Gift-shop olive oil and limoncello sold at high prices in pretty bottles, sometimes not from the area. Buy oil from a mill or farm that shows the harvest year and the Garda DOP label, and taste first.
- Being charged for still water, bread and cover without knowing. Coperto is legal if listed on the menu. Tap water is safe; ask for 'acqua del rubinetto' if you don't want bottled water, though some places will not serve it.
Top tours & activities in Lake Garda
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Staying near the markets saves time and taxi money — most food tours start in the old centre.
Common questions
Which side of Lake Garda is best for food?
It depends on what you want. The Veneto side (Bardolino, Lazise, Garda) is best for wine and relaxed trattorias. The south is close to Valeggio's tortellini and the Lugana vineyards. The north around Riva and Arco has heartier Trentino food at often fairer prices. The western shore has olive groves, lemon houses and quieter lakeside fish restaurants.
Is the fish really from the lake?
Not always. Lavarello (whitefish), trout and shad are caught or farmed locally, but perch and some other fish served lakeside are often imported or frozen. Ask the waiter which fish is from the lake that day. Smaller trattorias away from the busiest promenades are more likely to give you a straight answer.
Do I need to tip around Lake Garda?
Tipping is not expected in Italy. Most bills include a cover charge (coperto) of roughly €2–4 per person, and some add a service charge; check the bill. Leaving a few euros or rounding up for good service is appreciated. On a food or wine tour, roughly €5–10 per person for a good guide is a nice gesture but optional.
How much should I budget for food per day?
About €35–45 covers a coffee and pastry at a bar, a pizza or panino at lunch and a simple trattoria dinner. Two sit-down meals with a glass or two of wine is roughly €60–85. Lakefront restaurants in Sirmione and Malcesine are noticeably more expensive than inland villages and the northern towns.
When are restaurants open?
Lunch runs from about 12:00 to 14:30 and dinner from about 19:00 to 22:00, with kitchens usually closed in between. Many restaurants have a weekly closing day. From November to March a lot of lakeside places, especially on the western and northern shores, close for the season or open only on weekends.
Can I visit wineries and olive mills without a tour?
Yes. Many wineries around Bardolino, Lazise and the Lugana area have tasting rooms, and some oil mills have shops with tastings. Smaller producers often want you to book ahead, especially on weekends. If you plan to taste at several places, a tour or a designated driver is wise because Italian drink-driving limits are strict.
* Prices are approximate, gathered on 2 Oct 2026 from menus, markets and the booking pages linked above. They change with season and exchange rates.