The Lake Garda area boasts numerous traditional products that give life to a variety of delightful culinary specialties. This fortunate situation is due to the lake's location, positioned at the crossroads of Lombardy, Veneto, and Trentino-Alto Adige. As such, it draws inspiration from different regional cuisines and combines recipes considered among the best in Northern Italy. So, what are the must-try dishes on Lake Garda?

The Top Fish Dishes

Fish is one of the local zero-kilometer products that Lake Garda offers. Whitefish, sardines, pike, carpione, lake trout, tench, bleak, and perch are just some of the fish caught in the waters of Lake Garda. With these top-quality ingredients, the best traditional fish dishes include:

• Sisàm: a dish made with small bleak (aole), usually served as an appetizer. Today, sisàm is a real delicacy, but it originally served as a method of preserving fish. The bleak are cooked with golden onions, oil, water, vinegar, and sugar, then stored in glass or terracotta jars and covered with olive oil. This tasty treat, rich in aromas, pairs well with toasted bread or polenta.
• Bigoli with Sardines: a traditional dish typically enjoyed on Good Friday or Christmas Eve. This is a first course of fresh pasta, bigoli, which resemble thick spaghetti. Handmade using a press, bigoli have a rough surface that better absorbs the sardine and cherry tomato sauce. To best enjoy this dish, I suggest visiting Osteria Rivelin in Peschiera or Ristorante Da Rino in Manerba.
• Pike in Garda Sauce: once boiled, the pike is plated and seasoned with a sauce made of sautéed onions in extra virgin olive oil, garlic, finely chopped anchovies, capers, and parsley. This splendid dish is best accompanied by soft polenta.

I also recommend other fish delicacies like the flavorful risotto with tench, the famous sardines in saor, and the superb lake fish soup, perfectly paired with wonderful local white wines such as Lugana, Custoza, or Soave.

The Top Meat Dishes

The Lake Garda region also boasts many excellent "land" products, such as various types of honey (dandelion, acacia, chestnut, mountain pine, and wildflower), Garda DOP extra virgin olive oil, and cheeses like the fragrant Formaggella di Tremosine and the bold yet pleasant aged Garda cheese.

The most iconic meat dishes from the Lake Garda culinary tradition include:

• Carne Salada: a typical delicacy of the Upper Garda cuisine, often served as an appetizer. Carne salada is made from the finest cuts of beef, aged, dry-marinated with coarse salt, pepper, and garlic, and then brined with juniper berries and aromatic herbs. It is served raw with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan flakes. Notable places to try carne salada are La Berlera in Riva del Garda, Foci da Rita, and Piè di Castello in Tenno.
• Risotto with Amarone: a famous dish considered a splendid combination of two regional excellences: Vialone Nano IGP rice and the renowned Amarone della Valpolicella wine.
• Boiled Meat with Pearà Sauce: a highlight of Lake Garda's cuisine, essential for festive occasions. It consists of mixed boiled meats (beef, cotechino sausage, head meat, and tongue) served with flavorful pearà sauce made with stale bread, broth, bone marrow, and plenty of black pepper.
• Garda-Style Spit Roast: more than just a dish, it’s a ritual during the autumn/winter season, enjoyed with family and friends. Pieces of meat (rabbit, chicken, ribs, pork shoulder, and small birds) alternate with potatoes and sage leaves on skewers. The cooking process must be slow and last at least 4 hours. The best places to savor Garda-style spit roast are Ristorante Al Terrazzo in Tignale and Antica Cascina San Zago in Salò.

Other dishes worth a "thorough" tasting include the ancient carbonera (a type of cheesy polenta once eaten daily by coal workers) and the savory tortellini and tortelli of Valeggio (also called "Love Knots" due to their shape) from Ristorante Bue d'Oro. Red wines like Garda Classico Groppello, Bardolino, and Valtenesi DOC are ideal for enhancing the flavors of these traditional dishes.

Don't forget to try Lake Garda's typical desserts, such as Fogassa (sweet focaccia), Spongada, Sanvigilini cookies with raisins, Sbrisolona with almonds, and the fragrant Madernina lemon cake.

To end your meal in style, a fresh artisanal limoncello or a local Lake Garda amaro like Amaro del Farmacista, Amaro Zerotrenta, or Amaro Tassoni is the perfect digestive.