Passport edition: Livigno

This has been on the cards for a while.  Since we are food loving travel addicts, we often get asked about favourite restaurants abroad, or for restaurant recommendations when friends are traveling.

This is therefore the first of its kind, our restaurant recommendations in foreign cities. We love the snow, and skiing - a sport we never get to practice in Malta.  This sees us visiting places like Livigno often, and we enjoy going to Livigno because it is well connected (even though it's far), and offers the perfect balance between skiing for all levels, apres ski, shopping, snow activities, and good food.

So here you have it, our list of favourite restaurants in Livigno:

1. Bivio Cantina
This restaurant sky rocketed to becoming our favourite restaurant in Livigno. We ambled in one night, when we did not feel like straying too far from the center. What a surprise awaited us inside! The restaurant is part of the Bivio hotel, and you need to take the stairs since it is located in the cantina, next to the famous bar/disco. You hear nothing of the outside or disco noise in the restaurant - possibly because it was still early. You are welcomed by a friendly and knowledgeable waiter, who accompanies you to your table, ensconced by wine bottles. We were already happy. The menu offers a number of mountain favourites, and we must mention the two sharing main courses we had on the two nights we visited: the first time we enjoyed the grilled "cervo" (deer) served with finferli mushrooms and crunchy polenta; the second night we shared the chateaubriand. Both were superb. The presentation attentive and welcoming. Dessert was mouthwatering - you will see a golden globe in the photo below, it was a sphere of chocolatey goodness.




2. Paprika
For a long time this was our favourite Livigno restaurant. It still is one of our favourites. Book ahead, and enjoy the traditional delicacies. We have always been happy with its wine list, and the menu has changed over the years but delivers some favourites such as the lamb chops.




3.  Focolare
We visited this newly refurbished restaurant twice this year - the first time was for lunch in the terrace, and the second was for dinner. Each time, the food choice was balanced between family favourites and traditional mountain fare. We loved our lunch choices.  For dinner, I would have liked a few lighter options on the menu as dining out for a week was taking its toll by then. We still enjoyed it, plus the table side dessert preparation the people in the table next to ours had ordered was extremely entertaining.




4. Why not? 
This newly opened gourmet burger joint had us returning in order to sample different things. The cocktails are amazing, the burgers fanciful but well sized, and were devoured in appropriate timings. We loved the deconstructed tiramisu for dessert. Requires booking as it fills up very fast.





5. La Bait del Ghet 
Famously difficult to get into, prepare to stand in line. This place feels like home, and while it feels like practically everybody in Livigno has come to eat here, we love it for a quick bite. A thin and crispy pizza, or a hearty plate of pasta, followed by a shot (or more) of the many liquors on display and which will be brought to your table by the friendly staff. We usually target it at unusual times, late lunch or early dinner for example, so that we can get a table without having to wait. It's worked for us so far.



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