Our most memorable meal is at the Antica Osteria De Porto, in Lugano, housed in a mustard farm and warehouse building, festooned with fairy lights, run by a local couple near the Cassarate River as it flows into Lake Lugano- a delicious meal of salads, local spaghetti in white sauce with fresh pepper, and white merlot wine, with a stellar dessert of walnut ice cream with a topping of nocino, the local liqueur made from green walnuts. I soak in the fairy-tale ambience and the Italian flavour in this corner of Switzerland.

A charming place where the Cassarate River meets Lake Lugano, creating a romantic setting under the shade of three majestic centuries-old plane trees. Here, history merges with the life of the people of Lugano, offering a new culinary interpretation that celebrates the past with a fresh and contemporary vision, using high-quality ingredients preferably sourced from local suppliers. On the banks of the Cassarate River stood the Osteria del Porto, which over the years has earned the title of "Antica" (Ancient).

Zoals de naam al doet vermoeden, is dit een oude en zeer sfeervolle taverne aan de rivier de Cassarate en tegenover het Parco Civico-Ciani. Dineer buiten terwijl u geniet van het uitzicht op het meer terwijl u gerechten van lokale ingrediënten, zoals vis, vers van het meer, proeft. Er zijn verschillende traditionele Ticinese gerechten die u ook kunt proeven, zoals de polenta crostini met porcini.

There where the Cassarate river reaches its mouth and marries with the lake, there is something new. It grafts with history, it intersects in the life of the people of Lugano but with a new image and a new substance: L'Antica Osteria del Porto. Address : Via Foce 9, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland

This restaurant is located on the mouth of the Cassarate River, as it enters Lake Lugano. The premises were formerly used as docks for loading and offloading goods for towns upstream. It was a welcome stop for travelers in the 19th century.