Relais La Speranzina in Sirmione

Unfortunately, this was by far the worst dining experience of our honeymoon throughout Italy.
We decided to splurge on the paired food and wine tasting menu, expecting an unforgettable Michelin-level experience. Instead, we left deeply disappointed.
The service was absolutely terrible from start to finish. More often than not, our water glasses sat empty, and several times they were refilled with flat water despite us ordering sparkling. Not once did anyone stop to properly check on the table. By the end of the evening, I was stacking dirty plates at the edge of the table myself in hopes someone would remove them, yet servers continued walking past with empty hands without acknowledging them.
The wine pairing was equally disappointing and incredibly inconsistent. The wines did not complement the dishes well at all — nearly every pour leaned overly sweet — and the timing was chaotic. At times we received wine pairings 30+ minutes before the corresponding course arrived, while other courses came out with no wine at all until staff scrambled to correct it after noticing.
Table maintenance throughout the meal was almost nonexistent. Crumbs from the opening cracker course remained on the table for the majority of dinner and were only cleared once. When dishes were explained, the waiter felt rushed and short, often standing table side long enough to clearly see empty glasses and crumbs, yet choosing to ignore them and move on.
Ironically, the only staff member who asked how we were doing all evening was the woman pouring the wines, likely because she could visibly tell I was upset. Even then, nothing changed.
We ultimately left before finishing the final courses, though we still paid the full price. On our way out, the manager asked how things were, and when my husband politely explained the experience had been subpar, his response was: “Oh, we’ve had a rough holiday weekend.” Completely unacceptable for a restaurant operating at this level and price point.
Because I did not want to disrupt the experience of the surrounding diners — many of whom appeared to be dealing with similar frustrations — I chose not to escalate the situation publicly in the dining room. Instead, I reached out afterward to the manager who had originally responded so promptly to our honeymoon reservation inquiry. I expressed our disappointment and asked whether there was any opportunity for reconciliation. I have since followed up twice with no response whatsoever, despite her initially replying within a day when booking the reservation.
This is especially unfortunate because the venue itself is beautiful, and you can absolutely see the chef’s artistry and talent within the dishes. However, when course timing is inconsistent, wine pairings feel completely disconnected, and service falls dramatically short, a restaurant proudly carrying a Michelin star should be reevaluated for whether it still deserves that distinction.
After dining at many Michelin-starred restaurants throughout Italy — and even several non-Michelin restaurants in Sirmione that greatly exceeded this experience — I would strongly recommend skipping this extremely expensive disappointment.

Our server abruptly said that our check “does not include a tip” with service fee clearly listed a €20 service charge. Then he suggested we include 10% on total bill and entered it into the credit card transaction machine. Never has a waiter been so rude regarding a required tip to for a fine dining Italian meal for two amounting in a 66€ tip. Otherwise, delighted but felt exploited in their tipping requirements.

Restaurant review.

We dined there on a Sunday night.
The owner is really nice, staff too.
Expectation were quite high because it's 1 star Micheline.
many mistakes of the floor staff: table wasn't cleaned between meals; I asked for extra wine outside the wine tasting option I chose and they didn't bring to me until I had to get up and go after them and tell them to bring me more wine... Got me a 30eur glass of champagne without asking what I wanted.
We picked tasting menu and they added the seventh course, a lobster....Unnecessary and that was a 43eur dish.
The table next to us was very loud and I asked they staff 4 times to tell them to be quieter please, answer was 'they are loud in my opinion'... No comment there I guess.
The chef dishes are all very similar and he puts mayonese in every dishes in different colors. Literally. They all tasted the same.
650eur bill for 2 people.
We got completely ripped off.
The dinner value is not there.
We ate in many starred restaurants, I paid this money in Modena at the osteria francescana (3 stars Micheline) That was value for money.
So that's why I rate 1 star this place.
Not worth it.

Everything was going good when we arrived, everyone was very helpful and nice then the room was not a 5 star hotel , was full of mosquitoes and smelling like old furniture. The room that we stayed was equipped with the sauna and was very nice and clean. The breakfast in the morning was average not a Michelin star for sure (but the Restaurant for dinner or lunch for sure is wonderful and has the nicest view in town. The day we left we told the reception that we’re leaving earlier than 9 am when the breakfast starts and they promised will have some pastries and coffee made for us to take it to go ( and was nothing like that) also I have to help the only 1 guy that was there to load our luggage in the car. Please if you guys go to Sirmione eat here but don’t stay here is more like 3 star service and Hotel.