La Locanda dei Folletti In Verbania

We had been looking for a restaurant for a long time that made good polenta on Lake Maggiore, without having to go somewhere far away and in the mountains, well we found it a few days ago on Google, right in the center of the pedestrian area of ​​Verbania. Characteristic and very beautiful place, in keeping with the name of the inn, not very large, with 2 rooms and about thirty seats, it is not easy to find, although in the pedestrian center of beautiful Verbania, because it is a small street with few shops and parallel to the main, busier uphill one, but is well indicated with signs, on the right starting from the main square of the town and on Google Maps. The owner Miriam's welcome was very warm and smiling, immediately putting us at ease and describing the dishes on the menu to us with her good typical cuisine, with the 4 types of polenta, the cold cuts with local cheeses and the homemade tigelle by them, so this inn can be better defined as "Polenteria e tigelleria", apologizing for having excluded from the menu the first courses they cooked until a few months ago. My wife and I tried 2 types of polenta, the "concia" with butter and melted cheeses and the one with chopped wild boar, cooked very well and soft (for those who don't know, wild boar meat is typically very tough being a wild animal and not farmed) and the polenta, as well as being very good, is soft and cooked in such a way as to make it easy on digestion, and is served in a terracotta crock which keeps it warm and tasty. We also tasted 2 of the many homemade desserts, the fabulous tiramisu and the soft (..never tried before...) meringue with caramel, also delicious, accompanying the dishes with ¼ of a good house Barbera red wine , a liter of demineralised mineral water and 2 deca coffees, for a total of €38.50, which I consider to be an excellent quality/price ratio, given the refinement of the good basic products and the excellent light and digestible cuisine. The owner was very nice and sociable during our lunch, describing in great detail the products sought and used for each dish on the menu, highlighting the local origin and their quality, she also offered us free at the end of the meal, a good typical Sardinian liqueur, Mirto, handcrafted by the mother. Coming often to the area for our leisure throughout the year and living in a nearby but less beautiful area, we will return to taste, in addition to the other polenta offered on the menu (..with gorgonzola and truffle 😋), also the good homemade tigelle, the local cured meats and cheeses and the good homemade desserts (panna cotta, various tarts, etc.) that Miriam prepares daily, I recommend it to you too, if you come to the area and want to try something special and of quality, without spending a great figure 😉.