One of the features of dining at the restaurant in Hotel Catullo in Sirmione, Italy, is the view, with fabulous sunsets almost every evening. (Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes)

I’ve been vacationing in Sirmione on Lake Garda for years, enjoying the swimming, the lounging and the dining out. But this summer, I found out I’d been doing the last part wrong.

Lake Garda has loads of good restaurants, which all serve pretty much the same things: fresh fish and shellfish, various pastas, grilled meat, pizza and, for the Germans, schnitzel. I’d always liked picking one and taking a walk to get there, and I was almost always satisfied with my dinner.

But this year I noticed that I was spending more than 30 euros ($35) for a modest meal consisting of a main dish, a salad and two tiny glasses of wine, along with the obligatory bottled water and cover charge.

This time I checked into eating at my hotel, where previously I was only getting the included breakfast. I’d heard from friends that Hotel Catullo had a terrific kitchen. The setting, on an arbor-covered patio a few feet from the lake, with glorious sunset views, was lovelier than most other restaurants on the island. But what clinched it was the price: 25 euros.

Pasta with cherry tomatoes is among the many dishes available at the restaurant at Hotel Catullo in Sirmione. (Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes)

A second course of grilled fish and shellfish at Hotel Catullo in Sirmione, Italy, where diners can order a la carte or, if they're hotel guests, can choose the more economical and equally delicious set menu. (Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes)

Scallops and prawns Catalan style is from Hotel Catullo's a la carte menu and costs 17 euros. The course menu for hotel guests at 25 euros is the better deal. (Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes)

Choosing to eat dinner at Hotel Catullo from the restaurant's set menu means dessert, such as this eclair, is included. (Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes)

Now I was getting an appetizer, a first course, a second course, a salad and a dessert. There were always two or three choices for the first and second courses, which varied daily. 

One night, the appetizer was veal slices in tuna sauce followed by a choice of pasta with either cheese sauce or with monkfish and pumpkin cream. After that came either grouper with tomato sauce, pork with red wine sauce or a salami and cheese platter. Dessert was peach mousse.

 As the evenings passed, I had grilled octopus, osso bucco, pastas, fish from the lake, fried zucchini flowers, eclairs and other delights. I was getting a better, more diverse dining experience than I’d had at the other restaurants. Plus the water was free, and the wine, although not, was poured with owner Fabio’s more generous hand.

I also ordered off Catullo’s a la carte menu, once each for lunch and dinner, and was similarly pleased with the high-quality dishes: pasta with black truffle, shrimp and avocado salad, grilled scallops and prawns. Those meals were a lot more expensive, but they were worth it as well.

Hotel Catullo in Sirmione, Italy, serves diners on a covered patio close to Lake Garda, where the sun still shines bright at 7 p.m. in the summer. (Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes)

Hotel Catullo in Sirmione, Italy, provides a shady glade for drinks, before or after a meal. (Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes)

Address: Piazza Flaminia, 7, 25019 Sirmione BS

Hours: Noon to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily

Price: Appetizers and first courses are 13 to 18 euros; second courses are 16 to 24 euros. For hotel guests, 25 euros for four courses.

English menu: Yes

Information: Online: hotelcatullo.it/; info@hotelcatullo.it; Phone (+39) 030 990 5811.