Hi,

I'll be in CT in May staying in Vernazza. We will visit all of the CT towns and Portofino, Santa Margherita and perhaps Portovenre. Can anyone recommend some great authentic Italian restaurants? Thanks.

Daria

They are all authentic since they are all Italian.

Hi, Daria,
I was in Portovenere a few years ago and the best restaurant we ate in was Da Iseo. It's on the waterfront next to several others; we did try at least 2 others, and Da Iseo was considerably better. That was 4 years ago, though, so anything could've happened in that time.

Thanks very much progol. Anyone else?

I had a memorable lunch a couple of years ago on the terrace at Restaurant Cecio in Corniglia (Via Serra 58.) The views of the ocean and surrounding villages are gorgeous. The food was of beautiful quality, simply prepared.

Some of the best gnocchi al pesto I have ever tasted, fresh anchovies with lemon, and beautiful fresh strawberries for dessert. They specialize in seafood.

Yum! Sounds great Lesli. Thanks.

Any other suggestions? I haven't read much on this site about restaurants in Monterosso.

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Also good for a dinner in Vernazza was Gambero Rosso Ristorante, Piazza Marconi, 7.

There are quite a few Cinque terre restaurant reviews on slowtrav.com:
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/restau...tcountry=Italy

Thank you for that great suggestion Lesli! I've been to that slowtrav.com before, but I guess I never made it to that section. It is really helpful!

daria,

Several years ago we enjoyed a good lunch and spectacular view at Al Costello in Vernazza. It's many many steps up, but view is worth the climb.

In Monterosso, the best dinner we had was at the Porto Roca, where we were staying. It was wonderful!

Byrd

Great! Thank you Byrd.

Any other suggestions?

I've eaten in all the places you will be either staying in or visiting. However, I know the CT best so will respond re: restaurants there.

In Manarola, there is a delightful restaurant owned by a husband/wife team with their sons as the cooks. The name is Il Porticello (sp?) as I recall. I may be way off on the name, but you can't miss the restaurant...it is on the main street that leads down to the harbor, and will be on your right hand side. Further down on the left (at the waterfront) is a terrific little gelato place for some truly delicious gelato!

In Riomaggiore, try La Grotta, located at the base of Via De Gasperi (the main street) for some delicious ligurian fare at reasonable prices. (All the Rick Steves enthusiasts go to La Lampara, at the little harbor, but the food and quality there is not as good as at La Grotta.

I ate at Da Iseo in Portovenere last year and would second 'progol's' opinion, it is a good choice on the waterfront there.

The specialties of the Liguria region and Cinque Terre are "penne al pesto" and is usually prepared with a penne or trofie pasta, sometimes with a linguine. Fresh "frutti di mare" (fried seafood platters) are common in nearly every restaurant and have absolutely wonderful fresh fish (some I hadn't even heard of before). The shrimp ("gamber&quot alone is enough to write home about as it is much larger the the U.S. "jumbo" versions! Muscoli (mussels) are commonly served, prepared steamed in water, with a touch of olive oil, lemon, and parsley. Also, foccacia bread was invented in Genoa, the 'authentic' Italian version is a lot different than the fluffier versions served here in the U.S. Theirs is nearly as flat as a thin crust pizza and comes with a variety of toppings or ingredients baked in.