Al Castello

We were only in Vernazza for 2 days, but visited Il Pirata multiple times. The main guy running the…read morecafe is very chatty and runs the pastry side of the business, while his brother apparently runs the rest of the food menu. Everything we tried was delicious, and appealed to me more than the super-touristy spots further down the road (though obviously most of the clientele here are also tourists). Prices seemed reasonable for the amount/quantity of food. Most importantly, Il Parata sells toilet paper, which proved hard to come by in Vernazza. Be sure to arrive before 5pm if you want food (outside of cannolis, which were available later).

The only shame is that I can't remember the owners name, but I definitely remember his good…read morehospitable energy and great food. He was so passionate about each pastry and dish which makes all the difference. Some chefs are just robotically serving up something to make money, but once in a while you come across the few special ones who are crafting their passion into an experience of flavor - they care about the customer, they care about the food, they want to see smiles and make your day memorable. They create an atmosphere out of their own infectious energy. These artists are truly making the world a better place and I can definitely say that about this establishment. They served this pistachio cannoli which was loaded with ricotta and actual pistachio flavor touched with orange, which was the best cannoli we had through a month of gluttonous Italian adventure. Their pistachio croissant matched the greatness and in fact was even better than any that we found in France! The berry panna cotta was also perfectly balanced being quite the treat yet clean feeling; the trademark Cinque Terre pesto gnocchi of course hit the spot; and the walnut ravioli sheesh what flavor as well as unique factor - dare I say, I even tasted a hint of hazelnut. If you go to Cinque Terre they say have have to go to Vernazza, and if you go to Vernazza I'm saying you have to visit Il Pirata. It's a little peace away from the madness tucked into the top of the street. They will treat you right

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Panna Cotta

Belforte

4.2(156 reviews)

0.0 km

•€€€

This was one of my favorite experiences of our trip. We had a beautiful dinner at Belforte in…read moreVernazza. We were drawn to the breathtaking views and had to eat here for our last meal in Cinque Terre. The Squid Ink Pasta with Shrimp was delicious! I've never had squid ink pasta but thoroughly enjoyed it. The noodles were cooked al dente and the shrimp was flavorful, fresh, and succulent. Highly recommend, whether you're celebrating a special occasion or enjoying a vacation in Cinque Terre!

Over a month ago my wife and I made a dinner reservation to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary…read more Dinner at Belforte was to be the celebratory event of our trip from the US to Vernazza. We arrived to find they had no reservation on record despite our confirmation email. On further review they had scheduled the incorrect date for our reservation. They offered a table in the corner where we were rudely greeted by a waiter who clearly was irritated to have us added on. When I presented their error they said it wasn't their fault as reservations are handled elsewhere. No real effort to resolve their error and a throwaway apology for our inconvenience. We left disappointed and our anniversary dinner was ruined. No thanks Belforte! You ruined one of the significant events of our marriage.

View from table

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Wine grown on the hills shown in the pictures. Delicious.

Ristorante La Torre

4.3(100 reviews)

0.3 km

The atmosphere (namely the view) gets 10 stars. You have one of the best views of the sunset,…read morewater, and sunset in Riomaggiore. Note, from town ground level, it is a climb - 225 steps to the restaurant. The food was great, we had the spaghetti alla mari and lasagna al ragu, plus a limoncello and a local sweet wine, Sciacchetrà, which reminded us of a port but less sweet. The service was fantastic - our waitress was friendly and checked in with us occasionally which was perfect. We didn't have reservations but they kindly sat us at a table with an amazing view.

Amazing views, wonderful dessert and one of the very few places in town that makes steak in Cinque…read moreTerre! The desserts are to die for! The cheesecake... wow wow wow! The walk although all uphill is quite easy to do and takes only 7 mins and the views walking up makes it totally worth it. One of the better restaurants in Varnezzq and surprisingly cost is very similar places without view.

Drinks

Grilled fish

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Night view from restaurant

Gambero Rosso

4.0(43 reviews)

•€€€€

Solid Italian seafood restaurant in the middle of many others by the water in vernazza. Food was…read moreGood not great but adequate. Service was weak (long wait for drinks) but I walked up to internal bar, made friends with bartender and took care of my drink orders on my own. Good in a pinch.

Amazing food, wonderful location and happy local servers/staff. Highly recommend the warm seafood…read moresalad. Outstanding!

26 October 2022

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The restaurant setting

Bar del Capitano

4.5(2 reviews)

This place was awesome! The mixed seafood anti pasta was the best…read more Will definitely be back again! Great wine

Part of a tour, so we get a lot of pastas, not much seafood. Try Sorrento or Napoli for seafood…read moredishes fresh from the harbor. Vermentino house white wine.

Seafood pasta, prawns/langoustines? Tomatoes, light sauce.

Good flavors, skimpy on the seafood. Compared to Napoli and Sorrento. Prices reflect Italian Riviera.

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Empty plates

Taverna del Capitano

3.3(31 reviews)

We were immediately greeted and chose a table outside with a view. Everything else was closed on a…read morecold holiday afternoon in January, so despite the bad reviews, we chose to eat here. Staff were cordial, and no one was rude; however, there was only one other customer sitting outside with us. There wasn't a lot of choice on the menu, and the linguine with crab for €16 sounded good, so I ordered that and a glass of white wine for €6. We were given a brown paper bag with bread inside it (see pic), and because I'd read reviews, I asked whether the bread was extra, and was told that the bread was included in the cover charge of €2.50 per person. The reviews stating the bread is stale were correct; the dry bread was inedible, and we weren't given anything to go with it. I gave a little bit to the pigeons walking around our table, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. I was extremely disappointed when my meal arrived. A plate of pasta (I can't tell you the flavor of the sauce) with several small crabs on top and below, with nothing to crack open the shell! I asked the waiter how I was supposed to crack the crabs open, and he brought me a plate with 2 wipes and a seafood cracker, but no seafood pick. This would have worked if the crabs on my pasta were larger and not so rubbery, but I ended up having to use my fingers and fingernails to extract the crab meat and place it on my pasta (a seafood pick would have been nice.) My hands were absolutely filthy & cold, and my pasta was cold by the time I finished fighting with the crabs. My suggestion to the restaurant would be to serve only the crab meat on the pasta instead of serving the crabs whole, so the guest can enjoy their pasta. My pasta and wine were fine. They served the purpose of filling my stomach on a very cold day. The bathroom, however, was disgusting. I hope they clean it more often during high season!

Location, location, location! This place is on the lower square at bottom of Vernazza (Cinque…read moreTerre) just steps away from the water on Gulf of Genoa & Ligurian Sea. We had party of 6, and all but 1 liked our dishes a lot (shrimp/anchovies was not loved). The house red wine is a lighter style Cinque Terre DOC that pleased everyone. Since pasta with pesto is one of the regional specialties, 3 of us ordered this and we're not disappointed. The ravioli came in a walnut sauce that was fantastic! Despite having a reservation requested for outside, we had to sit inside. This was a bit disappointing on a beautiful afternoon, but not a big deal. The service was hurried and not friendly, hence my reduced rating.

Inside

Two of the three types of anchovies I'd eat. One was way fishy and salty.

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View from tables on patio

Pippo a Vernazza

4.9(20 reviews)

0.3 km

This is a popular spot in Vernazza for pasta! We arrived around 12:40 pm and there was a small line…read moreto order. We ended up getting our food at 1:05 pm, so the wait wasn't too much. There's a couple of tables outside the restaurant, but it can be hard to snag a table since a lot of people are waiting around. We were able to sit at a bench nearby, but for the most part, people were just standing around and eating. The pesto pasta is their most popular order, it's includes the local Ligurian pasta: trofie, distinguished by its thin and twisted shape. The trofie & pesto was delicious and comforting, as a pesto enjoyer. The other pasta dish we got was the pasta al sugo di orata, a tomato sauce pasta with seafood. This dish was also delicious and I enjoyed the topping additions. Portions were fantastic and the price was very fair. Pippo a Vernazza is a no frills spot, but you can expect some good pasta, I would definitely check them out them if you're in the mood for pasta.

The pesto pasta was amazing!!!! Friendly service. Pasta with sausage sauce, caprese, garlic…read moreshrimps, and the tuna with tomatoes and onions was very nice. Raw in the inside and just cooked lightly on the outside.

Menu as of August 2023

Crustacean pasta, shrimp salad and pesto pasta

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Main entrance

Il Baretto

3.6(16 reviews)

0.2 km

•€€€

11/2/2013 My husband…read moreand I hiked from Monterosso to Vernazza (in Cinque Terre) and after spending some time hanging out by the waterfront, and enjoying some gelato...we ventured to find a restaurant in Vernazza that would serve some good authentic Cinque Terre cuisine! We came across this restaurant -- as it was one of the few that still remain open during the latter part of the afternoon. We entered and sat down for lunch! It was also featured in Rick Steve's Italy 2013 tour book. We ordered: Ravioli with fish (homemade), it came with 3 shrimps, 14€ - I ordered this dish, as the guide book specified that this place makes great homemade ravioli with fish. I thought it was decent and flavorful...especially what was inside the ravioli. The other ingredients (chopped veggies+ seafood) that came w/ the ravioli helped to add some color to the dish. Spaghetti marinara spicy, 10€ - my husband ordered this, and he thought it was pretty tasty. :) In my opinion, I thought the spaghetti was a bit plain, but he likes tomato marinara sauce type pastas and was happy it came out pipin' hot and filled him up. Marinated anchovies, lemon flavor, 10€ - this was our appetizer and Cinque Terre region is suppose to be known for their anchovies! oh - it was delightful to eat, and the lemon made it very refreshing and tarty. :) It definitely wasn't salty, as how typical anchovies are... these were just delicious. You should try this if you venture into this restaurant, you won't be disappointed. Anchovies were fresh (they probably caught them earlier in the day or week). We sat at the very interior of the restaurant (in the cave) or sorts...so there was no wi-fi or cell phone reception. There was a cover charge, but for some reason -- we didn't get any bread to go with our meal? What's wrong with that? Overall, we enjoyed our meal and the items we ordered. Glad everything was fresh and tasty. Was just disappointed that there was no bread to go with our meal, especially since most restaurants include bread + olive oil/vinegar as part of the cover charge.

While easily spotted on the main street in Vernazza, Il Baretto came suggested in a few articles…read moreonline, so we chose this for our first meal in this beautiful seaside town. The patio seating is actually just across the street from their indoor area, and makes for great people watching, even in the late evening when the bulk of the tourists and beach-goers have left town. Naturally, we had to sit outside and there was plenty of room with it 40% occupied or so. As with many places in Vernazza, the menu skews towards fish and shellfish, but there are plenty of options for those who don't like that sort of thing or are allergic. My wife and I started out with a caprese salad and grilled vegetables, respectively, as well as a bottle of a Cinque Terre white wine. My veggies were simple, but good; zucchini, carrot, green pepper and egg plant all got a nice char from the grill and were finished with some olive oil and herbs. The caprese salad came a bit differently than we'd often seen offered, with just mozzarella and tomatos and no basil leaves, but it was still great. The mozzarella had more flavour than some we've had in Italy and the fresh hunks of bright red tomatoes were tasty as well. A great start to the meal. For our mains, my wife ordered the trofie pesto (little handmade noodles) and I got the croxetti genovese ragu (flat, medallion-like noodles). The pesto was fantastic, with a moderated basil punch, balanced well by the olive oil, and the pasta was cooked perfectly. My ragu was hearty and beefy, and I enjoyed the efficiency with which I could eat the large croxetti noodles, not having to twirl, scoop or chase them around my plate. The wine was very easy drinking, not having the tang to it that many French whites and others back home tend to have. If we had wanted to settle in and get our Canada Day drink on here, it would have gone down quite easily. As it was we had to slow down before finishing the bottle before our main courses arrived. Our server was super friendly and spoke great English. Not that there seemed to be many bad places to eat in Vernazza, but it's hard to go wrong at Il Baretto.

Gnocchi agli scampi

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An Aperol a day...,

Trattoria da Sandro

4.1(34 reviews)

0.2 km

•€€€

Came here for dinner after hiking from Monterosso, as we were seeking a casual place to eat. This…read morerestaurant is located right near the train station. We were seated outside and our waiter was very friendly and welcoming. For an appetizer we got the stuffed anchovies. Definitely something I would have never tried back home but was recommended to us and we definitely enjoyed them. It didn't taste too fishy and was a good light appetizer to share (comes with 5 pieces). For dinner my husband and I split the seafood spaghetti (minimum of 2 must be ordered) and it was amazing!!! The seafood was fresh and the tomato sauce was delicious! This was one of the few pasta dishes I've had that didn't make me feel full and heavy afterwards. This is definitely a dish I would specifically come back for in the future!

This place had great food. The service was quick and the waiters were kind. There's no view of the…read morewater, but the city view is nice. We had a little rain when we were here and sitting on the outside I got a little wet, but all in all I would definitely recommend this place.

Stuffed anchovies

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Vulnetia

3.3(39 reviews)

Service was really awful (I don't love Italy's "whichever waiter decides to ask takes part of your…read moreorder") We had three waiters take our order drinks/appetizers/dinner and they seemed really annoyed at us when they forgot stuff... the octopus salad was the best thing we got- tender and interesting- the walnut cream pasta was good- pizza was alright but very Italian with spotty cheese and runny tomato sauce. Aperol & lemon cello spritzes we're heavy handed with liqueurs, so very bitter and thick. Don't think I'd come back- Luca was better across the way. Okay if you can't go elsewhere.

Visiting Cinque Terre in mid-November when the weather is cold and most shops and restaurants seem…read moreto be closed means limited options overall. On a Thursday evening in Vernazza, where we were staying, we really only had four open restaurants to choose from for dinner: Vulnetia, Gianni Franzi, Taverna Del Capitano, and Il Baretto. Il Baretto had the best reviews on TripAdvisor, its average 4-star rating exceeding the mediocre 3-3.5 ratings of the other three. However, I really wanted to try Tegame Vernazza, a local specialty of baked anchovy with potatoes, as well as a pasta I hadn't tried before. Vulnetia had the best combination of menu diversity and reasonable prices. Under other circumstances during the regular season, we probably would have avoided all four restaurants. Alas, we made do. My husband and I were delighted to discover that at the least the ambience was beautifully decorated and warm inside. The cover charge of 2 euros per person included bread--stale white bread without any condiment of EVO, butter, or balsamic vinegar. We ordered the tegame Vernazza (15 euros) and the pansotti with walnut sauce (14 euros). Both were good, not amazing, and both portions were on the smaller end. The walnut sauce, plopped on top of the stuffed pasta, was not terribly flavorful and was stingy in amount, not enough to fully mix the pansotti, much less to sop the bread with. The dishes came out suspiciously quickly, but did satiate the curiosity if not the appetite. Service was extraordinary slow, even though we were one of a handful of parties there. In the evening, it was nice that the waiters weren't rushing us to leave, allowing us to take our time.