My husband and I learned about this restaurant from a gay guide that said if you want authentic Italian regional cuisine, this is the place. Were they ever right! This place is a little hidden away, atop a staircase in Salita Salvatore Viale, but is very much worth the extra little hike.
Hosteria I Maneggi is a smallish, family-owned and run place. Our server was also the owner, Signor Corrado, who took the time to go over the menu in Italian for us, explaining what each dish was. Our Italian is rusty, but we understood most of what he said. He was so warm and welcoming, and we knew immediately that we were in for a treat. He brought us homemade bread and focaccia (of which we gobbled up two entire baskets!) and a lovely, different regional red, which was young, but quite delightful. He explained the history of the place, the town, and of the regional dishes like Insalata di Polipo, the Prosciutto crudo parma, the famous Genovese pesto in the Trofie alla Genovese, and we had a lovely ravioli as well.
Dessert was not a disappointment, and Corrado told me how he invented his own dessert which had a sweet pana cotta base and featured basil as the star ingredient! Wow! Squisitissimo! We were offered various digestifs, which he explained, and finally settled on a nice port. Espresso followed and we felt we had definitely dined well indeed!
We would highly recommend this to anyone, and when in Genoa again, we will be back. Mille grazie, Signor Corrado! Erà un piacere enorme!
David & Robert (Toronto) who visited Genoa Feb 20, 2014. read more