Drove to Italy from Nice just to have pizza. I had no other agenda. We stumbled upon this small…read morefamily run restaurant. This was by far the best pizza I've ever had. The owner Chiuso was super friendly. Wish I could have this again but it's a long way from home.

I had been hoping for the past year to go to Italy as my first international destination, and plans…read morefell through to spend a week in Italy. However, spending two days in Nice with a good friend opened up the possibility to go to the very northwestern edge of Italy and fulfill this dream after all, even if only for about three hours. At this tiny little café off the coast in Ventimiglia, I tasted some of the best pizza I will ever eat, and the best eggplant parmigiana I am likely to ever eat. One always says to judge a pizzeria by its margherita pizza, and while you're in Italy might as well up the ante with mozzarella di bufala instead of regular mozzarella. It took 20-25 minutes to come out but was clearly homemade with care from scratch, and the topping of fresh Mutti tomatoes gives the pizza an uncommonly fresh taste not replicable back in the States. I ate the entire giant pizza without batting an eye, and that was after an absolutely scrumptious portion of eggplant parmigiana for an appetizer which was beautifully melt-in-the-mouth tender, not in the least greasy, gooey or cheesy, and topped with impeccably fresh grilled squid that had just enough char marks to permeate the meat. Spain, Greece, South Korea and Japan will have to work hard to compete with that. The service may seem slow but it is because they are taking their carefully considered time to produce the highest quality food possible, at relatively low prices as well. French is spoken as a matter of course in Ventimiglia so I had no problems ordering, and some English also appears to be spoken. The setting is simply as breathtaking as the food and I would stop here again if I came back to this area of Italy, without any question.

Great restaurant less than a mile from the Ventimilgia train station! Fantastic dessert selections!…read morePizza is a thicker crust than most Italian restaurants. Outdoor seating facing the Med sea! Will definitely visit again!

The setting in the evening is alluring, with open windows, many tables, a murmuring crowd, it looks…read morelike an out-of-the way neighborhood pizza haven for those in the know. Unless you know the pizza. Then the charm starts to dissipate. Also, if you start looking at the behind the scenes, you realize how formulaic, almost cynical this establishment is. The pizza: I got the one with the same name as the restaurant. Has to be good, right? It contains the kitchen sink, or to be more specific: pomodoro, fiordilatte di Agerola, prosciutto, funghi, carciofi, cipolle, wurstel, uovo. WHOA, what a cast of characters. Trouble is, all the ingredients tasted like they came out of a can. These were supermarket center-aisle toppings. Great pizza in Italy can be so simple, but so superb. This one was so elaborate, but so low rent.

Italy is so exciting when you love food. It is especially challenging when you have allergies. I…read morewas In food paradise tonight. Gluten free. Dairy free vegetable pizza. Huge! Vegan spelt salad, extraordinary!!! Fresh fish. Fresh squid. Fresh salads!!

So going to Italy can be a bummer when you think that you won't get to eat pizza or pasta because…read moreyou are gluten-free and dairy-free. But, on a day trip to Ventimiglia we found this little gem. I had a DELICIOUS pizza for 9.50 Euros. The same size pizza would have been around $16 in the states. Almost all of their pizzas (various flavors) and pasta dishes can be served gluten-free (sanz gluten). And, no questions asked when I said sanz fromage (without cheese). WOOHOO! Service was a bit slow but totally worth it. Tasty pizza, gluten free beer, close to the beach. I'm a happy girl!

A couple of friends who live on the French side of the border like this place, and they took us for…read morea mid-week lunch. It's a nice walk from the train station through the busy Ventimiglia downtown area, through a park, and over a short bridge just off the sea. The restaurant is located just on the west side of the bridge. We were seated quickly. Two of the friends got pizza, which is their usual order, and they liked it. We shared some red wine, which was good. I got pesto. I love pesto. This pesto had something different in it (sage, according to my wife), and it was great. I also had a gloriously cold beer. The service was hit and miss. We didn't get all the drinks we ordered, and we had to wait a while for the bill. But we also received our food steaming hot and not long after we ordered.

The food was mediocre, but the service was close to absent. First a long wait to get the menus,…read morethen a long wait to place the orders, guess what - almost an hour to fix a pizza an two pastas. My life is too short for this.