Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Il Moretto

    4.2 (34 reviews)
    PriceyLigurian, Mediterranean

    Il Moretto Photos

    IL MORETTO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating
    Good for kids

    Recommended Reviews - Il Moretto

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Steak under an arugula salad and Parmesan cheese
    Frank P.

    We were lucky enough to be on a tour of the beautiful cinque terra when we stopped in this little town for lunch. We took a little bit of time looking around for a good spot and decided on Il Moretto. Service: Great service, extremely nice staff, also gave us one of those secondary tables to store our wine, olive oil, and other things on in order to have more table space. Food: absolutely a 5 star spot. The spaghetti, although it does not look like much, was prepared amazingly with red pepper and a douse of olive oil. The two other dishes we got were very similar, cold cuts and steak both topped with arugula salad, both of which were amazing. Pricing: The pricing here was extremely reasonable, we got 3 dishes and a bottle of rose for around 70 euros. Also in a very nice central location in the town (Monterosso), right near shops and in the hustle and bustle of other restaurants/activity.

    Gnocchi with bolognese
    Neal L.

    Our family loved the pasta at Morretto! Trifole with pesto, spaghetti bolognese, ravioli with salmon filling, linguine with lobster, and spaghetti with tomato/basil pesto, grilled swordfish, appetizers of marinated mussels, stuffed anchovies and a caprese salad. Very good meal!

    Lobster challenge!!!
    Joshua-Lee L.

    Beautiful spot in Monterosso for dinner. We dined outside, but inside looked lush and comfortable. The service was some of the best in Europe and the finest in our time in Cinque Terra. I had the lobster, which was served in a way I've never experienced. The lobster was in shell but came out with the pasta and sauce on the lobster. De shelling a lobster can be tough, but cover it in a delicious tomato based sauce with linguine and you've got a challenge. Needless to say there was a bit of a mess and while my wife's soup was amazing and her steak and salad amazing, I wouldn't try the lobster challenge again. Also I didn't realize until the end I had been given a full bib.

    Michael R.

    Good restaurant in a prime spot. Unlike many of the other restaurants in CT, they seem to truly want as many customers as possible. This led to a more crowded dining area but no complaints as we were able to find a table late one night. My girlfriend ordered the limoncello grouper ravioli and I had prawn gnocchi. Both meals were enjoyable. Service was solid as well.

    Ben B.

    After a long, long day of hiking, my girl and I needed to relax in the worst way. We only had time for one meal in Monterosso, so we looked up the New York Times article "Treasures of the Cinque Terre" - http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/travel/treasures-of-the-cinque-terre.html?pagewanted=4&_r=0 Il Moretto was on the list. So we made our way down to the restaurant and were immediately seated. Servers were very accommodating and kind. (We were dressed in our most comfortable clothes and didn't feel out of place, even though it seems like a "nicer" restaurant.) I ordered the steak filet with green pepper sauce. It was perfectly cooked. Absolutely fell apart on my fork. If I had it to do over again, I'd pass on the sauce. It didn't really add anything to the dish. My girlfriend ordered lasagna that was to die for. The lightest noodles you've ever tasted. We had an amazing bottle of Cinque Terre wine and stayed very late. It was virtually a perfect evening. Total damage for two entrees and a full bottle of wine - $73.33. If you're staying in Monterosso, I'm sure all the restaurants are fantastic, but Il Moretto was top notch.

    Octopus. A must have dish.
    Bill R.

    We found this place after wanting to depart from our tour group for lunch. Glad we did. Carpaccio of polipio (octopus) octopus isn't usually memorable but this one is. Tender melt in your mouth tastes of the sea. Obviously a house speciality. The day's special was spaghetti with crab. But it was so much more than that! It was presented in a ceramic pot almost a large as the table and still slightly simmering. Although thoroughly flavored by the crab...you really couldn't eat the crab meat. They were too small. Large prawns were in there, but had to be peeled with extensive effort. Overall a delicious pasta dish that was more about presentation than anything else. Everything that cam from the kitchen looked amazing. Frutti di mare, gnocchi, pesto, fresh fish, etc. all looked perfect. It's only a block up from the pier, but far enough away from where the tour groups go. Very authentic an extremely friendly staff treat you like familia.

    Il Moretto logo
    Stephanie K.

    We picked Il Moretto because we have good friends with the same last name. Thank God we had a silly way of choosing our dinner spot, because it was the best meal we've eaten during our week in Italy. We ordered the mussels for an appetizer and based on the price thought maybe we'd get 7 or 8 each. Then the waitress brought over a massive cauldron of steaming mussels, and we probably ate 15 each! The mussels were tender and the broth was equal parts salty, garlicky and lemony. Just so good. I don't think I've seen my husband smile so much about food (especially not anything I make ;) ) And I haven't even talked about the main dishes yet. I ordered the salmon ravioli and it was another large portion. The salmon and roasted tomato flavors made it very rich and what I imagine Italian comfort food tastes like! My husband ate the shrimp gnocchi and loved it. The gnocchi was very light (an oxymoron?) and there was plenty of shrimp for each bite. I loved the layout of the restaurant - 3 levels and we didn't feel cramped like we did in many other restaurants in Italy. The service was friendly and timely!

    Local wine
    Richard S.

    We enjoyed a splendid meal here! It began with a giant cauldron of marinated mussels for four of us, followed by tender and perfectly fried calamari, and Tuscan favorite tofie pasta with pesto. It's right on the main square in old town. Reservations are a must.

    Mary P.

    One of the best meals we had in Italy! Huge portions, vegetarian/vegan friendly (all ingredients listed on the menu). My daughter and I were going to split the vegetable soup as an appetizer. Out came a huge pot of soup - enough to feed 3 - for only 11€. My husband enjoyed the generous serving of stuffed mussels. We ordered the mushroom risotto - completely vegan - the only opportunity for me to have risotto in Italy as a vegetarian. It said you must have two people ordering it. It was easily enough food for four for 22€! Simple pasta dishes were reasonably priced and again, enormous portions. It looked like other diners came for the seafood. Great flavors! Would work well if you plan to eat family style. Nice to have vegetarian options.

    See all

    1 month ago

    We had amazing service and the mushroom risotto was incredibly creamy. The walnut cream ravioli home made pasta was delicious!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Diane C.
    840
    1604
    3569

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Amazing Risotto with mushroom. Also had the Sword Fish which was also fantastic. Would highly recommend for the food and environment.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Dave S.
    256
    26
    0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Delicious food and vegetarian options ! Great outdoor seating and service! Bread was nice!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Ben B.
    278
    1039
    3759

    13 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Joan B.
    24
    45
    1

    4 years ago

    Had the most amazing lunch here. Food was delicious and service equally as great. A must try!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Bill R.
    127
    410
    8198

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of D D.
    0
    7
    0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Jp H.
    0
    39
    13

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Mim C.
    1
    33
    6

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Richard S.
    51
    119
    76

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Tony L.
    44
    23
    14

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Doreen M.
    21
    500
    21

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Tex G.
    0
    18
    2

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Julie M.
    0
    106
    10

    9 years ago

    Excellent mussels. Beautiful outdoor seating options. House white wine is very refreshing.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    This was great! We had the stuffed mussels, Italian spaghetti, and Ligurian cod with potato and olives. Best meal so far in Europe!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Review Highlights - Il Moretto

    We were lucky enough to be on a tour of the beautiful cinque terra when we stopped in this little town for lunch.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Verify this business for free

    Get access to customer & competitor insights.

    Verify this business

    Trattoria da Oscar - Mussels

    Trattoria da Oscar

    4.3(18 reviews)
    0.1 km
    €€€

    Excellent Choice For Dinner…read more.. My wife and I arrived in Monterosso al Mare for the first week of our vacation around Cinque Terre. Where to eat? Our hotel - Villa Steno.....a wonderful place - plotted several recommendations on a map. The first place we tried was Oscar. Our impressions were as follows: Pros: - Most of the seating was on the patio out front which was delightful - We shared the Seafood Salad and Pasta with Seafood. Both were great! The second dish was among the best I've ever tried. - Dark bread accompanying dinner was amazing - A bottle of local Sauvignon Blanc went perfectly with the meal - It seemed the owner or one of the owners served all the customers. She was friendly, efficient and how she did it I'll never know. - Prices were very reasonable for everything we ordered Cons: - Only one: Oscar, like most restaurants in town, opened at 7 PM which was a bit late for us Americans. Both my wife and I heartily suggest trying Oscar.

    It's good clean food for a fair price don't get me wrong. But this as the same menu and same…read moretasting food as like 75% of restaurants on cinque terre. Pesto pasta, seafood pasta, calamari, mussels... pretty much the only thing a great handful of restaurants around here serve (usually pizza too) Overall it's fine it just won't be a memorable meal. Service is mediocre.

    Photos
    Trattoria da Oscar - Spaghetti, olive oil, a little white wine, butter, parsley, and clams. Simple and delicious!

    Spaghetti, olive oil, a little white wine, butter, parsley, and clams. Simple and delicious!

    Trattoria da Oscar - Octopus salad

    Octopus salad

    Trattoria da Oscar - Gnocchi pesto

    See all

    Gnocchi pesto

    Il Moretto - ligurian - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...