This is the place to escape the crowds and have a wonderful lunch (or dinner) with a super nice…read moregroup of folks who serve you. Just a 45 minute or the last boat ride south from any one of the Cinque Terre towns...., Located on a small side street that runs through the middle of the town this tiny restaurant has no view but has inside and outside tables and you do not miss the ocean views because the food and service is so outstanding. Ilaria was our great and kind waitress at Portivene In Porto Venere. You can't miss her with her dyed red hair. Great clams & muscles, glasses of delicious red and cold white wine served with pesto pasta along With an unbelievable tasty local fish of some kind, (which we could not pronounce). The local wine we sipped at our table on the tiny street, was better than what we had in some of the finest restaurants in Rome. Our desserts work extremely tasteful and the perfect end of the meal. We didn't want to leave our little table. What a great little find!

I had an amazing, amazing dinner at this place. I'm glad I added it to yelp, because it's a must…read moresee. This is one of the regions of Italy that people tend to go straight to Bologna for and easily skip. I'm not sure I understand why, because Portovenere by itself is a beautiful port and definitely has some of the best pesto and limoncello of the region. Why would you be on yelp and not want great food? Forget Milan and Bologna, Cinque Terre and Portovenere are where it's at. They are well featured on everything except yelp, which is why I felt compelled to have this added. Enough about that, lets get on to the unique foods and drinks of the area. Porivene is basically down a back alley which is how the streets are in Portovenere, so it's easy to miss. They had a dish called a porridge pot, and I'm not really sure how to describe it. It's a mixture of bread that includes a unique soft cheese that is almost like a sour cream (tasty, not bitter), and a plentiful helping of pesto to go alongside it. We also got a Pesto pizza and Pesto pasta - notice a theme here? These guys do not mess around when it comes to Pesto. When I say best in the world, Italy should always come to mind. Whereas sobou charges an arm and a leg for pretty decent stuff, these guys charge very little for amazing food. The Pesto pasta was mixed with a very plentiful amount of fresh pesto, and was absolutely delicious. Likewise the Pesto Pizza was pretty good sized - remember, in Italy a pizza is considered a single person food item and each of these easily fit as a meal for me and my wife. Also, don't forget to try to the vin santo! Vin Santo is like a strong amaretto, which you dip cookies into. Apparently it's a big thing in the region and very much not to be underestimated. Portivene un mare di sapori was one of the best places we had eaten in all of Italy. Not only that, but it's right near the awesome pesto shop I mentioned in another review. This is a must find/must review/must eat for anyone in the region - although keep in mind that the bus from La Spezia takes about 25 minutes to get there and only stops at Portovenere every hour or so to take you back.

Absolutely amazing food and service. Beautifully situated along the coast- great space outdoors as…read morewell as indoor. We started with an appetizer sampler of 6 local delicacies followed by a pesto pasta and then an absolutely delicious desert. Wine was an incredible sparkling white. A perfect night in a magical places

Excellent restaurant, well situated…read more Porto Venere is lovely but overwhelmed by tourists. Like many, we were day trippers who took the boat from Lerici and were ready for a shady luncheon after touring the castle and church ramparts and exploring the village. This restaurant faces an attractive square and is set back a bit from the harbor so diners are insulated from the hustle and bustle while still able to enjoy the charm of the town. The soup of the day and pasta with pesto were very good. The fish of the day was excellent. We liked the white table cloths and attentive service.

Ohhh man - seafood pasta was delicious and had a guilty pleasure side of french fries that were…read moredelicious as well. Good wine, good salad - but then I ordered tiramisu. Best. In. My. Life. Outstanding experience all around!

Walked in to a half filled restaurant with my hungry family. Asked for be seated, barely got an…read moreEnglish response but was turned away stated no tables available. I pointed to the empty ones, perhaps over 6 tables, but nope. Reserved she said. We finished our dinner next door to a much more friendlier restaurant and when we walked past this Chiglia one, there were still empty tables. Well o think it's discrimination because we are asians. The look given to us pretty much said it all. Thanks it's ok anyway.

High prices for bad food and small portions. Typical tourist trap. Waiter didn't respond on wishes…read moreas well. Better avoid it!

4*Taverna de Venere Calata Doria 20…read morePortovenere Nice views of the marina, in the shade Long time getting seated Have two menus turisticos, 18-19€ Once seated, served the house rolls almost immediately Nice house wine by the carafe (noticed the locals ordered it) Service was okay Trenette with seafood (tons of mussels) and pesto trenette were very good Grilled fish and insalata mista were also good The interior of restaurant is very nice

The food was fantastic. The service was terrible. It is obvious that this place is selected for the…read morelocation. The wait staff was very young and did not meet our expectations. The reputation of this restaurant is what brought us to them. We were very disappointed. The boat ride over was a sign of things to come. Terrible customer service. A very disappointing experience for a birthday celebration. Be warned....

Focaccia was ok. Service was entitled. Staying on the island and it was 26€ for four pieces of…read morebread, two pieces of chocolate cake, two beers and small bags of chips. The waiters wanted nothing to do with the new islanders who arrived to their town with no food. Weak service and we will only be back to cancel our reservation. I will not recommend this to anyone. It is a darn shame.

Absolutely amazing! Was looking for restaurants with pasta in Porto Venere, and our bnb host…read morerecommended this place. My partner had the seafood spaghetti and commented on not only how fresh everything tasted but the good flavor of the mussels. I had the pesto pasta which was perfect in flavor and portion. We chose to have the vino Della casa blanco which did not disappoint, and the tiramisu was the cherry on top. Service was excellent, very accommodating to English speakers. I would recommend going around to the steps of the church for a nice view before walking a short distance down to the restaurant. Would visit again!

Tuna entree done much rarer than requested and seafood spaghetti had hardly any seafood. Will never…read morego back.

Beautifully set on the coast, couldn't be more attractive. An amazing cultural Diamondread more

There are lots of restaurants here on the waterfront in Porto Venere. Most offer great views of…read morecourse and serve fish and seafood. So, it's hard to choose which one to dine in. We went for this one, because the parasols/umbrellas had a good size and provided nice shade on this sunny day and because or dog was very welcome here as well. Really had a great experience, unlike some other reviewers here on Yelp. Staff was nice and friendly. Brought a bowl of water for our Bully. Prices were fair. Ordered a glass of white wine each (nice local wine), a mixed fried seafood and Tuna Tartare. The fried seafood was nice, crispy and fresh. Calamari were really good, not your usual frozen stuff, but nice and tender. Fried shrimp and anchovies both very good as well. Suprisingly good was the Tuna Tartare. Very high quality fish, a good amount of lemon juice mixed in and a selection of fruit on the side with balsamico. A really great dish. Fantastic tuna. Probably the best Tuna Tartare I've ever had. A great place to enjoy lunch and watch the world go by.

Fun place to eat with very nice people. We are inside because the decor and the atmosphere were…read morecozy. The caprese salad is great, and the bread was fresh and tasty. I had the steak and fries...steak needed some salt and pepper...but the fries were good. They did charge a 10 percent tax on every single item we had, including the water. But I understand that this is how they pay their employees a living wage...and besides I usually tip 20 percent or more. I would eat here again...

Service was good, quick and friendly. Food was not so good everything we ordered was average at…read morebest, prices were ok but for the quality of food you were not getting a deal.

We came to Portovenere in the winter when many or most of the businesses are closed. We were lucky…read moreto find this small cafe-bar open on the main street and took our chances. We're glad we did. We had a really nice simple dinner: a seafood salad, a warm seafood dish, and tiramisu (delicious). The owner-cook was welcoming and the waitress was very nice. We would definitely return.

Food was very good and omg the portions are huge. We couldn't finish our meals. I thought only in…read moreAmerica the portions were monsters but no , epic proportions. The side of fries alone for my child was super size. If you are coming to this region and craving sea food, definitely come here. We had the grilled calamari grilled seafood tagliaoni seafood pasta and warm octopus, all amazing

This is easily the worst restaurant we have been to on our entire 2 week trip to Italy! I ordered…read morethe scampi and I got what appeared to be shrimp with no meat, basically the shells swimming in red sauce and penne. Little to no flavor. My husband got the fried mixed seafood plate that looked like road kill. The waiter was surly and promptly told us he only spoke Italian and made no attempt to help us with questions we had about the menu. Took almost 45 minutes to get our check when we finished. Sadly there are several really good restaurants in Portovenere, this is just not one of them!