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.

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.

Excellent food and service, amazing view of ocean, harbor and marina including 3 super yachts!read more

Palmaría is in the Grand Hotel Portevenere. We stayed for 3 days and ate every meal possible during…read moreour stay. Breakfast is included if you're staying at the hotel and the selection is wonderful, especially the desserts. There is a station with a variety of fruits and vegetables where you can make your own juice. We scheduled a cooking class with Chef Francesco and are so happy we did, it was definitely worth it. He is talented, passionate and runs a tight ship. After the cooking lesson, we toured the kitchen and saw how clean and well organized it is. All the vegetables used are organic, fish is extremely fresh, pasta is made daily in-house and every dish we had was delicious! We hope to return to Portovenere soon. I definitely recommend this restaurant over all of the Cinque Terre.

We came to the restaurant as a group and couldn't be happier. As a vegetarian I wouldn't expect…read moremuch but the food was creative, flavorful, and beautifully presented. We had regional specialties that we've hoped to try and we're glad they did it as the chef's personality and energy were superb! I'd recommend them in a heartbeat!

We had a pleasant experience it was one of the closest restaurants open on a Monday night. They sat…read moreus quickly, and their menu was pretty diverse. We chose the tasting menu and we're so happy with our decision. Each dish surprised us with its different flavors and we definitely stepped out of our comfort zone and were met with lovely dishes , anchovies isn't our go to but the flavors were so good! My favorite were the pesto pancakes and the anchovies with oil and salt! Service was lovely and the restaurant was so beautifully decorated.

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.

This Gelateria is off the Via Capellini in Portovenere. Gayle and I started our walk on this street…read moreand with a slice of Pizza to carry us through. We wandered over the San Piedro Church, walked a few higher streets, came back down to Via Capellini and rewarded ourselves with a Gelato here. Good Stuff!

My girlfriend and I stopped by this place after walking around a bit. Thought the gelato was…read moreincredible! We even came back the next night. The woman serving was very kind and patient with us, seeing as we don't speak much Italian. Definitely recommend!

Wow the location and view here were stunning and worth a visit alone. The small outside seats on…read morethe edge of the restaurant in particular have a great view of the sea at the base of the old church that is the main attraction in Portovenere. Service was mildly unfriendly and inattentive, but we got what we needed. We liked the foccacia bread, which was really crisp and oily in a good, rich kind of way. The octopus and potato salad was also great, with big pieces of really tender octopus and fresh herbs. I also got a foccacia sandwich that was billed in the English translation as having salad greens and ham - in reality it had maybe one piece of bland lettuce and some deli meat. So maybe don't order that. Otherwise a great experience!

The manager rude and disrespectful to Americans. Ignorant and refused to come to table after I…read morewouldnt eat shrimpp shelled with eyes in it He wouldn't even come to table to discuss the issue.

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!

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.

The venue is spectacular. Very little can compare To the…read moreview of Porto Venere and the La Spezia harbor. And the food is as good!!! Fresh fish, lobster and shellfish were unbelievable. Wine list is spectacular and the staff could t be any better. Can't wait to go back!

When I look back on my time here in Portovenere I will certainly never forget the experience at…read moreTorre. The people here care about your experience and they go all the way to make sure you have the best meal and experience possible. Then there is the fact that you are dinning in a 13th century building in a town that dates back to the year 100 b.c. when it was a Roman fishing village. Now it is home to colorful buildings and fine dining at Torre. The food was amazing, and seriously...THE BEST Tiramisu of my life. The guys that run this place are super nice as long as you follow one easy rule...be chill and take the time to slow down and live the way the Italians do. Viva la Vita is the way to go. The seafood...fresh and delicious. The wine...Italian and delicious. The views...breath taking. The sounds...soothing. The rest is up to you. I Love you Italy...grazie mille!