This place is seriously overrated... and maybe it's because there is a scarcity of good restaurants…read morein Riomaggiore, but there is usually a line to get a table, but I can tell you it is very likely not worth the wait (we waited around 30 min). Beef ravioli (€15) - Really really disappointing. It clearly tasted just like frozen ravioli with sauce likely from a can. In fact, I think most frozen ravioli I've gotten from grocery stores tastes better than this. What a shame. Steak (€36 for 260g) - It seemed like steak was this place's specialty, so I was hopefully this could redeem it from the ravioli... but I was wrong. For €36, I would have expected a high quality steak, but instead I got a very mediocre, kinda chewy steak that was of no higher quality than the cuts that I can buy from the grocery store. The owner is American (maybe with Italian heritage), but I still expected better from a place like this with the popularity and reviews that I saw. The interior of the restaurant is cozy without many tables (hence the line to get in). Bottom line is I think you are better off finding a different place to eat in Cinque Terre / Riomaggiore with actual good quality authentic Italian food.

Riomaggiore has very few high-quality dining options, which is why I chose this place based on the…read morerelatively decent reviews. If I could give it a negative five-star rating, I would. I ordered a burger and beef ravioli ragu, and I have to say, the only reason this restaurant gets any business is because there are only five restaurants open in the area. They DO NOT serve fresh pasta. I asked the owner, who is from New Jersey, if the pasta was made in-house, and she told me it was "outsourced." She said the information was included in the menu but I did not see that. I personally watched the "chef" pour frozen pasta into the pot. To make matters worse, I was expecting pasta with actual meat sauce but was served plain red sauce that seemed like it came from a can. Dining here was a deeply disappointing experience. I would recommend not being fooled by their reviews and just choosing a place that has fresh food. The owner is also extremely cold and rude. There are hidden charges so beware. Make sure to ask about the food you are ordering and any hidden fees if you do choose to dine here.

Opened at 1900 on Sunday. They take reservations, and it is recommended. We sat inside. There…read moreare 2 indoor sections and a large outdoor seating area. Staff are polite and attentive. They all work well together. They were out of the filet the night I was here so I had spaghetti and hubs had muscles. He was extremely pleased. The presentation for everything is delightful. Initially I thought my spaghetti was more al Dente than I like. But watch the video. It continues cooking and is perfect quickly. I was addicted.

The pesto gnocchi were incredible, the pesto was light and perfect . The zuppa de Pesci was…read moreincredible, flavorful and insatiable. The best of the best . Highly recommend, can't do better .

Simple food done extremely well. Please get the Melon with Parma ham and the fried calamari: simply…read moredelicious.

The perfect stop in the middle of the most charming town of Cinque Terra…read more We stopped among the shops to sit outside on their patio. We cooled down with iced cocktails and enjoyed the "vegetable" avocado toast that was generously and deliciously prepared. The tomatoes were perfectly ripe from the garden. The service was hospitable with a friendly waitress who talk to us about her restaurant. My wife and daughter-in-law shopped in the quaint shops and there was the most beautiful garden on the balcony across from us. A life time memory for sure. Btw, they had a toilet to use

We were immediately greeted and chose a table outside with a view. Everything else was closed on a…read morecold holiday afternoon in January, so despite the bad reviews, we chose to eat here. Staff were cordial, and no one was rude; however, there was only one other customer sitting outside with us. There wasn't a lot of choice on the menu, and the linguine with crab for €16 sounded good, so I ordered that and a glass of white wine for €6. We were given a brown paper bag with bread inside it (see pic), and because I'd read reviews, I asked whether the bread was extra, and was told that the bread was included in the cover charge of €2.50 per person. The reviews stating the bread is stale were correct; the dry bread was inedible, and we weren't given anything to go with it. I gave a little bit to the pigeons walking around our table, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. I was extremely disappointed when my meal arrived. A plate of pasta (I can't tell you the flavor of the sauce) with several small crabs on top and below, with nothing to crack open the shell! I asked the waiter how I was supposed to crack the crabs open, and he brought me a plate with 2 wipes and a seafood cracker, but no seafood pick. This would have worked if the crabs on my pasta were larger and not so rubbery, but I ended up having to use my fingers and fingernails to extract the crab meat and place it on my pasta (a seafood pick would have been nice.) My hands were absolutely filthy & cold, and my pasta was cold by the time I finished fighting with the crabs. My suggestion to the restaurant would be to serve only the crab meat on the pasta instead of serving the crabs whole, so the guest can enjoy their pasta. My pasta and wine were fine. They served the purpose of filling my stomach on a very cold day. The bathroom, however, was disgusting. I hope they clean it more often during high season!

Location, location, location! This place is on the lower square at bottom of Vernazza (Cinque…read moreTerre) just steps away from the water on Gulf of Genoa & Ligurian Sea. We had party of 6, and all but 1 liked our dishes a lot (shrimp/anchovies was not loved). The house red wine is a lighter style Cinque Terre DOC that pleased everyone. Since pasta with pesto is one of the regional specialties, 3 of us ordered this and we're not disappointed. The ravioli came in a walnut sauce that was fantastic! Despite having a reservation requested for outside, we had to sit inside. This was a bit disappointing on a beautiful afternoon, but not a big deal. The service was hurried and not friendly, hence my reduced rating.

We had heard great things, but all expectations were exceeded! We arrived a bit early, and were…read moreable to be accommodated. We had requested a sea view table and were seated closest to the water. We ordered the fish sampler, pesto risotto, and tuna. The seafood sampler included nine types of fish, ever one was excellent. The pesto risotto had prawns in it and was delicious and very fresh. The tuna was cooked perfectly. The restaurant recommended a bottle of local wine which was also excellent. I would recommend this place to anyone coming to Monterosso! Definitely make a booking in advance, we saw several people get turned away who didn't have a booking.

Gorgeous surprise dinner by my bf with the most stunning!!! view!!! of dinner I have ever seen!! we…read moregot the 5 course prix fix menu with wine pairings. tbh i didn't even know what i was eating half the time but it was all some sort of fish variation. everything was very beautifully plated and I also was super impressed by the service. bread to start was delicious - best bread of our trip - so light, doughy, airy, and well seasoned. fave dishes of the night were the spaghetti with anchovies & catfish, which was super tender and soo good in that tomato stew sauce!!! dessert was sorta mid, not something i would've personally ordered but i guess it's a local dish? this is definitely a seafood lovers dream of a dinner spot

This was one of my favorite experiences of our trip. We had a beautiful dinner at Belforte in…read moreVernazza. We were drawn to the breathtaking views and had to eat here for our last meal in Cinque Terre. The Squid Ink Pasta with Shrimp was delicious! I've never had squid ink pasta but thoroughly enjoyed it. The noodles were cooked al dente and the shrimp was flavorful, fresh, and succulent. Highly recommend, whether you're celebrating a special occasion or enjoying a vacation in Cinque Terre!

Over a month ago my wife and I made a dinner reservation to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary…read more Dinner at Belforte was to be the celebratory event of our trip from the US to Vernazza. We arrived to find they had no reservation on record despite our confirmation email. On further review they had scheduled the incorrect date for our reservation. They offered a table in the corner where we were rudely greeted by a waiter who clearly was irritated to have us added on. When I presented their error they said it wasn't their fault as reservations are handled elsewhere. No real effort to resolve their error and a throwaway apology for our inconvenience. We left disappointed and our anniversary dinner was ruined. No thanks Belforte! You ruined one of the significant events of our marriage.

Great place for dinner groups. Service is amazing. The steak was delicious with the hot grill that…read morethey bring to the table so you can cook the steak more to your liking.

We had a free day in La Spezia after our tour was cancelled due to bad weather so we decided just…read moreto walk around the town and have lunch. Our group of 6 did some quick searches and we found Il Pichio rosso was the closest restaurant with good reviews. We were quickly greeted and seated in the small restaurant. This is definitely a locals type place as we were the only tourists there the entire time. They speak very limited english but with our limited Italian we were able to figure each other out. I would categorize this place and mostly pizza/calzones with some pasta dishes. The house red wine was excellent and inexpensive. We started off with bruschetta which was prepared so simply, just flatbread fresh tomatoes and olive oil. Absolutely delicious and a great start. Two of us ordered the calzone, three ordered the spaghetti carbonara and one ordered the veal milanese. The calzones were huge and at 7 Euro a definite bargain. The carbonara was okay for me, but I had better in Rome. It was a little bland and just needed some more saltiness like pancetta or parmigiano-reggiano. I was told the veal was very good but did not try it. For 6 of us the bill was 90 Euro which we all thought was reasonable considering we had 2 liters of wine and beer with our lunch. I would recommend for pizza or calzone but look elsewhere if in the mood for pasta.

Good value seafood dinner! This is a great option for a…read morecheap and cheerful seafood dinner near the harbour in La Spezia. It's not a fine dining thing - it's self service, disposable crockery and cutlery. You choose your food from the blackboard at the front of the entrance (and you can see what you'll get in the bain marie inside). We loved our salmone al forno and lasagne al salmone with peperoni and cavolo. We were there in early February so there was no queue - the service was fast and friendly!

If you're ever in La Spezia, come try Dai Pescatori! There was a short line out front, but got to…read moreknow the system while waiting. The menu is listed as a pictoral on the side of the entrance, with specials written on a chalkboard on the other side. We were a little nervous because other reviews said the servers would get annoyed if you didn't know what to order. But, the lady at the front seemed to appreciate that we attempted to pronunciate the foods correctly, even grinning at times. You basically order your food and are served on the spot. Then you look for an available table. What we got was delicious, fresh seafood! The Seafood Insalata was an aaaortment of clams, calamari and shrimp in a light olive oil dressing. We also had the Misto Frito, fried little fish, shrimp, scallops and calamari! and finally the linguine with fish (ricciola), so good... Oh, there's a refrigerator on the side that you can chose a beverage of choice from. We opted to share a ltr of Chianti for $4 euro!! Overall, an terrific and reasonable seafood dinner on the wharf!!