We were on our way to Camogli and noticed that this non descript place was packed to the rafters. Good sign! So we jammed on the brakes, parked in the lot across the street, and decided it was lunch time.
After entering it was clear that Blue Marlin is every bit a working man's trattoria. Everyone in the place was leather skinned and wrinkled with dirty coveralls or paint splattered clothes. No tourists here. To my delight they were all gorging on huge plates of fish and pasta each of which looked pretty solid.
It took us a while to get service but after about 5 or 10 minutes the waitress showed up. Poor girl, she was working about 20 tables by herself and bussing them as well. Oh yeah, I just remembered that she was also serving as a cashier. Christ, I never saw someone work so hard in a restaurant. Anyway, she recommended the fritto misto which we got along with a focaccina with salami and gorgonzola and a local ravioli called pansoti which was stuffed with pesto and covered with a creamy walnut sauce.
Everything came out super fast and was delicious. The fritto misto had a nice assortment of seafood (squid, shrimp, anchovies, and baby octopus) and each piece had an awesome crispy coating. Perfectly fried, some salt, some pepper. Delightful. The pasta was really unique. It was a lot like a ravioli but much more delicate, almost like a wonton, and I have to say, it was novel to get the pesto as a stand alone filling rather than a sauce. Never had that before. The focaccina was a lot like a stromboli though a bit thinner than what I've seen in the past. The taste was amazing but it was really heavy with all that meat and cheese and was hard to work through consider the massive size of the other 2 dishes we got.
The check came to 25 euros which is pretty good considering what you pay at most places in the area. Great value for the huge portions and quality food you get. Definitely recommended if you're in the Camogli area. read more