Archive for category: Imperia

In Calata Cuneo, an attractive area of the city, Alessandra and Marco, the friendly owners, offer a genuine local seasonal cuisine. In addition to the beautiful dehors overlooking the port, the restaurant has modern indoor rooms with stone walls and vaulted ceilings. The full view oven allows you to watch pizza makers baking focaccia, pinsa and farinata, both at lunch and dinner. You can taste real delicacies such as the pinsa with pumpkin flowers, anchovies and burrata and a wide variety of pizzas with unusual names. Among the starters we find many typical Ligurian dishes such as panissa, cod fritters, Brandacujun meatballs, octopus salad, artichokes and fried anchovies, fresh fish tartare (from 7 to 18 €). Among the first courses we find fresh homemade pastas such as pansoti with walnut sauce, octopus sauce gnocchi, pesto trenette served in a parmesan wafer (from 14 to 18 €). To try the Burrida (fish soup) and the cuttlefish zimino with beans. Among the second courses fried and grilled fresh fish, sautéed cuttlefish, sesame-crusted tuna tataki (from 14 to 24 €). You also must try tasty meat dishes such as the rostelle (grilled skewers of sheep meat) or fillet steak Black Angus. Good choice of desserts: the stroscia served with a delicate mascarpone cream and an delicious meringue. Good choice of wines. The service is attentive and friendly. Excellent quality-price ratio.

The old hotel of the village, after a modern renovation has become a cozy restaurant. Ilaria and Antonio with courage and passion have reopened the business which closed for more than 30 years. The highly experienced chef, Giuliano Tommasini is their partner in this venture. You can try the “Cucina bianca” recipes, typical of the upper Arroscia valley based on herbs and vegetables, meats and pastry cheeses, homemade pasta with basic, but nutritious dressing, seasonal fruits and simple but tasty desserts. Cadó, which is the dialect name of Lavender, uses almost exclusively local ingredients, cooked following traditional recipes, with a touch of modernity. Edible servatic herbs become protagonists in the Rajora vegetable pie receipe (a must try),in cakes, pies and frisceu doughnuts. Among the first courses the peculiar Turle ravioli and the typical dish “Streppa and Caccia Là”, a product of alpine grazing. Meat from a local farm are predominant in the second courses. Cheese come from skillful local producers. Cakes are simple but tasty: Lavender cake deserves a special mention. The food is certainly worth stopping here to eat. Excellent value for money: a full meal costs on average 30 €. For theme nights the prices vary, but on average always below 50 €.

In a charming corner of the Nervia Valley, surrounded by olive trees, mimosas and aromatic herbs, here in the summer you can dine outside on the panoramic terrace. The interior rooms are frescoed with drawings of herbs and flowers, and an image of Apricale, like the one enjoyed from the large windows, warmed in winter by the large fireplace. One room is dedicated to fairy tale characters and with child-friendly furnishings. The menu proposed for € 35 includes the specialties of the inland cuisine. We start with the appetizers, from the typical Barbagiuai, fried ravioli stuffed with pumpkin, rice and cheese, to the green cake, from Sardenaira to stuffed vegetables. Do not miss the Ravioli with borage, hand-made as the exquisite tagliatelle mixed with red wine, olive paté, flour and eggs, served with meat sauce or tomato sauce. The second is made up of grilled meat, tagliata, lamb and sausage, with vegetables from the seasonal garden. The dessert is a must-see sight, the zabaglione mounted by hand in the copper pot is served at the table: it has the color of gold and an inviting scent, accompanied by pansarole, the traditional Apricale lies. Wines with local proposals and an always warm and kind welcome. In the inn there are also 6 beautiful rooms where you can stay overnight.

A welcoming place with two rooms and thirty seats. Rustic and appealing furnishings with a beautiful stove and a stained glass window that conceals the kitchen. On the walls are displayed products such as preserves, vegetables in olive oil, pickled vegetables, oil and wine, which can be purchased even outside the opening times, by calling the owner Donatello on the phone, who with great sympathy and availability, will share his great passion for the following land products: peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, fruit used for the many and various home-made jams, olives and grapes, and, ever present in his garden, the Egyptian onion, now a must in the western Liguria and not only. In the kitchen his wife, tirelessly cooks traditional Ligurian cuisine with farmer’s products. These dishes are therefore prepared only with natural products, fresh and at zero km, cooked with simplicity, passion and that kind of delight for their authenticity and flavor. The full menu (we strongly recommend it) at 30€ includes 4 appetizers, 2 first courses, 2 second courses and dessert. However, you can reduce the number of courses by ordering only a first or a second course, spending 22 or 25€. Do not miss the farinata with the Egyptian onion, the frisceu, the ravioli and the gnocchi, and the ever-present Ligurian rabbit.

In the Argentina valley at about 400 meters, immersed in the green and small lakes that the streams Argentina and Corte create in their path, with the possibility of having a stroll and excursion for either families or expert walkers, we find the hotel-restaurant Santo Spirito, an institution, that since more than a century offers dishes cooked following ancient recipes and using genuine products and local outstanding items. The vigilant family management has created a hospital environment; in the hall there are various relics and objects from the past, with old photographs and documents. The dishes are traditional, those that were prepared at home by grandmothers and recall to the mind flavours of the past. We find here chickpeas and assorted legumes soups, home made tagliatelle or fresh pasta with chestnuts flour, like the “colpi di dito” or the quadrotti to be dressed with “bruzzo”, the tasty sheep ricotta. Among second course dishes goat with beans, molinese escargots, stewed boar. Delicious homemade desserts like the pudding with eggs and castagnaccio, prepared in the ancient way. Vegetables are almost exclusively produced in the family farm, tank to grandpa Augusto. The selection of wines includes the Ormeasco produced by the family farm and also excellent bottles of Piedmont wines. The menu’s price ranges from € 20 to € 35.