Ristorante Buona Vita

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The restaurant is located in a small village in the hinterland with a beautiful historic center and an exciting sea view. Wooden furniture give the vintage style interior room, a rustic and informal look, while the original lights and the large stone fireplace helped to embellish it. In the summer you can enjoy a wonderful view on the rooftop while you eat. Chef Federico Pinasco’s proposal includes local seasonal dishes. The menu includes 4 appetizers (12 €), 4 first courses (15 €), 4 seconds (15 to 35 €) and 4 desserts (7€). Among the appetisers you can try veal with tuna sauce, the traditional Brandacujun, Catalan style octopus and Parmigiana. Among the first courses we find Pansotti pasta with walnut sauce, Mandilli with pesto and purple prawns and Spaghetti with rabbit sauce. Among the seconds: the crunchy and light mixed fried of calamari, anchovies and prawns; grilled calamari with zucchini and the Secreto Iberico, a fine pork fillet for real gourmets. Do not miss the exquisite desserts: Meringue with fresh fruit and custard, Bavarian pistachio, white chocolate and red berries, and the Stroscia (sweet chubby cracker), a typical cake of the Imperia hinterland. The restaurant’s cellar offers a selection of local labels and other regions served with a reasonable top-up.

Palazzo Salsole

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In the center of a town renowned for amaretti and mushrooms, you will find a historic palace that hosts a restaurant, a cellar, and a cafeteria. The restaurant proposes excellent recipes of Ligurian-Piedmontese cuisine. Among the appetisers (from 8 to 9 €) you can try tuna and panissa veal, the typical Ligurian recipe of fried chickpea flour, peppers with Bagna Cauda and pumpkin loaf on parmesan cream. The first courses (from 12 to 14 €), are rigorously handmade with the ground flour of the local mill: cod ravioli and the typical Genoese long ravioli (not stuffed) “al tocco”, seasoned with meat sauce; zimino chickpeas with swiss chards. Between the seconds (from 11 to 13 €): the specialty of the house is the sbira tripe soup, the warm stockfish salad on mashed potatoes and the beef stew with chestnuts and polenta. For dessert you cannot miss the bonet, the chocolate pudding with amaretti, the red wine poached pears with cookies, or the Salsole cake, with the cream of amaretti di Sassello and apricot jam (all for a total amount of 5€). The wine list offers first of all the wines of the province Savona, of the Acqui area, and western Liguria, but there are also wines more distinctive than in other regions. It is definitely a pleasant stop in an amazing scenery that is worth knowing.

Ristorante Msè Tutta

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A genuine cuisine and a welcome for a place that derives its name from Msè, grandfather in Piedmontese, and Tutta, which was the nickname of the great-grandfather of the owner Sandro Nari, who now runs the tavern with his wife Maria Grazia and son Eugenio. By intertwining the traditions of the Ligurian and Piedmontese borders, it creates an interesting gastronomic proposal. The simple, no-frills setting offers the feeling of stepping into an old friend’s house with an even warmer vibe from the wood furnishings and vaulted ceilings. The tasting menu at a cost of €40 includes traditional starters such as Russian salad, Calizzano’s rice and pumpkin cake and saffron and spinach tartrà, followed by quail, hazelnuts and potato cream, cod carpaccio with artichokes and aioli, the cream of ravacò (the typical cabbage of the area) with bread and porcini mushrooms, small ravioli with marjoram, pork belly glazed with honey, and concluding with two house desserts, chocolate with ricotta cheese, coffee, chestnuts and maracuja and gobeletti (short pastry sweets filled) with chinotto. A fascinating taste itinerary through the cuisine of the Ligurian-Piedmont hinterland, recalling the flavours of the past with the products of the territory. Good choice of local wines, also served in carafe.

Osteria La Pescheria degli Artisti

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It is a cozy place, with elegant interior and open kitchen. The restaurant has a dehors overlooking the famous Walk of Artists of Albissola Marina. Chef Mauro is a reliable reference for those looking for a fine cuisine without artifice and based on zero km local fish and vegetables, when the weather and season allow it. You will surely appreciate the staff’s warm and smiling welcome. Fair and reasonable prices in relation to quality: from 16 to 18 to 39 € regarding the “Crudo No Limits” formula. The menu also includes traditional appetizers such as Brandacujun, fried anchovies or stuffed anchovies along with original proposals such as sautéed octopus or scallops with cream and basil. Prices range from 12 to 20 €. The handmade fresh and stuffed pasta comes from the local stone ground flour from the Sassello mill: ravioli, noodles, dumplings and risottos. Prices range from 14 to 18 €. Among the second courses you can find steak, grilled meat and skipped fish. Prices vary from 16 to 20 €. The restaurant’s cellar offers a fine selection of local wines alongside sparkling wines and important labels of other regions.

Trattoria Da Anna

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In an area characterized by vineyards and fascinating hills, which are home to villages and towns rich in castles and history, this countryside trattoria offers a classic Langa cuisine, respecting seasonality, enhancing local products, with honest prices. The family management is in its third generation: the young Luca has taken up the baton with passion from his mother Silvia and from his grandmother Anna, who still follow him and advise in the kitchen. The welcome is warm and informal, the environment has two large rooms, furnished with simplicity. We find the menu on the blackboard at the entrance with typical dishes: veal with tuna sauce, tartare di fassona, Russian salad, peppers in bagna cauda, homemade tajarin and ravioli del plin, roasts, braised meats and finally bunet and panna cotta. From Monday to Friday there is the “working” lunch with a first course, second course with side dish, dessert, water or wine and coffee for € 13. In the evening and on weekends, two tasting menus: “That’s enough” at € 26 with appetizers, 2 first courses, second course with sweet side dish and coffee and “I can’t take it anymore” at € 31 which includes a complete round of appetizers and a second course more. Alternatively, you can choose the à la carte menu with some expert advice from the always smiling and helpful dining room staff. Theme nights with the excellent Piedmontese fried fish as protagonist. Choice of local wines.

La Bergera

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On the road that leads from Barge to Bibiana in Bagnolo in a hamlet called Olmetto, this restaurant is surrounded by woods and green meadows, with a splendid view over the valley. An elegant building with large spaces, both outside, where in the summer you can dine outdoors, and also inside where there are large rooms, well furnished and richly decorated for special occasions. The cuisine proposed by chef Paolo is genuine with an eye for the ingredients, with entirely seasonal natural local products, suitable for every need. The unmissable specialty is the Piedmontese mixed fry, which features 25 tastings, divided equally between savory and sweet, that represents a truly incomparable taste experience. Among the fried savory, frogs and entrails, and all kinds of vegetables stand out, while on the subject of the sweet a special mention goes to stuffed peaches, cream puffs, and chocolate semolina. In the tasting menu proposed for € 30 we find three appetizers, first, second and dessert. The dishes vary according to the season, on the à la carte menu there are game and meat dishes, even some fish dishes, homemade pastas, and a great variety of desserts, including cakes elaborated for special events. Chiara’s smile and friendliness in the dining room will make your stay enjoyable. Well-stocked cellar, with particular preference for local wines.

Ristorante la Kambusa

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A historic place known by lovers of good food overlooking the sea and the beaches. Here Gianni welcomes customers with friendliness and competence and the chef Domenico prepares delicious dishes. In the internal rooms it is a treat having a fine dinner and enjoying the freshest fish. The menu is designed according the availability of fishing and garden products, combining sea and land specialties. Among the appetizers the lightly steamed prawns of Sanremo and the lemon ravioli with raw sea bass, perfectly enhance the aromas and flavors of the sea and the land. The homemade fresh and stuffed pasta is a strong point of the cuisine because it comes from Gianni’s family laboratory, the Prota di Taggia pasta factory. There is also a rich selection of cheeses, and, at the end of the meal, eighteen desserts are recommended every day, including traditional cakes, such as Stroscia, and creative dishes such as the reinterpretation of the Renette apple pie. The wine list with over 200 well-selected labels is able to satisfy every request and has a significant presence of local labels. The price from 40 to 60 € is correct in relation to the quality of the dishes offered and the raw materials used.

Ristorante Cucina Gambaro

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After the experience at the “Crota” of Mondovì, the chef Daniele Gambaro with his wife Alessandra has now moved to Vicoforte in the place that housed the “Moretto” restaurant. The room has been renovated with an elegant yet informal style, featuring warm colors. The welcome is taken care of by Alessandra who is always kind and careful to explain the dishes and the ingredients. Daniele offers creative cuisine with local ingredients without hiding his Ligurian origins. Aromatic herbs, pesto and focaccia are intertwined with fresh fish from Liguria and local excellences, in particular cheeses, meats and vegetables. In a proper quality/price ratio we find among the appetizers a crunchy sesame bundle with pears and bra tenero Dop cheese (9 €) or the creamed cod with Evo oil with green sauce and fried bread (12 €), among the first the potato gnocchi with cocoa white pheasant ragout and black truffle (18 €) and Trofie al pesto (in season) with the addition of potatoes and green beans (12 €). Among the second courses the veal stew with milk and hazelnuts (16 €), the fillet of sea bass in porcini crust, saffron potato cream (20 €). Homemade desserts such as creamy rose, white chocolate and black cherry and a delicious cheesecake with raspberry sauce and peanut biscuit (7 €). The cellar guarantees a good choice of local wines, also served by the glass.

Hosteria del viale sala

Hostaria del Viale

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Ideal place to taste the authentic seafood flavor, near the historic center and the railway station. Elegant and welcoming rooms, fully open kitchen and a large terrace. The chef, Federico Scardina, with previous experience in Italy and abroad, offers fresh fish dishes with local vegetables. Flowers are not only a mere embellishment, but are also used to give more taste and flavor to the dish. Bread and focaccia are home-grown as are fresh pastas, which are a strong point of the venue. Two tasting menus are offered: at € 39 with 5 dishes and one at € 49, with 7 dishes. Delicious stuffed anchovies accompanied by organic lemon gel and the reworking of zimino with local cuttlefish, beet cream from the garden, presciunsêua cheese and fried panissa. Always in the menu the brandacujun with Castelbianco potatoes, in season courgette flowers stuffed with prescinsêua cheese, in tempura on a beefsteak cream and Sichuan pepper. Among the pastas to try the Ravioli stuffed with fish combined with a delicate beefsteak tomato sauce and pansoti di magro. Among the second course fish of the day grilled, baked or fried. Even the desserts and mini pastries offered at the end of the meal with coffee are cooked in the pastry lab by the chef in person. Prices: appetizers and first courses on average around 15 euros, second courses from 17 to 25 euros. Wines with a wide choice of local labels.

Hosteria del viale sala
Hosteria del viale sala

Ristorante Locanda La Favorita

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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.