Casa Buono

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Antonio Buono and his wife Valentina’s restaurant was awarded a star in the prestigious Michelin guide in 2023. Amply deserved for the very high quality of the products, many from the family garden and trusted suppliers. The ambience is modern and refined with an open kitchen. Thanks also to his important experience with the multi-starred Mauro Colagreco, he has created his own cooking style and philosophy. The menu changes daily precisely because it depends on what is available at the time. There are two menus on offer: Sea and Vegetable Garden at 100 euro and Sea, Vegetable Garden and Land at 125 euro, excluding drinks, comprising four welcome snacks, two starters, a first course, a second course, pre-dessert, dessert and final pastries. Dishes include dentex tartare, trout roe and anchovy colatura, Sanremo red prawn beat with cream and herring pearls, and scallop gnocchi with broccoli and cuttlefish. Alpine cheeses from the Roya valley. To end on a sweet note, the white chocolate, toffee and almond topinambur, the orange blossom water spumone and the warm madeleine with chef’s lemon cream. A great taste experience that will make you appreciate the products of a rich territory proposed with skill and creativity.

Hostaria Besugo

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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.

Trattoria del mare Il PesceMatto

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In the Prino village of Porto Maurizio, with its characteristic pastel-colored houses overlooking the sea, we find this restaurant, which offers genuine and tasty fish cuisine. The welcome of the patron Massimo is always friendly and kind. In the nice newspaper style menu, we find descriptions of the dishes. The tasting menu consists of 5 appetizers, 1 first, 2 seconds, dessert, house wine, water and coffee for € 38.00. Among the starters we mention the tuna and burrata tartare dressed with Chin’oro oil, Taggiasca olive oil worked with Savona chinotto (€ 10) and octopus stuffed with potatoes and Tropea onion compote (€ 12). In the first courses of fresh pasta prepared by the chef we find the “linguine della Regina” with a mixed sea food and a light gratin (€ 15), the mezze manicures with cod and burrata pulp (€ 13) and the house gnocchi with octopus ragù (13,50 €). In the second courses the proposal is an original “orizzontale” selection of mixed fried fish and vegetables served on a wooden cutting board, cm. 30 to 16 €, up to 100 cm. for 30 €, or the triumph of grilled fish (25 €). Do not miss the traditional Ligurian rabbit (12 €). To finish the homemade desserts served with a bucket of whipped cream. Good selection of wines, with a preference for local labels.

Ristorante Cadò

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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 €.

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.