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.

Hotel Ristorante Le Betulle

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On the road between Alba and Bra, in a modern building, a hotel and restaurant managed for over 30 years by the Destefanis family. The restaurant is divided into two parts: one which looks like a bistro and another as a restaurant suitable for ceremonies and banquets. The owner Paolo always welcomes you with a smile and accompanies you in the choice of dishes and wines from a cellar attentive to the territory. In summer, you can eat outside. There are several menus: from the simplest for the “business lunch” offered at € 10 to a “tourist” one at € 20 with two appetizers, a first course, second course, dessert, bread and water and coffee excluding wines and finally a more varied “tasting menu”, at € 35. With a “A la carte” menu, the choice is wide and includes many typical local dishes. Among the starters, the Russian salad, raw meat beaten with a knife, veal with tuna sauce in the traditional version cooked in the oven combined with a tuna sauce; then the Cervere leek omelettes and the Langhe cheese with pistachios or the Robiola presented on a bed of hazelnuts. The handmade pasta is a feather in the cap of the restaurant: ravioli, gnocchi, panzerotti and tajarin. Among the second courses beef cheek Braised with Barolo, Rabbit and Lamb. In season mushrooms, truffles and snails from nearby Cherasco. Often the restaurant offers themed menus with Bagna Cauda, Mixed Fried, Boiled and Finanziera. Good locally produced cheeses and well-made desserts.

Pignatta Rossa Artrattoria

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Walking through Albissola Marina you can breathe Art on every corner, from the Lungomare degli Artisti to the galleries of sculptors and painters that you find in every street. This small but charmy place is located on a  characteristic  narrow street not far from the sea and from the roman road Via Aurelia. On the walls, paintings and sculptures by local artists, such as Giacomo, husband of Tiziana, the chef of the Artrattoria who designed the tables dedicating them to great painters. An all-female management both in the dining room and in the kitchen welcomes customers with a smile and seduces them with Tiziana’s delicious and original dishes. The menu changes every month because it is linked to seasonal products and local fresh fish. In autumn, we starts with tataki tuna with beetroot and honey cream, or pumpkin and almond pulp or seared squid with seasonal vegetables (to taste). In the first courses, enjoy the exquisite fish carbonara, the specialty of Tiziana, or the orange-flavored salmon ravioli with salted ricotta. We continue with cod meatballs with zucchini or the redfish soup. Meat dishes such as deer roast beef and rabbit roll with hazelnuts and taragna polenta are two classic staples. Excellent choice also in homemade desserts. The wine list is curated with interesting proposals from the area and beyond.

Osteria La Briga

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Although located in the municipality of Finale Ligure, Osteria La Briga is surrounded by the greenery of the Manie plateau, in a rural landscape where in summer you can enjoy the coolness, away from the beaches and the noises of the coast. Outside the tavern, under the trees, among the household artifacts made of wrought iron and straw, the wooden tables and the benches, illuminated by small lights, make the environment extremely pleasant and relaxing. The menu offers simple and genuine typical dishes, with excellent quality ingredients, mainly oriented on meat, but also on vegetables dishes. In the mixed appetizer we find the classic veal with tuna sauce, vegetable pies, Russian salad, etc. (14 euros). The homemade pastas, such as gnocchi with pesto, ravioli with sauce flavourings or with rabbit ragout are all mouthwatering (prices from 9 to 12 euros). Among the first courses delicious soups and Ligurian minestrone are also served (8 euros). Various types of grilled meat accompanied by roasted vegetables (rabbit, chanterelle, lamb, etc.) prevail from 17 to 21 euros. Excellent homemade desserts. Good choice of local wines, and a wide choice of craft beers. Ideal stop also for snacks and aperitifs, and for quick lunches. You can taste seasonal truffles and mushrooms as well. Young and competent staff, both in the kitchen and in the dining room, make your break comfortable with their sympathy and kindness.

Vino e Farinata

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Historic spot in the center of the city, where you can taste two types of “farinata”, a very special unleavened pancake of chickpea flour: the one made of wheat flour or the white flour one, as it is called in this area. Cooked in a tin-plated copper pan called “testo”, in a wood-fired oven, you can eat it only in Savona and in a few other places in Albissola, a few kilometers away, hard to find anywhere else on the Riviera di Ponente and Levante area. The white flour farinata is rigorously tasted with the cheese (fresh goat cheese) and the local black olives. Chickpea farinata is also served with many ingredients in addition to olives, with gorgonzola, rosemary, gianchetti (whitebait fish), spring onions. In this historical location you can taste first courses like legume or fish soups (4 or 8€), borage ravioli (8€) and gnocchi with pesto (7€), among the latter the typical stuffed anchovies (8€), seafood salads (9€), and sea bream “frisceu”, a local fish & chips dish (7€). Not only fish but also dishes from the Ligurian hinterland such as stuffed vegetables, herb pies, artichokes, “prescinseua” (variety of curd cheese with a consistency half way between  yogurt  and  ricotta cheese) of Genoese tradition (8€), and meat dishes. To finish, house desserts, such as chocolate pudding (grandmother’s recipe) and baked pears (all for 4€). Low prices and a relaxed atmosphere like a real trattoria, make it a very popular place for locals and tourists who want to taste the well cooked and genuine local specialties.

Ristorante Moisello

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In the valley floor of the Arroscia Valley, Ranzo is very green with the cultivation of olive trees and vineyards. The restaurant has an ancient tradition that two brothers, Ludovico in the kitchen and Federico in the dining room, have taken up for about three years. The cuisine is based on local products and on seasonality. In the dining room Federico welcomes customers with grace and kindness and always ready to “tell” the dishes with a smile. The environment is elegant and modern, very nice and well furnished. In the à la carte menu we find the appetizers, to taste the morsels with vegetables, made of seasonal herbs, soft and tasty, with tomato sauce with Taggiasca olives, the Genoese top with fried panissa and green sauce, wild boar paté or the octopus carpaccio (from 8 to 9 euro). Home-made ravioli, with pine nuts and thyme or braised gravy (10 euro) or chestnut gnocchi with pumpkin and fontina cheese (9 euro), and chickpea Zemin with pork steaks (8 euro). Following the real specialty of the house is the rabbit with olives and abundant Pigato, as per the grandmother’s recipe, really delicious (10 euro), or braised all’Ormeasco with crispy polenta (15 euros) or the original prawns in crust of coconut (14 euro). Excellent homemade desserts (7 euro). Good choice of local wines and more.

Agriturismo Rio Rocca

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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.

Osteria Cian de Bia'

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This restaurant is located in the small village of Badalucco up some steps inside a beautiful and inviting stone house. It’s set in a comfortable and family atmosphere with a fireplace, exposed bricks and wooden decor. The cuisine is traditional. Every meal is a special occasion so you’ll have 5 starters: Russian salad, Badalucco white bean salad, the brandacujun, frandura which is a typical dish from nearby Montalto, vitel tonné and vegetable fritters. Two first courses: ravioli stuffed with herbs and if you’re lucky tagliatelle with river shrimp. Among second courses we recommend their Ligurian rabbit, the snails and stockfish with is the star of the show of a festival every September. Exquisite desserts such as creme caramel and the sweet focaccia typical of the area are available. Most of the ingredients used in the kitchen come from the family farm called “Cian de Bià” which means “land on the Biagio plain”. Biagio was the owners Ivo and Franca’s grandfather; they also produce a very good olive oil. Fixed price menu for 30 euro, excluding wines. Good value for your money. Reservations are recommended.