11 Best Restaurants in The Italian Riviera, Italy

This enoteca and antipasto bar is popular with locals and tourists looking for typical regional dishes, fresh fish, and a lengthy wine list. The owner designed the entire place, right down to the tables and chairs made from anchors and old boats. They also offer terrific sandwiches to go.

If the staggering prices at virtually all of Portofino's cafés and restaurants are enough to ruin your appetite, join the long line outside this family-run bakery where you will find affordable and delicious eats worth waiting for. At this takeaway spot, the focaccia is baked on-site and served fresh, along with all kinds of sandwiches and other refreshments.

For a truly Genovese experience, this unassuming restaurant, located in the basement of an old palazzo in the heart of the centro storico between Strada Nuova and the port, is just the place. You'll find some of the best, most authentic food in the city, with a focus on fish, meat dishes (including rabbit), and, of course, pesto.

It bills itself as a pizzeria, focacceria (endemic in these parts), and an insalateria. The pizzas are magnificent, as are their first cousins the focaccia. But if you tire of this, their salads are worth a trip in themselves. Portions are copious here. Enter hungry, exit rejoicing while perhaps believing that you ate in what once was a medieval bank (it probably was).

Imagine having a swell glass of wine (their list is beyond foolproof) in a narrow, highly vaulted hall. The space may date to the 16th century, but some experts would argue it’s earlier. No matter. Their plates of affettati misti (mixed cold cuts with trimmings) are divine. As are their lunches.

At this bright and friendly trattoria with a maritime theme, you can dine on some of the city's best pesto and Ligurian dishes in a casual, comfortable setting. The staff are knowledgeable about the region's specialties and the wines on the always interesting menu, and even if you don't order a pesto dish, they'll bring you some to sample before your meal. Fried sardines, a local catch of the day, and seasonal torte (savory Ligurian pies) are menu staples.

Just a few steps from Porta Soprana and the Childhood Home of Christopher Columbus, this place makes a handy stop for a snack and a sightseeing pause. On street-level is a straightforward café (with some seating upstairs, too) offering sandwiches, pastries, and ice creams, while in the basement (accessed by a separate door) you'll find a cavernous hall where succulent hamburgers and other hot snacks are the main draw. Only the best local beef is used in the burgers, and there's a great selection of craft beers, too. It's always busy, and you may have to wait to put your order in, but the results make it time well spent. There's a second branch at Piazza della Vittoria 36r.

Considered an institution, this white-walled, simply decorated farinateria and pizzeria dates back to 1887. It gets quite busy at lunchtime, with locals inside or, in summer, on the patio munching happily on farinata (a chickpea pancake and a Ligurian delicacy) and thick-crust pizza served hot out of the wood-burning oven.

You'll know this focacceria and pasticceria by the line out the door, as you walk along the beach before entering the archway to the old port. This tiny spot—where you can see focaccia being baked through a window into its kitchen—specializes in Liguria’s favorite bread, farinata or chickpea flatbread (baked late afternoons from October to March) and several flavors of camogliesi (rum-filled is the original), a sweet that the shop's owner, Giacomo, invented in 1970.

Wood paneling, lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and communal tables, as well as delicious dishes, add to the old-world Genovese charm of this unassuming trattoria. It's particularly popular at lunchtime for the small menu that changes daily and includes homemade pastas, a variety of fresh seafood offerings, and perfectly baked desserts.