Corniglia Restaurants

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After hiking from Vernazza to Corniglia one morning, we were in dire need of a rejuvenating caffeine hit.

We stopped off at Bar Matteo for a quick espresso. We had been here before, so knew that the coffee would be good, and the sevice friendly.

Favorite Dish: We just had a coffee at the bar, but there is a shady courtyard with plenty of seats if you prefer.

You can have a meal and a refreshing beer as well.

As we reached Corniglia, coming down from the high trail on path “7a”, we turned left toward town, then left again at the first road (Via Fieschi) with signs pointing to cool drinks, a restaurant, and rooms to rent.

Not knowing what we would find – just hoping for some cool bottled water, really.

But we found a tiny paradise. A wonderful, shaded garden spot, with umbrella'd tables, spilling over with colorful flowers, and an extraordinary view of the bay to the south of Corniglia. Fresh fish is a specialty here, but we opted for grilled eggplant and “insalata caprese” a salad of tomatoes, bufala (water buffalo) mozzarella and fresh tiny basil leaves.

Too hot for wine, so we settled for aqua minerale frizzante (sparkling mineral water). Paired with the “pane” (bread) that comes with the cover charge, we were in heaven. The presentation of the food, the flavors, the breeze, the view of the seacoast - a perfect lunch for hikers with a passion for these Italian icons.

They also rent rooms.

Favorite Dish: Both the eggplant and caprese (see above) were perfect!

Corniglia is set up in the cliffs high above the sea and this little restaurant is tucked away in a small narrow street of this town. The restaurant is old a little dark not in a bad way, more cozy. I cannot remember how many seats or tables there were but it’s small so if you can book ahead, I would. This is a family run business, one of those true experiences with local wines and love on the plate. Seafood is what I had but I do not recall the dish as it was a few years ago now and my notes have let me down. Don’t worry I always remember a good experience almost as much as I remember the bad. This was a very pleasant surprise and less expensive than I anticipated from a restaurant with a captive tourist market.

As I said in my intro to Corniglia the image here is a slow food type symbol that I never got around to finding out who was behind it but it always guarantees a very good meal. I took this photo of the symbol on the window of this restaurant.