Vernazza.

Ananasso Bar

Order a counter espresso and warm focaccia topped with cured anchovies for five euros. Take a quiet seat outdoors facing the marina slipway.

Editor TipLigurian salted anchovies from Monterosso are cured in sea salt and chestnut wood casks, continuing a maritime preservation trade documented since the fourteenth century. Take your plate down to the concrete breakwater. The view across the water is free and the gulls are still drowsy before ten.

Batti Batti Friggitoria

Order the fritto misto cone with anchovies and squid at the counter for about ten euros. No reservations needed, but arrive by eleven-thirty.

Editor TipLigurian fry cooks dust small oily fish lightly in semolina rather than thick batter, keeping the delicate sea flavour intact and grease minimal. Squeeze the lemon wedge immediately and eat it standing along Via Roma before the paper base softens.

Ristorante Belforte

Reserve a terrace table two weeks ahead. Order the signature tegame, a baked casserole of fresh anchovies, sliced potatoes, and tomatoes, paired with local Cinque Terre DOC white.

Editor TipBaked in earthen dishes for centuries, this layered preparation showcases how Ligurian fishing families stretched their daily haul with terraced garden staples. Ask for terrace level four if open; you will listen to waves crashing directly against the eleventh-century stone bastion.

Porto di Vernazza

Grab an espresso at Piazza Marconi and watch the wooden gozzi boats pull in. Spend forty-five unhurried minutes here observing the fishermen sort the silver anchovies. Free.

Editor TipVernazza has relied on the small-scale netting of acciughe since the thirteenth century, preserving the surplus in coarse salt inside terracotta jars called arbanelle. Take a seat on the stone breakwater wall; the morning sun hits the harbor stones early and without the midday glare.

Trattoria da Sandro

Book a table inside this narrow room on Via Roma for tegame alla vernazzana, baked with potato and tomato. Dinner runs roughly 35 euros per person with wine.

Editor TipTegame di Vernazza is the village's signature baked dish, layering fresh anchovies, sliced potatoes, tomatoes, and local olive oil into a slow oven roast. Pair it with a chilled bottle of local Cinque Terre DOC white; its dry minerality cuts right through the oily fish.

Laboratorio Salagione Acciughe

Watch workers gut and press fresh silver anchovies into wooden barrels with coarse sea salt. Cured jars cost around eight euros and keep for over a year.

Editor TipMonterosso fishermen have salt-cured acciughe since the seventeenth century, pressing the fish under circular slate stones called ciappe for forty days to draw out the rich oil. Check the label for the Slow Food Presidium seal to ensure the catch comes strictly from local waters.

Gastronomia San Martino

Order at the counter before the noon rush. A plate of raw anchovies dressed with local olive oil and lemon costs ten euros and comes with crisp bread.

Editor TipRaw anchovy fillets steep in fresh lemon juice until the flesh turns white, an essential dockside preparation that relies entirely on the quality of that morning's haul. Take your paper plate outside to the bench by the church steps instead of hovering for a stool.

Enoteca Internazionale, Monterosso al Mare

Take the four-minute train from Vernazza to Monterosso. Grab a shaded terrace table and order the anchovy flight with crusty bread, butter, and a chilled glass of local white wine. Budget twenty euros.

Editor TipMonterosso fishermen have harvested acciughe with lampara lanterns since the seventeenth century, layering them in chestnut barrels with coarse salt to preserve the rich, clean flavour. Sit on the via Roma patio away from the beach crowds. The owner gladly explains the four different cures.

Trattoria dal Billy, Manarola

Hop the train two stops south to Manarola. Climb the steep stone stairs to Billy's top terrace. Order the mixed antipasto of twelve daily seafood bites followed by roasted local sea bream with potatoes.

Editor TipHigh above the sea, three generations of a local fishing family prepare whatever came off the morning boats, paired with crisp Cinque Terre DOC wine pressed from cliffside Bosco grapes. Reserve two weeks ahead and request an outside sunset table on the upper balcony. Wear comfortable walking shoes for the climb.