San Martino Gastronomia

This is a small restaurant - a couple tables inside and six or so outside. They don't take reservations so be prepared for a wait. Worth it! One of the best meals we've had in 4 weeks of Italy travel. We can recommend the crepes with ricotta and spinach, the pasta with walnut sauce, and swordfish with pasta. Great service once you get a table, and NO cover charge. House wine by the 1/4 or 1/2 liter. Reasonable prices.

We didn’t have a reservation so we went a few minutes before they opened for dinner. Good thing we did because they soon had a line and there were people waiting for tables afterwards as well. They only have a few seats!

We had the spaghetti with swordfish and it was fantastic! The house wine was good too. Service was great, food was quick. I would highly recommend!

Ver tiny place in Monterosso, which doesn’t take bookings, but it is so worth the wait for a table. The food is absolutely delicious, so much so that we’ve been back 2 nights in a row. Service is prompt and is a great place for couples to dine. The Swordfish pasta was terrific.

What a wonderful experience it was! Right from the start, they were just about to close, but they kindly found me a table. Everyone there was incredibly friendly and warm, and that certainly added to the overall experience.

I decided to go with the pasta featuring swordfish, and it was nothing short of amazing, fresh and incredibly tasty!

I wholeheartedly recommend this place; the chef and his wife are truly outstanding!

This place is a gem. We got the swordfish entree and the trofie pesto. Both absolutely delicious. Great service and a covered patio to sit at. Can't ask for better.

People line up here for a reason. Incredible pasta. Some of the best I’ve had in my life. We ordered three dishes to make the most of it. Each was delicious and exemplary. Could not believe the value either. Friendly service. This place is worth a wait. If you find yourself in line, don’t give up. Stay the course. Revel in the upper echelon pasta afterwards. 🙏

Fantastically fresh and very flavorful! The pastas and meats were amazing! Totally worth the wait as there is limited seating, but the food is worth every minute! I would come back again for sure!

This was our best meal in Cinque Terre - delicious food perfectly executed in a quaint/humble setting. We started with the caprese salad which had incredibly fresh tomatoes, then had the swordfish over spaghetti (outstanding) and the seafood pasta (best dish of the trip). The wait (with a glass of wine) was well worth it and the portion sizes were larger than expected.

We ordered seafood pasta and squid / spinach soup. Pasta was perfectly al dente and soup was flavourful with tender squid. Very much enjoyed, and value for money

Came for a mid week dinner. Queue early at 5:45pm.. there was a queue for a few folks at the front of me for the outdoor seating. Best lasagne ever, Garfield will gobble this easily. Had the Pansoti with walnut sauce as this is Lingurian type food, taste great. Local wine by the glass. Excellent

This is a small restaurant in the heart of Monterosso al Mare. If you don’t see the sign with the menu (pictured), you might miss it altogether. It has room for about 15 people (7 groups) outside and maybe another 8 inside (2 groups).

They open around noon and if you’re looking to eat, it’s best to come about 5 minutes early and just wait for them to setup. There were groups that were told 10 mins, and they went on their way, came back, and the place was packed. Just wait and you’ll be guaranteed to get a spot.

Is it worth it?

Yes. The pasta is freshly made and on point. Every ingredient is fresh, the pesto we had was delicious, and the lasagne with meat sauce was exactly that, but not that North American style where the sauce is too sweet. It’s perfect.

Service was top notch, though I feel bad for the groups that left and came back. At the same time, they don’t do reservations, so if you leave you’re taking that risk. There isn’t much in terms of people watching as the narrow street here isn’t as busy.

There isn’t a view either so most people eat and leave. The average dining time is probably 45 mins to an hour. Then you can go on your way and explore the rest of the city.

Note: they do not serve coffee here.

Great experience, best pasta we’ve had in Cinque Terre! The pesto trofie and walnut ravioli are both fantastic. The owner and staff are very friendly. You won’t get great views, but it’s in a cozy alleyway off the main road in old town Monterosso, and the food is far and away better than some more picturesque restaurants, like Torre Aurora. Must try if you’re in this area, but come before they open at 6pm to get a seat. They fill up quick and there’s limited seating.

I had the pleasure of eating there while on a tour with a group and we were turned loose to explore. We stumbled upon this gem and had (the meal)of our journey . I had one regret, we were under a time constraint as we had to meet the group and had only 12 minutes to eat and meet them. I wanted to take my time and enjoy my seafood pasta. The place is amazing and we are already in talks to travel the region another time. If you are lucky enough to eat there enjoy to the fullest. I want to personally speak with the owners and convey my appreciation of them and the lovely waitress that took care of us and understood our situation. This place deserves 10 stars!

Wonderfully charming family-run restaurant. Trofie al Pesto Genovese and seafood pasta were both delicious. Warm, friendly service. Can’t wait to return!

Super delicious food. I've been traveling to Italy for three weeks and there's no any other restaurants can beat this place. We ordered a lasagna and a seafood pasta, both of them are to die for. I would eat there everyday if I have the chance. Their staff is amazing, super attentive and efficient. They have very limited table so it's best to either come early at 6pm or 9pm.

Please make sure to stop here!! The food was absolutely incredible and I would highly recommend the swordfish which was to die for! If you get lost trying to find it, it's just slightly off the main street leading to a set of stairs (the restaurant is before those).

One of the most memorable experience for me definitely. I ordered the seafood salad and it was perfect for me. The asparagus was so fresh and perfectly cooked, I've never had such well cooked asparagus. All the other seafood were also absolutely fresh and perfectly cooked, I have no idea how they made the octopus so soft! Mussels were also so fresh with the light taste of the sea. We also ordered a lasagne which was nice and cheesy. We ate every bit of both meals! White wine paired well with the seafood salad.

Definitely recommend the pesto pasta here. The pesto was so obviously fresh and the flavors of all the ingredients were so strong. If you're a pesto lover you're going to LOVE this dish. The pasta was cooked to perfection and the service was great! We got there at opening time and there was already a wait so definitely get there early!

We stumbled upon this place and were so happy we did! The line started getting longer as the night went on, but we thought it was worth the wait.

Got the spaghetti with anchovies which had so much flavour.

Much more affordable than other places in the area, and very generous portions of pasta, would definitely recommend!

Great little gastronomia! I went here a few times for dinner! :) An AirBnb in Monterosso al Mare was my home base for exploring Liguria and beyond, when I was in Italy for 3 weeks recently. The food here was so good! They kindly had seating for this solo traveler who knows a little Italian. The service was great and they make sure to ask if folks have allergies. Their house wine is good as well. I will definitely be going back if I'm in the area again!