Hi Frugalistas! The Cinque Terre is, like much of Italy, pure joy for frugal first class travellers. It is easy to eat well on fantastic local, seasonal food, and drink fabulous local wines, all at a bargain price! What’s not to love? So, here is the official frugal first class travel guide to eating well in the Cinque Terre:
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Eating well in the Cinque Terre
The Cinque Terre is all about fish and other fresh seafoods. Red meat and poultry is not well represented (and in some places not represented at all) on restaurant menus, so seafood is the way to go here. You will see common European species such as swordfish and sea bass, as well as other varieties that your waiter is unlikely to know the English name of – because it’s a local fish. Add in squid and octopus, lobster, shrimp and other crustaceans, and razor clams and vongole. You will be spoiled for choice. Cooking styles vary from simple grills, to delicious soups/stews and seafood pastas.
A simple grilled mixed seafood plate for one (!). At a mere EUR18 it’s genuinely frugalfirstclass!
Because it is in Liguria, the Cinque Terre is also home to walnuts and pesto. I enjoyed a delicious ravioli with a walnut sauce as an entree (appetizer) on one night. Pesto also features as a simple dressing for pasta – great for a light entree (appetizer). One thing I did notice was the difference in flavour in the pesto compared to pesto I am able to buy at home. Not as oily and the basil not so overpowering, it was an altogether different thing in its natural habitat, so well worth trying.
My seafood soup was also EUR18 and was delicious!
Drinking in the Cinque Terre
The Cinque Terre is more famous for its whites, but my travel companion and I got into the reds, and loved them
All those grape vines and lemon trees are put to good use in contributing to the Dolce Vita of the Cinque Terre. Local grapes go into making both red and white wines, and the dessert wine, sciacchetra (shar-cat-TRA). Lemons make the powerful, but tasty digestive, limoncello (lee-mon-chello). When you are out dining, do find, and try, the local wines on offer. In my experience, your waiter will swell with pride in discussing the relative merits of the different labels on their list, and will guide you to a good choice. The sciacchetra is just the thing to finish off with some torte at the end of your meal, or even on its own savoured like a port. If you are used to French style dessert wines, such as Sauternes, you will find the sciacchetra a bit different, but no less delicious. Because of the small quantities, and almost artisanale production do expect to pay between EUR20-30 for a decent bottle in a reasonable restaurant.
Don’t forget the sciacchetra – and make sure you dip the biscotti in – almost a dessert in its own right!
Quick eats and treats
Because it’s Italy, and because it’s the sea, there’s plenty of gelato to try. What I did find was that the most interesting flavours were in the smaller shops a bit further up the hills away from the harbours. There I found the maker served me, explaining the flavours and how they made them – and they tasted brilliant. A ricotta and caramelised fig flavour I found in Manarola (in the little gelateria up the hill near the post office) was among the best gelato I’ve ever eaten.
This pesto and potato tortino kept the local flavours going at lunch
If you’re looking for a light lunch to be enjoyed on the run or just to sit on the harbour breakwater and enjoy the view for a budget price, you also have plenty of options. Forget the pizza and go for any of the other little hot take away goodies you’ll find in little shops dotted around villages.
Food as souvenirs
If you want to take some of the Cinque Terre home why not go for some local produce? I found a tiny little supermarket cum deli in Manarola that sold local wine and limoncello at a reasonable price. Bottles of local pesto were cheap and make a nice little gift for friends and family. If you really want to get into the local wines back home, there are food shops geared to tourists (you can spot them by their bags of pasta and bottles of expensive olive oil out the front) who will ship cases of wine home.
The Cinque Terre is probably one of the easiest destinations I’ve ever visited to eat and drink local. Find a little restaurant and take your pick – you can’t go wrong!
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Where is this place? I’ll be heading down to europe for university student exchange, any places you recommend?
It’s in northern Italy, about three hours south of Milan by train. No great raging nightlife, but beautiful and imexpensive
Reblogged this on Food Incorporated.
Very informative post. I absolutely loved the
Cinque Terre. We had driven past so many times without realising their eixstence! And I had one of my very best eating experiences in Monterosso at L’Ancora Della Tortuga, on the way up the hill, overlooking the sea. The best seafood meal I’ve ever had.
That was something I noticed too. Normally food with fantastic views suffers a bit, but in the cinque terre it didn’t seem to matter. Sea view food was just as great!
Your blog inspires! I have been thinking of traveling to Cinque Terre on my own this year but keep getting cold feet. I’ve always traveled in groups. One of these days….
the seafood photos in this post made my mouth water so much i went to to the local Spanish-immigrant-owned tavern (tasca) in my Caracas neighborhood to order the favorite shrimp dish after work…
Sorry for leading you astray! Hope you enjoyed it!
Good gelato places are nice to hear of! I wonder how different it is from places elsewhere in Europe, as I haven’t compared much.
Hi, i just joined you on Facebook and subscribed to your blog,
The cinque terre, has been a part of the world I have been drawn to all my life, yet not managed to go there yet. I don’t know the reason for that attraction, it has just always been there. And just now….reading your blog, I laughed when you talked about the food… For some strange reason. all of the food you mentioned were typical of the region……happen to be my favourite foods, – pesto being my absolute favourite meal. Wow how funny is that? and a bit mysterious .
Thanks for your blog….. it makes be really determined to go there this year. I will be staying in a town just near Nice in France.. and I think well maybe a weekend trip to the Cinque terre? What do you think ?
appreciate your wisdoms.
Ian (from Melbourne Australia)
Thanks for signing up for both the blog and my Facebook page – I really appreciate every reader. When I went to the Cinque Terre I travelled from Nice. It took about 7hrs by train. Car would be quicker, but then you’d need to be prepared to leave it in the village car park. Another of my Aussie readers left a comment about the horrors of driving in the Cinque Terre so it’s definitely one to avoid.
For me, a weekend isn’t enough, but if that’s the only time you’ve got, I say go for it!
Nice post!
The grilled mixed seafood looks awesome! Could you kindly advise which restaurant is that?
Thanks in advance!
Warmest,
Natalie
Hi, we just arrived in Vernazza tonight and wondering which restaurant we could find the “smple grilled mixed seafood plate for one (!). At a mere EUR18 it’s genuinely frugalfirstclass!” at…????? thanks!
It was at Trattoria Il Porticciolo in Manarola. If you come out of the train station and head towards the harbour it is about halfway down the hill on the right. I would ring ahead and book a table if you are staying in Vernazza. That price was in April 2013. Have a wonderful time!