Trattoria Rosmarino — Restaurant in Genoa

I asked a friend and his wife for their favorite local seafood spots, this was #1. I stumbled in at 9, and was greeted with a very full restaurant and no booking, "don't worry, we will seat you". When seated I was handed a digital menu in English as all others were boards hung around the restaurant. The atmosphere is upbeat, happy and excited, the food was as well. Service was fantastic given I don't speak Italian, in fact, throughout Genoa I have found most people to accommodate after I make an effort.

went directly into seafood and was not disappointed. Started with Tuna 3 ways.... the crostini made in house was perfect to offset the strength and complexity of the tuna, great dish. For the monkfish, which was perfectly poached then skin crisped under torch, it sat in a soft purée of sweet early spring tomatoes and simple garlic reduction. It was stellar! To finish I had a Fragola Crumble, it came in a small planter and I was instructed to eat all layers at once. It was just like the flavor of a Strawberry Shortcake but in liquid and crunch form. The dinner was 45 euro which I thought...

The atmosphere is very Welcoming and warm. The menu has a specific focus on traditional Ligurian dishes, with a few exception that still meet the expectations. Many preparations include Slow Food Consortium products, that are clearly indicated in the menu. Good job! We were two and had one starter each. The vitello tonnato was delicious, though would have needed a bit of extra tonnata sauce for my taste. The brandacujun was absolutely incredible! Served with a cod mayonnaise and a cod skin crisp, giving the plate the perfect twist and crunchiness. We followed with trofie al pesto, perfectly cooked and balanced, and slow cooked veal alla ligure with a side of potatoes. Heartwarming. We finished off with pine nut cake served with ice cream. Bread and focaccia were delicious as well. Excellent wine list, and I appreciated we could take home leftover wine! Service was very friendly and fast. Excellent quality/price ratio. We will definitely come back and reccomend...

I do not like giving a bad review because I know how hard people work and how demanding us customers can be, but our food experience was not good. This trattoria was recommended in our recently updated (2022) Lonely Plant guide so felt a safe choice, but both our meals did not look freshly prepared and were over cooked. Have read other reviews that are excellent & appear to have eaten inside. We ate in Piazza Ferrari and not within the trattoria so that maybe the reason for a poor experience as it is a tourist trap location and we did order dishes that I feel are tourist favourites, but a trattoria normally means fresh good quality produce, cooked with care. Although the location in the square is picturesque, the noise of the fountains and buses take away some ambience. The staff were pleasant but did not seem professional nor attentive. The good thing was we booked the table via WhatsApp & got a...