Il Giardinetto — Restaurant in La Spezia

After a week of great food in different Italian cities, we arrived at La Spezia on Friday, March 28/25 in the evening. My wife and two kids tried to find dinner at two recommended restaurants, but they were packed, and they didn’t take us without a reservation. We found this restaurant that was completely empty, and we thought we give it a try. I had the mussels (muscili ripieni) and the tuna (tonno con cipolle caramellate). One of the two made my stomach sick and without going into details, at 5 am the following day, I was feeling terrible. It made my visit to Cinque Terre miserable. I could not do the hiking we had planned for and instead, I had to spend two days taking Imodium, looking for bathrooms every hour and sitting in plaza benches waiting for my family. Not fun, especially in the trains. My wife and kids ordered different dishes, and they were ok. The waitress did not speak English, but she was kind. That is why I am giving the...

This is a family run restaurant but the “home cooking” is done with care and skill.

It’s how a good restaurant should be run - a small selection (6 or 7 per course) executed perfectly. But surprisingly the price is very reasonable.

It was a good start. While in many restaurants they give you old stale bread, this was crusty and fresh. I then tried the local specialties of Muscoli Ripieni (stuff mussels) and Trofie al Pesto (trofie pasta with pesto sauce). Both were superb. Congratulations to the kitchen.

Do yourself a favour and...

Great restaurant in La Spezia. I appreciate outdoor or indoor seating (and the indoor is much bigger than you think). Service was fast and friendly. Starter came fast. Good options on the menu, nice variety. The tuna was fantastic. Friend loved the steak. Husband loved the fish. Wish inside they had some sort of background music, it's a bit echoey in there and I could hear people chewing. Reasonable...