Antica Trattoria Centro — Restaurant in Levanto

Service and atmosphere was great. There was really loud club(?) music next door and our waiter would just randomly go there to dance. I thought it was pretty funny and definitely livened up the mood for me. Food was pretty mediocre and felt overpriced.

Ordered: antipasti del mare pesto pasta Ligurian style monkfish Mixed fruit platter

Positives: the antipasti del mare is actually a really good deal contrary to some of the other items. It came with like 10 different pieces of seafood to try in two different courses. My boyfriend and I were able to split each one so we could taste it all as mentioned before, service was great. Waiter was very attentive -the fruit platter had a great variety of fruits! I was craving just some simple fresh fruit and it came with slices of banana, kiwi, apples, peaches, grapes, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries. My favorites were the kiwi, bananas, and peaches.

What I didn't like: while the seafood appetizer had a lot of variety, I remember liking less than half of the items. Unfortunately I'm writing this review 3 days after going there and I can't even tell you what was on there which probably shows how memorable it was. pesto pasta was really underwhelming. I believe the pasta is homemade and the texture was lovely, but it actually tasted like nothing. There was no pest flavor except for a slightly herbaceous taste. monkfish, if you are like me and have never had monkfish prior, it is a unique fish for my palate. It's quite chewy (similar to a swordfish) and not at all flaky and has a pretty strong gamey taste. I personally wasn't a fan, not the restaurant's fault since it's just be the fish itself I don't like, but just a heads up up to those who may not have had it before! -my kiwi slices didn't come peeled. Perhaps a cultural difference in that they just eat the peel in Italy but I personally find it to bitter so I cut it off. The raspberries and blackberries were so sour I could only eat one of each

Overall, it's fine if you're looking for an inoffensive restaurant, but I didn't really enjoy my food. I think we also ordered some less popular dishes so maybe if they have other specials those...

Rude and Disrespectful Owner/Lady Manager- Please Avoid With the recommendations from our hotel and Agriturismo in Levanto, we decided to go for dinner here. Upon arriving my partner spoke with a women behind a bar who was quite erratic with her other colleagues. We stood there waiting for someone to seat us. When no one paid attention, my Italian speaking partner spoke with the erratic Italian waitress who we later learnt was the owner. She spoke with my partner in a rude and raised voice and I was almost ready to leave. Anyway, we decided to stay as it’s was a bit late. We were then seated and told that the owner will take our order. Then after 10 mins we were told that owner is busy and can’t take our order, so the waitress serving us will now take our order. We then saw the owner later chatting with other tables with Italians on it- giving us attitude!! The food we got was delicious, but the whole experience with this rude owner who doesn’t know how to welcome guests. I read all the negative reviews on tripadvisor and it seems other people have said the same thing about rude and crazy owner. We live and travel the world, if you work in hospitably, you cannot be rude and disrespectful to guests. Full stop. If you are not Italian, I suggest you save your money and eat somewhere who are more welcoming. This crazy owner need to either go and learn some manners or don’t work in the restaurant business...

On our last day in the area, our hostess highly recommended that we go here for dinner. When we passed by, we went in and asked if we could reserve a table, and the owner was very kind. Even though he didn't speak English, we still managed to agree on when we wanted to come. I want to emphasise that if it takes a while to take your order, it's because there is a clear division between who takes orders, who serves, and who serves wine. So don't feel like you're being ignored; they know what they're doing and haven't forgotten you're there. We ordered a selection of sashimi and vegetable antipasti, which were very generous in size and really tasty. Then we shared the fish ravioli with lobster. Beyond the fact that the dish itself is beautiful, it is simply delicious and perfectly prepared. Keep in mind that the dish is huge and can easily feed three or even four people! Highly recommended. And another important thing - their sommelier is...