Causapersa - Officina Enogastronomica — Restaurant in Monterosso al Mare

This is THE restaurant you want to visit if you are anywhere remotely near Monterosso. Worth the effort to get there. This is a family run, cozy, friendly eatery with prompt wait staff that really cares about your experience with them. They love to see you happy. Two siblings from a family of experienced successful restaurateurs own the place which sits directly in front of Monterosso Beach. On chilly days you may want dine upstairs, where a lovely dining room awaits. AND NOW ABOUT THE FOOD...The chef is affiliated with the CIA (Culinary Institute of America)and Italy's premier culinary training institute as a master of Tuscan Cuisine. He has trained and mentored many new chefs (and some not so young) from alll over the world in the fine art of Tuscan Cuisine, and yet is humble and absolutely delightful. He let's the food do the talking. We were so impressed that we ate with him all three nights we were there. I am considered an excellent amateur cook, and my son is a chef, so our family knows good food. Our entire extended family can dazzle with their offerings, but this man served me the greatest meal I had in Italy and probably the greatest meal I have ever eaten. It started with an on the house amuse-bouch - different every night. I dream of his pesto, followed by one perfect course after another. THE FINALE- Whole sea bream cooked with white wine and lovely herbs and spices, deboned and served table side with an unbelievable sauce of potatoes, calamata olives and tomatoes. It was a revelation. This has to be ordered ahead of time, but WOW. Good regional wine list, order the banana dessert and get a free show...which was so great. Loved it, loved it, loved it. If you are looking for pompous, snotty service- wrong place. If you are looking for cheap piles of pasta or crap cheap street food, not gonna do it for you. However, if you know great food, you will never forget your experience with...

We had a magical first meal in Monterosso at Causapersa after arriving mid-afternoon and wandering happily through the tunnel into old town and Piazza Garibaldi within sight of the ocean. Our waiter Amin started out quiet and patient with hour tired American family, but felt like a long-lost best friend by the time we finished. The fresh baked bread he brought before our meals was some of the best we've ever eaten and the rest of the meal followed suit. I don't remember everything we ordered, but there was an amazing and exotic salad, sauteed mixed seafood for me, and homemade pasta for one of our non-seafood-eating daughters. My wife ordered a glass of local white wine that was so good we asked to see the bottle again (see photo with Amin). We took a break before asking about dessert, but Amin surprised us with some house made Limonata that had us all relaxed and dissolved into giggles and silly stories for the next half hour. We ordered a wonderful small chocolate cake for dessert, and then peppered Amin with questions about the chef (his brother) and the baker (his mother). We wanted to hug them all by the time we were finished. What we thought would be a quick meal before we found our hotel turned into a leisurely and heavenly feast at Causapersa. Thank you again to Amin...

Fantastic food, very nice staff and lovely surroundings (although a bit noisy due to the proximity to the railway). Worth every euro.

Two best-of-our-lives: White wine - Buranco D.O.P Cinque Terre 39€. Smooth, mineral-ish and natural tasting. Perfect for any seafood or fish, or just as-is. Pasta dish - Spaghetti "pastificio martelli" with squid, black garlic and anchovy sauce 20€. Every bite was just a wow-moment. Ridiculously good and packed with umami flavours. Extremely well balanced.

We also had: Home made pasta filled with cheese and pepper with raw prawns and a bisque. Baked fresh fish (ombrina), jerusalem artichoke puré and chips, nduja and cubes of root vegetables. Pistachio mousse dessert with crumbs.

Instead of limoncello after dinner we were offered a glass of sciacchetrá, which was a delightful surprise. Much better than limoncello in our opinion, and much more local (hard to get...