La Cantina Di Miky — Restaurant in Monterosso al Mare

Came here for dinner with my family and had a nice experience. Gluten free bread available on request - I asked a member of staff and he handed it to me in plastic packaging. Another member of staff then took it away and brought it back on a plate 😂 it was a nice texture, better than other restaraunts I experienced in Florence and the Cinque Terre region. The menu clearly labels allergens using a number system. The only option for gluten free and vegetarian was either pesto pasta or roasted cauliflower. I decided to try the cauliflower and it was delicious! Amazing flavours and textures. Small portion size for the price however. Decided to order a dessert as I wasn't fully satisfied, and went for the coconut semifreddo with passionfruit and pineapple, but was a bit disappointed with the texture. The semifreddo was extremely hard - not 'semi' frozen at all - and lacked that soft, creamy texture. The flavours were good but it was difficult to get my spoon into the alfreddo and I wished I got the chocolate pudding instead, which was also gluten free. To clarify, the coconut alfreddo can be gluten free was by removing the crumble that normally comes with it. Overall the food had great flavours but to be honest I enjoyed other local restaraunts just as much for half the price.... My family felt the same. The atmosphere inside was okay but the lighting is quite harsh (bright white lights) against the dark walls. It didn't have a cosy, intimate feeling that some other local restaraunts capture. Definitely more suited to those who don't mind spending more money for...

We rolled into La Cantina at the tail end of a long, blistered day — the kind of day where your sweat has sweat, and your legs are jelly from hiking cliffs and dodging sunburnt German tourists on overcrowded beaches. All we wanted was a cold rosé and somewhere to let the coastal beauty bleed into our retinas while my goddess of a missus sat across from me, glowing like a blonde hallucination.

So we ordered a glass. Just one. Sat down. I faced her — but then thought, “Stuff it, the view’s good too, I want both.” So I turned my chair to soak in the sea and the girl. A moment of bliss, ruined by the arrival of Her. The manager. A storm cloud in human form with the charisma of a customs officer and the charm of a parking inspector. She marched out to tell me — not ask, tell me — I couldn’t sit like that. Couldn’t turn a chair in her sacred outdoor temple of overpriced snacks and mediocrity.

I told her to stuff her wine, her rules, and the broken bureaucratic horse she rode in on.

But no — suddenly it was okay to stay. Just long enough to sip my wine and scroll Google Maps for a place that didn’t operate like a fascist picnic ground.

La Cantina is the perfect spot if you like warm wine, weak menus, and being scolded like a toddler in church. The only thing colder than the service was the death of hospitality in that woman’s eyes.

One star for the view. Zero for...

Stay away from that terrible place! It’s dangerous!

I was eating with my friends in the location next to this one and became a witness of mess and mayhem of the waiter of this location. Suddenly I heard a smashing sound near to me. It seems that the waiter couldn’t restrain the anger and broke the bottle above the table. Then he swiftly left the terrace. (I assume that the waiter is an owner of that place). The asian guy who was sitting next was injured by the piece of glass. He wanted to clarify what has happened and call the owner. The guy was bleeding. I can understand him. But the service of that place did not even try to help him. The guy started to call the police. Some minutes later the waiter who broke the bottle came out and started to provoke him and than hit him in the face. They started to fight. The waiter even took the chair trying to hit the visitor with it but some other people involved into the conflict and stopped them. I have never seen such behaviour of the restaurant service. Can you imagine if instead of this asian guy was your child? Crazy! I hope that police, which came later, has...