Ristorante Al Carugio Monterosso Al Mare — Restaurant in Monterosso al Mare

The food was so incredibly terrible I’m shocked it could even be this bad. I ordered the fritto misto (calamari) , trofie Al pesto (traditional Genevo pasta with pesto) , and pesce del giorno (fish of the day) . First the fish was so incredibly dry, flavourless (not even a trace of salt) and just overall overcooked. This was 26€ by the way. The calamari was also flavourless, and had a rancid taste to it, I ended up asking for more lemon to drench it in just to make it more tolerable and get it down. Lastly the pasta, I had high hopes for this one and it might’ve been the worst plate. The pasta was way over cooked it was mush. The pesto sauce was visibly watered down and had no flavour. I’m honestly very disappointed as I had very high expectations for the seafood here, we are after all steps away from the ocean. I am in no way a food critic, but in this case you don’t need to be one to know this place needs massive improvements. The service on the other hand was good. If I can help anyone with a recommendation, I highly recommend ‘ Il Ristorante Belvedere ‘. I stopped here for lunch earlier during the day, and ordered the ‘ trofie al pesto ‘ . It was the most delicious pesto I have ever tried, 11/10. Please do not leave Monterosso without trying it. Last tip is checking out ‘pesto lab’ if you’re looking to purchase jarred pesto to take...

The place in terms of interior is bearable. In all other ways it is a tourist trap or an eatery /having a heavy amount of courage to call itself a restaurant/ for someone with zero taste buds. A dishonest guide Claudio and his lady colleague working with cruise lines trick people by portraying it as a place liked by locals. I bet they would not even set foot here if got no free food for misleading people.When you arrive, it is busy but ONLY tourists are seated all around, even distributed by the name of the guide. I am still disgusted how people can do this to other people for a few euros.The prices are ridiculous for the food that so below average. So much praised Anchovies are just like from an ordinary supermarket but 10 fish cos 16€.😂You really end up feeling like an idiot after such a feast.The service is also tragic- had to be reminded about the fries ordered as a side dish to mussels. They had got completely cold by the time the fries were brought. There were loads of empty plates but it did not occur to the staff to clear them.Just pathetic waste of time and money.Plus half dishes that would demand some effort cooking are said not to...

Tucked in a side alley this place was an accidental find in Cinque Terre, Monterosso al Mare. As we were walking by we noticed the patrons were really enjoying their meal. The hostesses invited us in and we are glad we accepted. For a busy tourist place you would expect something mediocre and pricey but this here was a wonderful surprise the food and service were excellent. We were given a table in the alley which we preferred as we could do some people watching 😁 as we ate our DELICIOUS and FRESH seafood and sipped on the drinks. Mixed seafood salad and a seafood pasta were the dishes of our choice.The hostesses / manager owner were very pleasant, attentive and quick to serve and clear up, not pushy and let us chill . For a high tourist traffic area the prices were...