Trattoria Sant'Anna — Restaurant in Rapallo

Me and some friends went here for a quick meal. After looking at the google reviews for the place it looked as though it was a hidden gem. We checked the menu and went inside. The waiter was friendly and spoke good English. We were the only ones in the restaurant but it was early by Italian standards. The menu was in Italian but the waiter who spoke good English helped translate it. We ordered some drinks and 2 different pasta dishes. 5-10 minutes later the food came out. We noticed that the woman chef sat through in the other half of the restaurant and was looking over at us as we started eating. At first it didn’t look like much but then after tasting them we felt they were not fresh at all. The pasta and its sauce tasted like it had been heated up in the microwave. You know the texture pasta or sauce has after being in the fridge for a day and then heating it up. We did think 10 minutes was a short amount of time to prepare 2 different dishes. It takes almost half of that just to get the water boiling… We started looking into the reviews in a little more detail and started to notice that all of their latest reviewers who had left 5 star reviews had only 1 or 2 previous reviews. This seemed suspicious to us because sure some might be leaving their first review in there but in this case it was most of them. The people who had left more negative reviews you could see had a review history. For probably the 2nd time in my life I decided to speak to the waiter about the food. I explained that it didn't taste fresh at all and that frankly I couldn't / didn’t want to eat it. He called the chef over who I presume was his mother and explained to her what I was saying. Naturally they got defensive and offended and after some discussion they asked us to leave. I offered to pay for the drinks but they just wanted us to leave. The waiter asked where I was from and when I said UK, he started throwing insults at how bad the food is there. I am not one to complain undeservingly about the food. I am well travelled and have eaten all over the world. North / South America, Asia, Australia, Greece, Spain and so far spent 10 days in Italy eating out at restaurants half of the time. I know when something doesn’t taste right and this did not. How could they possibly prepare 2 different meals in less than 10 minutes? It was 100% reheated food. The other reviews here are fake / fabricated.

Edited: They added a rude response after this review. Unfortunately I couldn't add a screenshot as it violates the 'no screenshot' photo...

When I first arrived at this small establishment, I wasn't expecting anything enormous or unique. Yet my expectations were completely shattered from the moment I sat down.

Let us begin with the host, the family-run restaurant has a true feeling of authenticity, the people might seem a bit cold at first, but once you talk to them you will be able to appreciate the true warmth that they posess.

The food itself was truly unbelievable aswell, and impossibly cheap for their quality and content. Every single dish was authentic and home made and you could truly taste the love they put into their work.

The scenery might seem lackluster at first, but for those that enjoy a more rugged appearance, you will absolutely love this place and once you take in the environment you will start enjoying the little bits.

Truly a marvelous little restaurant, 10/10, would...

First I thought the restaurant was some small business with mediocre food, but what I was astonished. The food was very delicious, it is cheap and full of flavour. The richness of multiple tastes combined with a nice glass of traditional Italian wine was for me a golden experience. The staff was super friendly, they helped and laughed wherever they can. The lady is funny and is prepared to do everything to give you the best experience in Italy. The husband I presume cooks the meals and is helpful and friendly. The son is a good waiter and works hard to bring the drinks and food as fast as possible.

We were here with a large group of 27 people which isn’t easy to serve good food, they did it anyway. They stained a traditional Italian restaurant. A recommendation...