Trattoria La Grotta — Restaurant in Riomaggiore

I was here for the food. Wasn’t expecting much from service or atmosphere. Needless to say, food was the worst I have tasted so far in Cinque Terre. I ordered the ravioli which tasted like it just came out of the microwave and poured with lots and lots of tomato sauce (to cover the bad taste?). The 2nd meal I had was the monkfish with vegetables. Same as the ravioli, the monkfish had no taste at all. It tasted like it just came out of the freezer, microwaved (or cooked) and slathered with sauce to cover it up ! Not recommended.

I was seated out front during my dinner and I could see lots and lots of passers by looking at the menu. This resto is located in a very strategic location at the intersection of tourists coming from the train station and the marina harbor. That’s how I got lured in as well since it was very accessible and tables outside were available when I walked by. I guess this is just one of those restaurants that cater to tourists who prefer convenience and easy access to taste (although there are lots of other resto nearby as well). Will not recommend this restaurant. Go...

We had lunch at La Grotta in July 2020. We had Tartufi pasta with clams, Octopus with asparagus or parsley cream? & the Pesto Genovese. As we’ve lived & traveled in Europe for 7 years, I was a bit disappointed. The octopus was overcooked with a flavorless asparagus/ parley cream?, I love octopus, just not this dish. The pasta with pesto Genovese was overcooked & a bit mushy along with the potatoes & green beans, we couldn’t finish it. The Tartufi pasta with clams was the best tasting dish overall. The prices were surprisingly higher than I expected for a lunch vs other high quality restaurants. We left a bit hungry afterwards and disappointed as the rest of our restaurant meals in the area were fantastic. I hope the restaurant can step up as it was recommended by our stay who had not steered us wrong with other recommendations in the area. The staff was friendly and it really made us feel terrible to not enjoy our meal and leave a plate of...

After travelling throughout smaller towns and cities of Italy I've become somewhat accustomed to various flavours of freshness of ingredients.

After trying two dishes here (gave the benefit of the doubt one night) being the Trofie al Pesto and THE Aglio e Olio it was disappointing to say the least.

After asking for the bill 4 times from various servers I was severely tempted to leave to gain their full attention.

With the temperature outside exceeding 38 Celsius it would be nice to get some respite from the heat inside but alas, no air conditioning so the cute grotto turned into a little sweatbox once filled with patrons.

In addition, at no time throughout either meal did a server attempt to ask about the food or if I'd like some wine or anything additional.

For one of the more costly meals on the trip, this has to...