Vineria Macchiavello (Ristorante enoteca) — Restaurant in Santa Margherita Ligure

Revisited 2025:

Came back for dinner here after a great experience in 2024. Started off with two glasses of Prosecco, with a complimentary plate of salami and snacks. For starters we chose ham & cheese croquetas and the steak Tartare. And two glasses of Pigato White Wine. The croquetas were solid, but not too exciting. Excellent on the other hand was the Tartare. Nice, fresh and good sized chunks of wonderful beef. And on top ice-cream! A savoury, mustard icecream. Never had it like this before. But the cold freshness of it was the perfect match for the beef. Amazing dish.

For the mains we chose the beef steak and the lamb. Two glasses of Red Sangiovese with that. The lamb was nicely cooked, tender and good flavoured. The beef was cooked to perfection, nice grilled flavour and perfectly tender. Both very good meals.

For dessert we had a glass of Italian Amaro each. A good finish. One glass was even on the house.

We paid just a bit over 150 Euros. A fair deal. Nice atmosphere, friendly staff, high quality food. And our Bulldog was welcome here as well. Surely we'll be back.

2024 Review:

We have spotted this place already last year when we were in town for a few days. But we already booked every dinner, so we didn't have the chance to try this one out. This year we came back and did reserve a table a couple of weeks in advance.

And that was the right thing to do. It was saturday and the place fully booked, several guests had to be turned away.

Inside it is a very nice and cosy place. Darker decor with wine bottles all around, really fits the theme here since they got over 400 different wines on offer.

We ordered grilled shrimp (with salad) and the Australian Angus beef carpaccio for starters. The shrimp was nicely cooked, very fresh and tasty. A lighter starter. The carpaccio was fantastic, a real heaven for meat-lovers.

And we did stay with the meat-theme for our mains. Ordered the beef filet and also the Iberico Pork. Both excellent dishes. But the Iberico really stood out. We've had Iberico Pork a bunch of times already in Spain. Delicous meat, with a bit fat for flavour. Cooked medium - as it should be (don't be scared to order it that way - it's perfection). They really got some nice meat here in this restaurant. Perfection. Also some pasta and other dishes if you're not into meat much of course.

Had some Limoncello and Amaro for "dessert".

Staff was nice and friendly. Our Bulldog was welcome here as well. We showed up at 7.30pm. Most folks came around 8.00pm and had to wait a bit longer, since it was fully booked. So it's good if you show up a bit early.

A really wonderful evening. All high quality items. The wine as well (we had some Ligurian wine). Prices fair for this quality. Surely we'll be back...

We have spotted this place already last year when we were in town for a few days. But we already booked every dinner, so we didn't have the chance to try this one out. This year we came back and did reserve a table a couple of weeks in advance.

And that was the right thing to do. It was saturday and the place fully booked, several guests had to be turned away.

Inside it is a very nice and cosy place. Darker decor with wine bottles all around, really fits the theme here since they got over 400 different wines on offer.

We ordered grilled shrimp (with salad) and the Australian Angus beef carpaccio for starters. The shrimp was nicely cooked, very fresh and tasty. A lighter starter. The carpaccio was fantastic, a real heaven for meat-lovers.

And we did stay with the meat-theme for our mains. Ordered the beef filet and also the Iberico Pork. Both excellent dishes. But the Iberico really stood out. We've had Iberico Pork a bunch of times already in Spain. Delicous meat, with a bit fat for flavour. Cooked medium - as it should be (don't be scared to order it that way - it's perfection). They really got some nice meat here in this restaurant. Perfection. Also some pasta and other dishes if you're not into meat much of course.

Had some Limoncello and Amaro for "dessert".

Staff was nice and friendly. Our Bulldog was welcome here as well. We showed up at 7.30pm. Most folks came around 8.00pm and had to wait a bit longer, since it was fully booked. So it's good if you show up a bit early.

A really wonderful evening. All high quality items. The wine as well (we had some Ligurian wine). Prices fair for this quality. Surely we'll be back...

The food and ambiance are excellent, but if you’re American - be patient with the service :) My husband and I came in around 8:45pm on a Wednesday. We didn’t get a menu until nearly 9:15pm. Our primi plate didn’t come until nearly 9:45 and so on. They don’t check in with you much so you have to speak up about your needs but as long as you’re okay with that service style, this restaurant is 10/10. We didn’t notice many non-Italians dining with us and the food was so flavorful and well worth the wait. We ordered a spaghetti with sea bass, pesto pasta, and the mustard steak which was absolutely delicious - by far the best beef we’ve had in our 5+ attempts at having steak in Italy over the last few weeks. They also have great wine choices! Absolutely recommend as long as you have the time to sit...