Osteria Consani — Restaurant in Ventimiglia

A strange place. Off the beaten track and down an alleyway that did not seem to want to be found. A very eclectic clientele, many of whom I suspect had used TripAdvisor to make lunchtime choices. French Dutch and English tourists as well as local workers. They don't open till 12.30 at lunch and the waitress or front of house is very forthright. The French couple seemed to have no idea as to what was happening as it was so different from France. If you are prepared to go along with this and try to make the best of the place it's idiosyncrasies are worth getting to grips with. It is not cheap but is very good value we thought for the cooking. Everything seems home made and quantities are not small. The pasta was excellent and would have made an ample lunch on its own. However we opted for primo piatti and secondo. Whilst it was hard work the effort was justified as the rabbit was delicious and not the run of the mill tourist food on offer in Ventimiglia. W had An excellent Chianti from the wine list which was painted on a mirror in white and hence difficult to read. Another little foible. The waitress is a force but her intentions are good of you're prepared to try and take her on and tell her what you want. They don't seem to advertise they take credit cards but do if you ask. An odd place but worth the effort if you're up to it, most especially for...

We had an amazing lunch of local fare here! The farinata was crunchy on the outside and soft and tasty on the inside. Best of all, there was a lovely smoky flavour that was extremely unexpected but lent that extra special touch that makes this place stand out.

The rabbit was just perfectly cooked with olives and pine nuts while the catch of the day, a sea bream, grilled to perfection just melted in the mouth.

To top it all off, the tiramisu with a real shot of coffee that took the edge off the sweetness of the mascarpone. :)

The location was also great, away from the crowds of the seaside while being near the train station for a quick meal. As it is tucked in a side street, one can eat outside while enjoying the greenery that the owner has decorated the place with. Well done for the thoughtful touches.

I will...

We were visiting the town for a day and was looking at restos with top rated reviews. We went for this resto because it was reviewed by 700+ people!

We went there at around 12:30pm on a Saturday without reservation, and thankfully there is still a table available for us. We ordered our pasta - Risotto mushroom and pumpkin gnocchi with gorgonzola. Both were sooo delicious, authentic and even heavy 😅 We loved every single bite of it!! And then for dessert, we ordered tiramisu and their panna cota with dulce de leche. The tiramisu was a spot on 🥹 the perfect tiramisu taste that I’ve been craving for. The dulce de leche was sooo good too!! 😌

Special shoutout to the guy server who was kind, speaks perfect english and assisted...