A Cantina da Mananan — Restaurant in Vernazza

Dinner with a friend, after a long day hiking through the Cinque Terre. I’d taken a moment to freshen up — cleaned up nicely, felt a bit more presentable, maybe even a little more appetizing. We stepped out into the quiet beauty of Corniglia, that golden evening glow settling over the village, and then I saw it: a small ristorante tucked away, with recycled-material sculptures lining the entrance and a barely visible sign that read “Best Hospitality 2025.” That was it. I spotted it, and I knew — that’s where we’re eating tonight. We booked the 9 PM shift (of course, we’re from the south — we eat late). When we arrived, it was just in time for the second seating. The place was buzzing with life. We were seated next to two other couples, and quickly hit it off with one of them. The staff didn’t miss a beat — the waitresses welcomed us right away, seating us, joking with us, making sure everything felt just right. It took me a moment to understand how their service rhythm worked — there’s definitely a method to the madness — but once I caught on, I saw how well it flowed. Fast, efficient, and full of energy. And the team inside? Amazing. These women spoke practically every European language under the sun, always smiling, laughing, joking with guests. There wasn’t a hint of stress in the air — just a light, authentic, typical Italian vibe. That’s the word I’d use for this place: typical, in the best way. Warm, welcoming, full of personality. The black-and-white photos of old Corniglia on the walls, the homey décor — it’s exactly the kind of place you want to end up in after a day on the trails.

If you’re passing through the Cinque Terre, this is a must. Highly recommended — for the food, for the people, for the feeling of being exactly where you’re...

Update: I don’t mean to enter a comment war, I really just share our honest experiences through our travels but I couldn’t leave the owner’s comment without a reply. Instead of taking the feedback on and apologise, why lying and trying to justify what happened.

We entered the restaurant at around 13:50 but our food came at 14:15 (I tried to post the picture with the time shown but my review kept being rejected as it’s a screenshot) and when my partner sent the food back the chefs were already out in front of the restaurant having a cigarette, so noone was making another plate for him.

The tomatoes might be from a local farm or they could be from the supermarket, the problem wasn’t that they weren’t salted. They were tastless, nothing like a good Italian sweet sun grown tomatoes. I bought better tasting ones from the grocery store. They were smothered in dry oregano that makes you choke. Less is more.

Yes, the pasta was indeed taken off the bill, but that’s the least a restaurant can do even if there would have been a replacement meal. I’ve seen enough Gordon Ramsey to know about these things

(We were there on the 1st of Sept, I did write my review in delay)

We had high expectations after reading all the good comments but our experience wasn’t so good unfortunately. The tomatoes didn’t have any taste, and my boyfriend’s pasta was so undercooked he sent it back. He didn’t even get to eat then because it was just before closing time and the staff didn’t seem to care or be apologetic at all. They probably rushed it anyway when preparing the meal. My meal was okay but nothing extraordinary. Shame because it seemed like a really cute and...

We walked in the night before at 7.30pm and booked for the following night. In order to maximise the use of their small space they do two sittings, 7&9 pm. There was a line outside at 7pm looking for last minute seats but seems like it’s always booked out.

We were shown to our table, and from then on the experience and food were top rate. The waitress flowed effortlessly from Italian, to English, to French with different clients. She explained the menu, guided us with wines and how much to order in a polite and helpful way. The “guidance” on the menu definitely played on the a few stereotypes about Italian food and we found it quite entertaining to be told not to pepper the pesto!

The food itself was amazing, we shared the smoked tuna salad. (Cold smoked like smoked salmon). It was delicious and served with an amazing lemon olive oil dressing that we mopped up with the bread.

Main courses, the ravioli with walnut pesto. Again, waitress guided us on how best to enjoy it, add Parmesan, glug of olive oil and then mix to spread the sauce evenly.

Poached Sea Bream, I know, poaching doesn’t spring to mind as an amazing way to cook fish but oh, my goodness. Poached in wine, with herbs, olives, the fish was delightful and delicious. Can’t recommend highly enough. They even brought a bag to discard the bones into.

The Semifredo and Tiramisu (with berry compote rather than coffee) were both superb.

Only regret was we didn’t have another night in Corniglia to try the rest of the menu. Worth reserving a seat but I can see why planning ahead...