ITALY - Best of Europe 2014 - page 1282

for discount with cash and this topic, Thu-Tue 12:00-15:00 & 18:00-22:00, closed Wed, Via
Roma 54, tel. [phone]).
Ciak, high-energy and tightly packed, is a local institution with reliably good food and
higher prices. It's known for its huge, sizzling terra-cotta crock for two crammed with the
day's catch and accompanied by risotto or spaghetti, or served swimming in a soup (zuppa) .
Other popular choices are fish ravioli with shrimp sauce and the seafood antipasto Lam-
para . Stroll a couple of paces past the outdoor tables up Via Roma to see what Signore Ciak
(who wears his Popeye cap in the kitchen) has onthe stove. His son, Lorenzo, made the new
tables himself after the 2011 flood (Thu-Tue 12:00-15:00 & 19:00-22:30, closed Wed, tel.
0187-817-014).
Ristorante al Pozzo is a favorite among locals. It's family-run, with good old-fashioned
quality, as Gino (with his long white beard) cooks, and his engaging English-speaking son,
Manuel, serves. They have one of the best wine lists in town, serve only homemade pasta,
and are known for their raw fish and wonderful seafood antipasti misti (€10-15 pastas,
€15-20 secondi, closed Thu, Via Roma 24, tel. [phone]).
Via Venti is a quiet little trattoria, hidden in an alley deep in the heart of the old town,
wherePapaEttorecreatesimaginativeseafooddishesusingtheday'scatchandfreshlymade
pasta.IlariaandherpartnerMicheleserveupdelicateandsavorygnocchi(tinypotatodump-
lings) with crab sauce, tender ravioli stuffed with fresh fish, and pear-and-cheese pasta.
There's nothing pretentious here...just good cooking, service, and prices (€11 pastas, €16
secondi, Fri-Wed12:00-15:00&18:30-22:30,closedThu,tel.[phone]).Fromthebot-
tom of Via Roma, with your back to the sea and the church to your left, head to the right
down Via XX Settembre and follow it to the end, to #32.
Miky is packed with well-dressed locals who know their seafood and want to eat it in a
classyenvironment.Forelegantlypresented,top-qualityfood,thisismyCinqueTerrefavor-
ite. It's clearly a proud family operation: Miky (dad), Simonetta (mom), and charming Sara
(daughter, who greets guests) all work hard. All their pasta is “pizza pasta”—cooked nor-
mally but finished in a bowl that's encased in a thin pizza crust. They cook the concoction
in a wood-fired oven to keep in the aroma. Miky's has a fine wine list with many available
by the glass if you ask. If I were ever to require a dessert, it would be their mixed sampler
plate, dolce mista —€10 and plenty for two (€15 pastas, €22 secondi, €8 sweets, Wed-Mon
12:00-15:00&19:00-23:00,closedTue,reservationswiseinsummer,dinerstendtodressup
a bit, in the new town 100 yards north of train station at Via Fegina 104, tel. [phone]).
La Cantina di Miky, a few doors down (toward the station), serves Ligurian specialties
that follow in Miky's family tradition of quality. Run by son Manuel—and Christine from
New Jersey—it's more trendy, youthful, and informal than Miky's. You can sit downstairs,
in the garden, or overlooking the sea (€16 anchovy tasting plate, €13 pastas, €15 secondi,
creativedesserts,largeselectionofItalianmicrobrews,daily12:00-24:00orlater,ViaFegina