10 Great Restaurants in Genoa

Hostaria Ducale is an elegant Michelin-starred restaurant serving traditional regional cuisine with modern techniques and creative accents. Located right by Piazza De Ferrari and not far from Palazzo San Giorgio, the restaurant offers a gourmet dining experience right in Genoa’s city centre.

While some of their menu, particularly the lunch menu, changes with the seasons, there are also a few popular mainstay dishes. Their Assoluto di Basilico is a delightful freshly-made pasta filled with basil, a Genoese specialty. And their raw shrimp is served with grapefruit, cucumber and a bell pepper sauce, which is a welcome refreshment when you’re this close to the sea.

Ristorante San Giorgio is a sophisticated restaurant with modern décor that is well-suited to a nice evening out. The restaurant has a strong sense of professionalism and passion that are the cherry on top of a lovely evening out with high-quality food and carefully selected wine options.

The restaurant, located a 7-minute walk from Genova Brignole station, serves top-quality fish alongside a few meat specialties, and each dish has a distinctly Mediterranean feel. An autumn menu features dishes like red tuna terrine or a foie gras escalope to start, and seafood linguine or roasted pigeon for the main course. The menu changes with the seasons and is often being updated, but each time you visit you know you’re in for a treat.

Voltalacarta is a cosy and welcoming restaurant on an unsuspecting street in Genoa’s city centre. The staff make you feel at home from the moment you step in the door, but the food is just the high-quality Ligurian cuisine you would expect from the Michelin-starred establishment that it is.

The restaurant has a focus on fresh seafood, and each of their dishes is presented in an extravagant and creative way. You’ll find a variety of dishes here, from shrimp to scallops, presented in every way from raw to deep fried, each of which is a mini food adventure. But visitors can’t stop talking about their delicious wines and homemade focaccia, either.

The Cook stands out from other high-class restaurants in Genoa because of its varied yet refined menu options. Although there is plenty on their seafood menu, they also have an “inland” menu of meat and poultry, as well as a dedicated vegetarian menu.

The delicious cuisine in the sophisticated setting focuses on local Ligurian ingredients and is inspired by Tigullio traditions. The gorgeous antique ceiling paintings complement the equally gorgeous dishes, which might feature the likes of duck with yakitori sauce, or turmeric dumplings with pumpkin cream. Of course, everything can be rounded off with a nice glass of wine, featuring pairing suggestions from the expert staff.

Il Marin, as you might have guessed from the name, puts a focus on fish, and the concept is hard to forget with its beautiful views of the Old Port. The attentive staff are friendly and helpful and know the menu top to bottom in both Italian and English.

The award-winning menu takes an ethical and sustainable approach, with traditional classics as well as contemporary takes on local cuisine. On the menu, you might find spaghetti with caviar, pescato asado (baked fish), or even raw sashimi. Their seasonal desserts are a great way to round off the meal, too.

Osteria Le Colonne, in the cellars of the Palazzo Squarciafico, has a rustic charm alongside its distinctly Ligurian cuisine. The antique-style columns and marble flooring add to the comfortable yet sophisticated atmosphere.

From their menu, you can choose from a variety of tavern-style classics, like Ligurian pasta with pesto sauce, or go for their more modern options, like their sliced beef with truffle cream. While a lot of Genoan restaurants focus on seafood, being so close to the sea, Osteria Le Colonne offers a nice mix of meat and fish to satisfy the meat lovers.

Le Rune prides itself on its creative weekly menu that is constantly updated to move with the seasons. Just 4 minutes from Piazza Corvetto, the restaurant is made up of several small dining rooms, each with its own characteristics, creating a friendly and cosy atmosphere.

As the menu changes every week, the only way to find out what to expect is to directly contact the restaurant. One week you might find artichokes take centre stage, and another week, asparagus. But one thing doesn’t change, which is their focus on fresh fish and seafood. Their pasta and meat dishes are also very tasty though, of course.

Osteria Rustichello, just a 3-minute walk from Genova Brignole station, is an inviting restaurant with a long history and an impressive selection of wines lining the walls. Their varied menu offers pastas, meat, and fish, all under the motto of “simple and good”. The no-frills cuisine puts emphasis on quality and experience rather than over-the-top aesthetics.

The menu is distinctly Ligurian, but with some modern twists that keep locals and visitors alike more than happy. Their pesto pasta is a popular classic, but you can’t go wrong with their house Scialatielli pasta or their braised beef in red wine sauce, either. To finish, they have a range of creative desserts and ice creams, including black pepper ice cream.

20Tre is a Michelin-starred restaurant with a small but high-impact menu, with a focus on seafood and a modern aesthetic. The menu is highly seasonal, and may even vary from day to day, depending on the catches and ingredients available, as everything is cooked as fresh as can be.

The dishes are consistently beautifully presented in a setting that doesn’t feel stuffy or overwhelming. While their menu changes regularly, an autumn menu featured dishes like fried porcini mushrooms, tuna “tataki”, and rabbit with carrot and spinach. Their delicate desserts might feature the likes of mille-feuille or homemade gelato.

Santamonica has great views, great food, and great service, so it’s no wonder they won themselves a Michelin star. Located right on the beach, the beautiful views of the sea only make the fresh seafood dishes feel fresher, and each is carefully plated in colourful arrangements.

The restaurant prides itself on its creativity, as well as its relationships with producers and customers. While the dishes look elaborate, they are not over-seasoned or complicated in their flavours, to bring out the best of the fresh ingredients. Their menu features a selection of raw or cooked fish to start, and a “dal mare” fish selection or “dalla terra” meat selection for mains, as well as vegetarian options.