Dining in Cinque Terre

We could go to Cinque Terre for dinner every night.  Unfortunately, it's far to travel every day, slightly over 6000 miles (9700 km), so we'll just have to enjoy every meal while we're here.

We return to an old favorite in Monterosso, La Cantina di Miky, on the boardwalk overlooking the beach and the sea.  We decide to to eat outside in the beautiful weather and wait in line for a table.  We're seated soon and choose a great mixture of tastes of the region:  Anchovies six ways (3 hot, 3 cold), octopus tentacle on polenta with tumeric, and curly pasta with local langostino.

View from our table at Cantina di Miky, anchovies six ways

 Octopus tentacle, curly pasta with local langostino

Another evening, we dine at L'Ostoria di Galleno in an alley near Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi.  We start with two dishes:  mussels in wine and anchovies in potatoes and tomatoes.  Then, ravioli with branzino and octopus with potatoes, tomatoes, and olives.  Wow!

 Mussels, anchovies

 Ravioli/branzino, octopus/potatoes

And to join us in our meal, Pedro, the restaurant cat wanders in and is fed from the table by several of the guests (she has her tricks down).  And, we see the owner and chef (his night off) of another local restaurant dining here tonight.  We all chose well!

Pedro, restaurant gatto

Several days later,  we return to our old favorites, il Casello and La Cantina di Miky.  Both have a great combination of incredible food and outside dining with views of the beach, the sea, and the town.

At il Casello, we start with anchovies again (we're in a fabulous rut), this time stuffed anchovies and anchovies with garlic and tomatoes, followed by penne with local white fish.

 Anchovies, penne with white fish

 Views from our table

Returning to La Cantina, we have anchovies on toast with butter, thick spaghetti with anchovies, tomatoes, and olives, and spaghetti with local seafood.

Anchovies on toast with butter

 Thick spaghetti with anchovies, spaghetti with local seafood

On our final night is the grand finale of our dining experiences.  We're at Ristorante Belvedere, which is a new restaurant for us (we've walked by many times, but haven't previously gone in).  We sit inside in the rain and see some incredible plates go by (some we will try on another trip), particularly the bowl of seafood with a whole lobster and a whole octopus.  For our meal we dine with local friends and share an incredible meal with an appetizer selection, squid ink pasta and spaghetti with mussels, and creme brulee for desert.  Wow, again!  We'll definitely come back here next trip.

 Squid ink pasta/spaghetti with mussels, creme brulee

And, as we walk out early in the morning, we see the restocking of mussels and clams.

Restocking, getting ready for tonight

We could eat our way from one end of Cinque Terre to the other, then start over again just like our hiking from one end to the other!