Dining in Monterosso al Mare

We truly enjoy our dining experiences in Cinque Terre every time we return.  The majority of our meals are in Monterosso al Mare since we are staying there, but occasionally (mostly lunches) in the other four villages.  This trip, all our dinners are in Monterosso, starting with dinner at Ely, where we enjoy polpette di papate e tonno (potato and tuna meatballs), fish ravioli (with shrimp and branzino), and ricotta and spinach ravioli with pesto.

Potatoes and tuna

Ravioli (and friends)

The next day, we dine at an old favorite, Il Casello, down on the water.  But first, we have cocktails at a small bar overlooking the beach.

Aperitivo

Our dinner starts with octopus, followed by sea bream in potato crust and sea bream with lemon.

Octopus

Sea bream two ways

View from our table

Our next evening starts with cocktails in Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi (Cinque Terre gin and tonic, negroni), followed by dinner at L'Osteria:  anchovies fantastic, followed by a platter of lobster, langoustine, shrimp, and sea bass.

Aperitivo

Anchovies, fish/shellfish

Another evening, we opt for a lighter meal and dine at a small table outside at La Cantina del Pescatore, consuming anchovy focaccia and pesto bruschetta.

Focaccia, bruschetta

Our final dinner in Monterosso is at Tosca Bistrot, a new-to-us restaurant that we've walked by many times, but never stopped to dine.  We didn't know what we were missing, but do now and we'll be back.  We dine on polpo diavola (deviled octopus with tomato, olive, and chili pepper), filetto di branzino alla mediterranea (filet of sea bass with potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, and olives), and pulpo crocante (crispy octopus with buratta cream, celery and cherry tomatoes).  Wow!

Starter

Sea bass, octopus

We have once again dined incredibly well in Cinque Terre and will return soon to do it again.

Monterosso to Colla di Gritta

We started our stay in Monterosso al Mare with a hike to Soviore, on to Colla di Gritta, then back down to Monterosso.  Today, we're going to approach Colla di Gritta a different way, walking through Monterosso, hiking north toward Levanto, then turning east along the ridge around Monterosso and following it to Colla di Gritta from the other direction.

We step out and admire the beautiful sunrise over Monterosso and the Mediterranean, then descend into the streets to cross over to the northern end of the village.

Sunrise

Passing by the northern end of the village

We start to follow the road up with great views back at Monterosso.

Looking back as we ascend

Soon we leave the road and follow a path up the hill.

Path heading up

Along the way, we get views of the sea and the coast stretching south from Monterosso to the other four villages of Cinque Terre.

Views of the sea

Looking down the coast

We reach the top of the trail, with one direction proceeding north along the coast to Levanto and the other to the east on the ridge around Monterosso.  We turn east (right) and continue up the ridge. 

 

Trail choices at the top

Continuing up to the ridge

Looking down at Monterosso

We follow the trail up and down the hills along the ridge, with glimpses of Monterosso on the right and Levanto on the left as we proceed.

Continuing along the trail

Views of Monterosso and Levanto

Looking back at the start of the trail  (the far peak)

The trail reaches several steep up and down sections, then descends into Colla di Gritta.

Steeper sections

Final steps to Colla di Gritta

At Colla di Gritta, we can return to Monterosso's new town (road to the right) or old town (road straight ahead).  We decide to return to the old town and follow the road to the path between Monterosso and Soviore, hiking the stretch from the road back to town.

Follow the road

View of Monterosso and surrounding hills

Upon reaching town we head straight down Via Roma to Pan e Vino and reward ourselves with two sandwiches:  mortadella and stracchino and the Pan e Vino special (anchovies).

Our rewards

We've enjoyed another fun, local hike and have left many others (and perhaps the same again) for later visits.