Restaurant · Cinque Terre
Trattoria Gianni Franzi
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- Price
- €€€€
- Where
- Vernazza
Closed on Wednesdays and from 10 January to 10 March. Outside tables, in the square, from spring to mid-autumn
A trattoria with history on the harbour square
Trattoria Gianni Franzi is on Piazza Marconi in Vernazza, the square that opens onto the harbour and which in the village they call the drawing room of the Cinque Terre. More than half a century ago it was called Trattoria della Stella. According to the story the house tells, after the war it was run by Francesco Ferrari, known as “Franzi”, and a fourteen-year-old boy, Gianni, worked with him and ended up taking over the place in the 1960s. The stage director Aldo Trionfo, a friend of the house, designed the dining room together with set designers and sculptors, and that hand can still be seen.
The family also runs the albergo in the streets above, whose reception is in the restaurant's bar.
What to order
The cooking is Ligurian and largely fish, faithful to old recipes and without frills. The house presents as its star dishes:
- Anchovies, stuffed, salted and with lemon: the anchovy is the fish of this coast.
- Tegame alla vernazzana, the village dish, which the house calls “famous”.
- Muscoli ripieni, stuffed mussels.
- Ravioli di pesce and trofie al pesto, Liguria's twisted short pasta with its basil sauce.
- Minestrone alla genovese and stoccafisso, dried cod.
- Grilled and oven-baked fish depending on the day.
In recent years the house has extended its wine list to offer more labels to taste; ask for a Cinque Terre DOC white from the coastal vineyards.
When to go
The outside tables, in the middle of the square facing the sea, are set out from well into spring until mid-autumn. At sunset the houses of Vernazza light up orange. It closes on Wednesdays, and the whole restaurant, with the hotel, from 10 January to 10 March. The website does not publish kitchen hours or an online booking system: call if you want to be sure of a table outside in summer.
Vernazza is covered on foot. You arrive by train, go down the main street and the square is at the end, next to the jetty for the line 02 boat. If you arrive on foot along the Sentiero Azzurro from Monterosso, you enter the village right above it.
What to order: the anchovies in their three versions (stuffed, salted and with lemon) and the tegame alla vernazzana, the village's stew of anchovies and potatoes
Practical details
- Phone
- +39 0187 812228
- [email protected]
- Opening hours
- Cuisine
- Ligurian, fish
House specialities
- Acciughe ripiene
- Tegame alla vernazzana
- Muscoli ripieni
- Ravioli di pesce
- Trofie al pesto
- Minestrone alla genovese
- Stoccafisso
Tips
- Call for the terrace The tables in the square fill up in season; the website has no online booking.
- Don't go on a Wednesday It is the closing day.
- Order anchovies It is the dish of the coast and the house prepares it three ways.
Frequently asked questions
Which day does it close?
Wednesdays, and from 10 January to 10 March for holidays.
Does it have outdoor tables?
Yes, on Piazza Marconi facing the sea, from late spring to mid-autumn.
Is it only fish?
Mostly, but there is also minestrone, trofie al pesto and other Ligurian dishes.
Is it near the train?
Yes, at the end of Vernazza's main street, a few minutes' walk from the station.
As a family
