Trattoria La Scogliera

Traveling solo should not restrict your choices of having a nice meal in any destination. Eating alone does not mean you are lonely and certainly does not mean you should deprive yourself of an opportunity for good food.

Near the marina of Manarola, the main street is lined with little restaurants and bars to entice the hikers looking for a rest or a good meal when the small town is on the brink of shutting down completely. One of these is Tratorria La Scogliera Cucina Tipica, which was attractive because of the relatively larger number of people dining inside (estimated 6 people total) compared to the other trattorias and ristorantes. Not wanting anything big and staying mindful of a budget, at the advice of the server the linguine batti batti was ordered followed by tiramisu, a house specialty. The whole meal definitely did not break the bank.


Having no idea what "batti batti" meant, the pasta dish was more of a surprise upon its quick arrival. The plate revealed that "batti batti" is the slipper lobster local to the coasts of La Spezia. It is smaller and requires a bit of work more than a knife and fork to handle. This is a task for the hands, which hopefully no one found offensive in this fine establishment because fingers are the best way to get to all the meaty tidbits to mix into the rest of the linguine with a lightly herbed sauce made with fresh tomatoes. By this point, the trattoria started filling up with couples ordering antipasti, primero, segundo, and dolce courses. It was difficult to imagine all these couples trying to be romantic in the even more romantic Cinque Terre with all this food between them. The portions were quite large, so a couple consuming each course individually was daunting, especially for a European stomach. Maybe the portions were more suitable to an American stomach. Sharing would be a better option to avoid feeling like a beached whale. Anyway, the linguine dish tasted of the sea and the man and woman helping everyone seemed quite giddy about presenting their fare.


To conclude the meal that went from light to the verge of too filling, was the lovely sweet tiramisu to complement the savory of the linguine batti batti. The lady fingers were lightly drenched in strong espresso with incredibly light marscapone whipped to new heights. Each bite practically dissolved in your mouth. This was no dessert to weigh you down at the end of the night, even consuming the entire portion alone.

For a first experience at a fine establishment for a table of one, this was really good and quite positive. Local food with local ingredients make one tasty bite.

Trattoria La Scogliera - Cucina Tipica. Via Renato Birolli 168, 19017 Manarola, La Spezia, Italia.