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Camogli is one of the most beautiful — and still quite underrated — places to visit and eat in Liguria. Tucked between Genoa and the Portofino promontory, this small fishing village punches well above its weight when it comes to food: fresh seafood restaurants overlooking the harbour, bakeries turning out perfect focaccia al formaggio, and a handful of local shops selling some of the best Ligurian products you’ll find anywhere on the coast. Whether you’re looking for the best restaurants in Camogli, curious about what to eat here, or planning a longer stay in the Golfo Paradiso, this guide covers everything you need — written by someone who has been exploring these flavours for years, and who also leads small food tours through the village for anyone who’d like to taste it all in person.
At the bottom of the post you will also find my custom-made Camogli Food Google Map for finding these places when you are there!
Camogli has always been one of my favourite seaside villages in Liguria. For years I imagined how much I’d love living here, especially in winter, when the town grows quiet again, the tables along the seafront empty out, the sea turns darker, and between the tall coloured houses you breathe that slightly suspended stillness typical of small fishing villages.
Today Camogli has become an increasingly beloved destination for international tourism too. And yet, despite everything, it still manages to hold onto something authentic. You just need to step out during the quieter hours, slip into the side streets, watch the harbour in the early morning, or stop to talk with the people who actually live here — and the village’s seafaring soul comes right back to you.
Perhaps that’s why I still come back today as I did back then, and why I love telling its story through my food tours: because Camogli’s cuisine isn’t just about dishes, but about everyday gestures, the scent of freshly baked focaccia, fishing nets, ancient traditions and recipes born while gazing out at the sea.
If you’re planning a few days in the Golfo Paradiso and you love travelling through taste, here are some addresses where I like to stop when I’m in Camogli.
Best Restaurants in Camogli
Da Paolo — Refined Seafood in the Heart of the Village
Da Paolo is one of those restaurants that manages to combine very solid seafood cooking with a relaxed atmosphere, without ever becoming too formal.
I happily return whenever I feel like eating fish prepared with real care, in an elegant setting that still remains deeply connected to the spirit of the village. The menu follows seasonality and local catch closely, with well-executed Ligurian dishes and a few more contemporary offerings.
One thing I particularly appreciate is the attention given to gluten-intolerant diners: in Camogli, finding a restaurant that handles this aspect well isn’t a given, and Da Paolo remains one of the most reliable addresses for anyone looking for a careful, worry-free gluten-free experience.
Vento Ariel — Harbour Views and Traditional Ligurian Cooking
Vento Ariel is one of those places that, the moment you sit down, makes you feel immediately at home in Camogli.
The harbour practically right in front of your eyes, boats drifting slowly in and out, the light shifting throughout lunch — much of this restaurant’s charm lies in its relationship with the sea.
What I love most here is the more traditional Ligurian seafood cooking, the kind that truly tells the story of the territory. Fish dishes, anchovies, simple but deeply characterful preparations, without unnecessary flourishes.
It’s the classic spot I recommend for lunch, perhaps after a long walk along the seafront or up on the headland, taking your time to settle into the slow rhythm of the village.
Cucù — Creative Ligurian Cuisine for a More Intimate Dinner
Cucù has a different feel from Camogli’s more traditional restaurants.
More intimate, more contemporary, with a kitchen that starts from the Ligurian territory but allows itself a certain creative freedom. I like it because it strikes a good balance: you can sense the research behind the cooking, yet without losing its connection to the sea and local ingredients.
Here I always find it interesting to let myself be guided by the daily specials and whatever’s in season, especially when the menu works well with the local catch and Ligurian vegetables.
It’s a place I recommend to anyone looking for a slightly more intimate, less touristy dinner in Camogli.
La Bossa — Wine Bar and Easy Evenings by the Sea
La Bossa is where I’d go for a relaxed evening, without too much ceremony.
I like it especially for the convivial atmosphere and the wine selection, which is very interesting for anyone who loves drinking well without necessarily wanting a full sit-down dinner. It’s one of those spots where you might pop in for a glass and end up staying all evening, ordering small bites and chatting unhurriedly.
In a tourist destination like Camogli, where everything in summer can feel very rushed, La Bossa instead keeps a pleasantly unhurried pace.
Fermento — Natural Wines and Contemporary Ligurian Small Plates
Fermento is one of those places that surprises me every time I come back to Camogli.
I’d describe it as a contemporary bistrot with a strong food-and-wine soul. Here, Ligurian cuisine isn’t simply reproduced but reinterpreted through small plates designed for sharing, carefully selected ingredients and a constant exploration of ingredients and pairings.
What I particularly love is the atmosphere: informal, lively, curious. It’s the kind of place you might pop into for an aperitivo and end up staying all evening, working your way through dish after dish, letting the staff and the wine list guide you.
The natural wine selection is probably one of the main reasons it’s worth stopping here. The bottles come from small producers and are chosen with great care, making Fermento an interesting stop not only for anyone who loves eating well, but also for anyone who loves drinking well.
La Playa — Seafront Dining at Hotel Cenobio dei Dogi
La Playa, the seafront restaurant at Hotel Cenobio dei Dogi, deserves a special mention above all for its location.
Eating practically on the water, with the sound of waves beneath the terrace and an open view over the Golfo Paradiso, gives you a real sense of that elegant yet still understated Ligurian Riviera.
I love it especially at lunchtime, when the light falls full on the sea and the village seems to slow right down. The cooking centres on fish and local produce, in a style that’s more classic and refined compared to the trattorias in the centre.
What to Eat in Camogli: Street Food and Local Specialities
In Camogli there are certain flavours that I think are worth seeking out and savouring slowly, without the rush of ticking places off a list.
Among the local specialities not to miss:
- Genovese focaccia — the real thing, eaten warm, straight from the oven
- Focaccia col formaggio — thinner, softer, filled with a fresh local cheese called stracchino
- Farinata — a thin, crispy chickpea pancake, baked in a wood-fired oven
- Fried fish — simple, fresh, and best eaten by the harbour
- Paciugo — Camogli’s own layered gelato dessert, a local institution
- Camogliesi al rum — small chocolate-covered rum cakes, the village’s most iconic sweet
Where to find some of them:
Focacceria Revello
If there is one stop I always include in my Camogli food tours — and one I’d recommend to anyone visiting Camogli — it’s Focacceria Revello.
Revello is a true Camogli institution. The kind of place that has been part of the daily life of the village for generations, long before Camogli became a destination on anyone’s travel radar. Locals queue here in the morning for their focaccia, and rightly so. Also tourists queue so… better skip rush hours!
This is where I bring people on my food tours to taste several of the specialities listed above, but above all for one thing: the Focaccia al formaggio di Recco. If you’ve never tried it before, Revello is the right place for your first time — hot out of the oven, with the stracchino still melting inside, eaten standing up with no particular ceremony. Exactly as it should be.
Don’t leave without trying whatever else has just come out of the oven. At Revello, timing is everything — and everything tastes better warm.
Where to Have Coffee in Camogli — and Where to Drink After Dark
Bistingo
Bistingo is one of the places I most enjoy stopping for coffee or a cold drink in Camogli.
I like it because it allows you to do one of the most wonderful things you can do in a Ligurian village: sit without hurry and watch the town drift slowly past your eyes.
It has two very different outdoor seating areas, and each has its perfect moment. The one on the beach, beneath the church, is wonderful early in the morning or towards evening, when the light drops and the sea grows calmer. At lunchtime, especially in summer, the sun can be quite strong.
The patio overlooking the little harbour, on the other hand, is perfect during the hottest hours of the day: more sheltered, breezy, and ideal for lingering over a drink while watching the boats, the fishermen and the constant gentle bustle of the small port.
It’s one of those simple places that tells you a great deal about the authentic rhythm of Camogli.
Il Pirata
Il pirata is the best place for a drink after dinner.
For me, it’s impossible to think of Camogli without thinking of this place. When I was very young I used to come here to drink and dance on summer evenings, when the village transformed completely after dinner and the harbour filled with young people, music and tables spilling outside.
Il Pirata has that slightly timeless atmosphere of seaside bars that resist trends and keep going above all thanks to the people who have been coming for years. It’s best known for its selection of rum and whisky, but also for its sangria, which here has become something of a summer institution.
I like including it in this guide because it tells another side of Camogli: not just the slow, unhurried one of bakeries and seafront lunches, but the more convivial, nocturnal one — made of shared glasses, music and evenings that ended far later than planned.
Food shopping in Camogli: the best local products to bring home
If you love bringing home something truly Ligurian, the place I’d recommend stepping into is Vizi & Sfizi, Assunta’s tiny shop.
It’s one of those places that looks small from the outside but holds an entire world within. Ligurian wines, extra virgin olive oil, biscuits, preserves, artisan pasta and many carefully chosen products.
I like it because it has nothing of the tourist shop built for visitors: it’s a real bottega, built on personal selection, good conversation and products that genuinely speak of the territory.
Two more stops worth making in Camogli
Completely off the gastronomic theme, but too lovely not to mention.
L’Ultima Spiaggia is an independent bookshop on the seafront promenade that every time forces me to step in “just for a quick look” — and from which I invariably leave with a book. It has a beautiful selection of children’s books, many volumes dedicated to Liguria, the sea and travel, and a slow, carefully curated atmosphere that feels as though it belongs to another era. And yes, it also sells my book.
Pietre Strette is a clothing and design shop I adore for its extremely refined and contemporary taste — one of those places where even simply looking at the objects on display becomes a source of inspiration. Here too you’ll find my book among the shelves.
Plan your visit to Camogli
Camogli is a small village, but gastronomically far richer than it might seem on a first stroll through. And that’s exactly what I love to tell during my food tours: not just where to eat, but why certain flavours exist here, how they came to be and what they tell us about Liguria’s seafaring history.
If you’re planning a trip to Liguria and would like to discover Camogli through its food alongside me, you’re welcome to get in touch to join my food tours — through historic shops, stories, Ligurian street food and the traditions of the village.
My Camogli Google Map
Use the interactive map below to find every restaurant, café and shop mentioned in this guide. You can also use this link
