Genoa, local flavours at the Ristorante Giotto

23-09-2021 | Food

Written by: Digital Gran Tour

Genoa is a city with an identity of its own and a distinctive personality, especially in the gastronomic field. It is famous as the home of pesto – made with PDO Genoa basil using a pestle and mortar and served with typical pasta shapes such as trenette and trofie – but also to recipes such as coniglio alla ligure (stewed rabbit with olives and pine nuts), torta verde (vegetable pie), and, obviously, fish, cooked in a variety of ways. Bristol Palace is a superb ambassador for Genovese and Ligurian food, which it serves in its attractive on-site Ristorante Giotto.

The Ristorante Giotto

An art nouveau dining room for the guests

Why the name? Because the restaurant pays homage to the tradition of fresco-painting of which the 13th century Tuscan artist Giotto was one of the great masters. The walls and ceiling of the inside dining room are decorated with art nouveau frescoes that date from the early 20th-century, as does the palazzo itself. In the summer and spring, from April to September, the restaurant also opens to al fresco dining on the outside terrazza, on which two marquees redolent of sails, a reference to Genoa’s maritime tradition, are installed for the occasion. The menu is mostly given over to the Genovese and Ligurian traditions but there is no lack dishes from the rest of Italy and overseas, all interpreted with taste and imagination. At both lunch and dinner, it’s possible to order à la carte from a selection of dishes made with prime-quality seasonal ingredients. Like the rest of the hotel, the restaurant offers very fast wi-fi connection free-of-charge, a service much appreciated by businessmen passing through.

Smells of the hills and smells on the sea: what’s on the menu

The à la carte menu offers guests a choice of dishes that encapsulates the wealth of the Ligurian gastronomic tradition and pays tribute to this land of colours and smells. It wouldn’t be complete without cappon magro alla ligure which, despite its name (cappon means capon in Ligurian dialect), consists of fish, octopus, prawns, mussels, and clams served with vegetables, garlic and parsley sauce, and classic “ship’s biscuits”. Also in the furrow of tradition are the trofiette di Recco al pesto, tagliatelle with ragù genovese, and fish soup made with the day’s catch from the Riviera. The smell of the sea also comes through in the spaghetti alla chitarra with clams and cherry tomatoes flavoured with a tuna roe crumble, in the paccheri di Gragnano with seafood, and in the baked umbrine. The chef prepares every dish with the prime-quality produce of local suppliers.