You know where to eat the best Genoese pesto in Genoa and surrounding areas? Pesto is known and recognized as one of Italy’s iconic sauces. Pine nuts, Parmigiano Reggiano, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, garlic and there are those who add DOP pecorino. However you make it, everyone always likes pesto and is delicious in any way. Every family has a recipe, every mother or grandmother has a secret. In Liguria it is eaten with trofie or trenette, or even with testaroli if you go deep into the East. But if you don’t have it ready at home or want to taste it locally, where to go to eat the best Genoese pesto in Genoa and its province?

6 restaurants where you can eat the best pesto in Genoa and its province

The Genoese

The restaurant was founded in 1912, with the name RAGGIO. It was exactly a farinotto, called even more anciently Shamadda, that is, a place where farinata was prepared in a wood-fired oven, an oven that is still present inside the restaurant. Over the years, in addition to the take-away function, some tables were added, leading to the creation of the kitchen in the 1950s. In addition to farinata, the classic vegetable pies and fried foods of Genoese street gastronomy were prepared. At the end of the 90s Il Genovese was dedicated entirely to the restaurant business, wanting to preserve the soul and vocation of the place. The Genoese area is known for its incredible pesto, now loved throughout Italy. Here we only use the 24 month old Parmigiano Reggiano of maturation as well as the100% Italian extra virgin olive oilboth in cooking and in frying.
Address: via Galata, 35r, 16121 Genoa GE

La Raibetta

In the year 1314, the district was built where legumes and some fruit are sold, which is commonly called Reba, which is a Moorish word, and raba in that language means repertoire of fodder. “Reba” in Arabic is pronounced with a very large “e”, almost “raiba” and that legume market was called Raibetta, that is, small market, to distinguish it from Raiba, the cereal market that existed near Palazzo San Giorgio. From Raiba comes the term “rabenieu” which in the Genoese dialect refers to sellers of edibles, and also the name “rebue”, i.e. boiled and peeled chestnuts as they were sold in Raibetta until the end of the nineteenth century.
Here you can find typical traditional Ligurian dishes such as trofiette with pesto, testaroli with pesto or “advantaggiate”, pesto potatoes and green beans.
Address: vico Caprettari, 12r, 16123 Genoa GE

The Trophy

Trofiaio is a family business and precisely because it is such it is able to guarantee all the values ​​that each of us looks for in a homemade dish: authenticity, attention to ingredients, and tradition, which come together in traditional Ligurian dishes. Fresh Genoese pasta is in fact one of the pillars of Italian cuisine and here we try to honor the great Genoese and Ligurian recipes by respecting the original recipe, also including proposals from the broader Italian tradition. This pasta, with their traditional homemade pesto, is perfect for a lunch break.
Address: Piazza Colombo 10-12R

The Anchovy

In the historic harbor of the city, between via Prè and via Gramsci near the Galata Museo del Mare, the Trattoria dell’Acciughetta defines itself as one of the “smallest and craziest trattorias in the city”. All Acciughetta’s creations derive from imagination, from personal and collective travels, from the study of techniques; a combination of culture that the owners try to express in the dishes without, while being accessible to everyone because the intent is that young people are increasingly drawn to catering and love its different aspects. The menu is constantly evolving: they use many Ligurian ingredients and many traditional recipes which then evolve, are destroyed and rebuilt, performed and modified, experienced by all the staff and shared with the customers.
Address: piazza Sant’Elena, 16126 Genoa GE

U giancu

It’s difficult to describe this place. Eclectic, colourful, lively, alive and sincere are just some of the words that describe it. Lost in the Ligurian streets above Rapallo, U Giancu appears, a place where magic, games and food come together to eat well and in company. The feeling you get upon entering is a mixture of cheerfulness, happiness and carefreeness mixed with a good appetite. On the walls there are over 700 original drawings, many of which are dedicated, made by authors from all over the world. Some make you smile, others make you think. What the owner hopes is that “they make you feel good”, at ease. With the joy of being there and the desire to return.
In summer, it often happens that you crush… basil! Excellent to accompany fresh homemade pasta and flavor the classic Genoese minestrone.
Address: via S. Massimo, 78, 16035 San Massimo GE

La Brinca

There are no descriptions for this place which is meant to be found between the Ligurian mountains and the sea just a few steps away. Today La Brinca is more of an institution than a restaurant, it is a symbol of quality, tradition, territory and conviviality. La Brinca, female nickname of Texinin (Teresina) dei Brinche, he lived and left his name to this farmhouse in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1987 the family transformed it into trattoria and caneva with fundego da vinthat is, an inn with a shop and cellar as they used to say at the time. Brinca, Brincu, Briccuin ancient Ligurian etymology means steep, steep place: steep and hard as the Ligurian lands are. La Brinca offers land dishes from the peasant tradition of Eastern Liguria, linked to local products and the seasons. Prebugiun di Ne, Panella, Panissa, Baciocca, Frisciulle, Testaieu, Picagge, Tuccu, Tomaxelle, Sancrau, Panera, are just some of the ancient names that recall ancient tastes, revisited with kindness and served to tell the history and culture of Liguria. But if there’s something that’s really worth stopping by this tavern for, it’s the pestomade only in the mortar, with typical ingredients, which takes mind and spirit to another world.
Address: via Campo di Ne, 58, 16040 Ne GE