Cinque Terre is famous for its view, landscape, olive and wine! Fish dishes is of course another famous part of the region, after all it is just next to the waters. In fact, I don’t believe that there is a bad place to dine at in Cinque Terre, but perhaps places with touristy prices or not! Almost everywhere serves up seafood and it is one of the must have at least if you are ever here. Seafood and the local white wine, a perfect match for the impeccable view itself. Trattoria Dal Billy is located in Manarola, it is one of the little hidden restaurant and yet a famous one. I will definitely recommend a reservation if you are ever coming here. Trattoria dal Billy pride on cooking the freshest fish and seafood, their hand made pasta is also very lovely! In fact many restaurant in the area itself are owned by the fisherman, which explains why someplace are open only in season!
Trattoria dal Billy
Via A. Rollandi, 122, 19017 Manarola, Riomaggiore SP, Italy
Located hidden in the hills of Manarola. It is kind of a little hard to find. Head up the hill towards the church, then take the stairs to some back alley. There are a couple of signs that you can follow. The restaurant is located near some housing area and is super underwhelming on the outside. The restaurant consists on both side of the road. Take a seat on the exterior of the restaurant, which is perched on the cliff, sloping down!
That gives the restaurant a really impressive sweeping view of the waters and the terraces opposite on the hill! I can simply say that this is a kind of love that I am awaiting for. Perfect weather, a glass of drink and gazing in love out of the window that is next to my table. Je T’aime
The restaurant have a very rustic feel with many decorations of fishes and pictures showing the fisherman in actions. It uses like wooden furnitures in green blue colors then you have the crisp lines and glasses. I was among the first here when it open for lunch and while the restaurant slowly filled up even on a slow day! I even overheard the waitress making a reservation for customers later on in the evening.
If there is one thing that is on my mind right now while writing down my thoughts on Trattoria dal Billy, it is that dish of Seafood Pasta that I had that afternoon 10 November 2017, 12.25pm. The umami taste, the robust flavour of seafood all in the pasta! Yum! Cost wise, I had expected it to be more expensive since it is a touristy place and it seems like even if prices are high, it is a place where people still have to eat! The menu mainly consists of pasta and seafood dishes.
Starting the dishes would be the typical bread basket that you get! It is actually very delicious. I love having fresh bread with olive oil and a touch of salt. As mentioned earlier, Cinque Terre is famous for olive oil from the region. The next time you read this, get some baguette, a bottle of extra virgin olive oil and some fine sea salt! Grab the bread and dunk it into the plate of pasta that you have to soak up the sauce instead as well! I had a glass of Aperol Spritz as well! It sure taste awesome! I was all in for dining since I can finally stop worrying since I was in Lucca. With all the strikes and a private transfer costing 160 Euros. Woots. The Aperol never felt that good.
I was actually planning to order the Catch of the day which came at 5 Euros per 100 gram. Although the smallest fish that they had was over 700 gram which is way too much for me! Sadly this is the negatively of dining alone. Upon the waitress recommendation, I got the Seafood Pasta and it is one dish that I never regret. Thinking of it, I felt so blessed to ever had a chance to taste it! The Seafood Pasta cost 13 Euros and it comes with Prawns, Mussels, Clams, Crabmeat, Bamboo Clams and langoustine. It was really packed with seafood. OTHER RESTAURANTS IN THE WORLD. THIS IS WHAT I CALL SEAFOOD PASTA. NOT SOME 2 PRAWNS AND 2 SQUID PLATE OF NOODLES! The pasta is more soft, more chewy. It is probably got to do with the fact that it is made with handmade pasta! I felt like handmade pasta soak in more of the flavour as well. It felt like the noodles were made of seafood directly instead! I sure spend some time on the plate of dish since there was so much to work with. The servings is definitely huge! Somehow I feel that handmade are much more pale as well! I definitely feel that prawns are much nicer than langoustine! Is it cause I am lazy? haha!
I did spend some time here enjoying the view and just sitting back, sipping my aperol spritz while gazing into black space! Trattoria dal Billy is definitely Seeing The World In Steps recommended. The whole bill comes to 21.50 Euros. I would say that the price is pretty good! Check it out if you are ever here in Manarola!
Seeing The World In Steps 