Restaurant Review: Cantina di Miky, Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre

After booking other people at Cantina di Miky in Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre for literally years, I finally dined here myself on a late September Monday evening! My dinner was wonderful and I will absolutely return (and continue to book others there!). This post reviews my delicious dinner at Cantina di Miky in Cinque Terre, Italia!

Monterosso al Mare at sunset (note – this is not from Cantina di Miky).

CANTINA DI MIKY RESTAURANT IN MONTEROSSO AL MARE

Cantina di Miky is a seafood restaurant in Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre. Owned by locals, Cantina di Miky has been around for at least a decade. My in laws dined there waaaaay back in 2015, and I don’t think it was a new restaurant then… Cantina di Miky’s philosophy is “Il Km 0,” meaning that all of its ingredients are sourced from the hyper local area of the restaurant, here Cinque Terre! This philosophy is quite popular in Italy, and it always makes for delicious, local dishes that change with the season. In fact, you cannot find a “standard” menu for Cantina di Miky online because it changes so frequently.

Cantina di Miky logo. I love this little diver.

Continue reading

The Nessun Dorma Pesto Experience: An Extremely Detailed Guide

On our recent trip to Cinque Terre with Dan’s Uncle and Aunt, we spent an afternoon in Manarola learning to make pesto at the Instagram famous Nessun Dorma’s Pesto Experience. This article provides a very detailed review of the Pesto Experience and if its worth the time and money.

Dan & I at the Nessun Dorma Pesto Experience.

RESERVATIONS AT NESSUN DORMA

The first step to enjoying the Pesto Experience is making a reservation. Reservations are complimentary and can be made on Nessun Dorma’s free phone application. You simply enter your information on the application and done! Nessun Dorma emailed us a reminder the day prior. Also, you don’t pay until the actual event, and credit card is accepted.

Nessun Dorma!

GETTING TO NESSUN DORMA FROM MANAROLA

Continue reading

A 3 Day Itinerary for Cinque Terre, Italy in Late September!

Dan and I traveled to Italy with his Uncle and Aunt from Texas in September 2024. This was his Aunt’s second time in Italy and his Uncle’s first, despite being entirely of Italian descent. Our first stop on this visit was Cinque Terre, Monterosso al Mare specifically! We had a wonderful time and ate some fantastic food. This blog post details what we did, how we got around and what we ate and drank!

The four of us in Cinque Terre!

CINQUE TERRE

If you are unfamiliar with Cinque Terre, Cinque Terre, or “Five Lands” in English, is a group of five tiny villages in Northern Italy, located on the Ligurian Riviera (a/k/a coastal Liguria or the Italian Riviera). Locals still live in Cinque Terre, but it has become terribly popular in the last decade or so, being popularized by cruise ships docking in La Spezia, Rick Steves’ travel guides, and most recently, the adorable Disney movie Luca (give it a watch before your visit). Travelers come to Cinque Terre for its beautiful villages, coastline, delicious seafood and pesto, and hiking. This was Dan and my fourth visit to Cinque Terre. And while the tourists are honestly somewhat unbearable, especially when cruise ships are in port,  Cinque Terre is still almost as magical as our first visit way back in 2008. The end of this article lists some of our top “tips and tricks” for visiting Cinque Terre, the # 1 being please stay overnight (and spend money in locally owned establishments!).

Vernazza from the Blue Trail.

A THREE DAY ITINERARY FOR CINQUE TERRE

Classic Cinque Terre. Monterosso al Mare beach.

Continue reading