Midrange
Le Colonne di San Bernardo
Fish and meat specialities with limited choice, but high quality and a selection of excellent wines. All prepared with great care. Sweets represent a wonderful surprise, not to miss.
Ombre Rosse
Quality Genovese typical food, like pansotti, vegetable cakes, baccala, lepre, brasato.
La Berlocca
Fish & meat of great quality. Excellent choice of wines.
Top end
Ristorante Zeffirino
Allegedly one of frank sinatra's favourite restaurants apparently he had them send him regular supplies of their pesto, zeffirino is one of genoa's gems. hidden up a long flight of steps just off via xx settembre in the heart of genoa, it can a little hard to find but well worth it. stunning food, truly excellent service and a beautifully appointed dining room makes for a memorable lunch or dinner.
Grace Restaurant
(http://www.thi-hotels.com...): the cuisine, linked to the territory, combines the flavours and aromas of liguria with the pleasures of traditional international cuisine and is entrusted to the expert hands of chef salvatore di carlo.
focaccia
Another must try from the Genovese or Ligurian cuisine is the focaccia, which essentially is a flat oven-baked Italian bread, which may be topped with onions, herbs, or other foodstuffs. They are quite tasty and often cheaper than pizzas. There are many 'Focaccerias' scattered throughout Genova and its surroundings. These are basically take away places, and easy on the wallet, too. In many of the focaccerias, you will find improvised varieties of focaccias, but usually, the best tasting ones come with only tomatoes or onions and a bit of olive oil. The original "focaccia" is simply topped with olive oil, salt and a little bit of white wine
The vast majority of places charges service for a fixed amount per person called coperto, as is custom in Italy. A trattoria, cafe or bar will not charge this fee for lunch, and this is often a good place to get pasta or a sandwich in the afternoon. Restaurants are open from approximately 12:30 - 3:00PM for lunch and 7:30 - 10:00PM for dinner.
Budget
Pasta e Birra Take It Easy (http://www.facebook.com/p...), Piazza Ferretto 10 rosso - Close to Magistrato Di Misericordia Church and the Genova Cathedral. Great, fresh pasta on a budget - less than 5 euro for a pasta and drink. Try the regional 'trofie with pesto sauce'. No reservation.
Trattoria Da Maria, Vico Testadoro 14 - ph. +39 010 581080 - Close to Piazza de Ferrari, traditional regional cuisine and a practical and crowded atmosphere. Possible opening for lunch only, no reservation.
Osteria La Lanterna, Via San Siro 12R - ph. +39 010 2461608 - Close to Via San Luca and Museo del Risorgimento, this restaurant offers mainly fish dishes.
Trattoria Sa Pesta, Via Giustiniani 16r - ph. ++39 010 2468336 - In the old town, this restaurant offers traditional regional cuisine.