Portofino has no market, no bakery queue and barely 400 residents — its food story is borrowed from the coast around it. Three days of Santa Margherita's fish quay, Camogli's focaccia ovens and harbour trofie al pesto that costs what a yacht mooring does.
The Tigullio fleet lands at the quay around 08:00 and the covered fish hall sells straight off the boats from 08:30 until stock runs out, usually before 11:00. Look for gamberi rossi, acciughe, gianchetti and moscardini.
A gastronomia trading since 1902, four rooms deep in Ligurian oil, salted Monterosso anchovies, taggiasca olives in brine and vacuum-packed pesto made in-house. The wine cellar downstairs carries Golfo del Tigullio bianchetta and Cinque Terre sciacchetrà.
The one kitchen in the village on a back lane rather than the water, two minutes uphill from the piazzetta. Trofie al pesto, pansoti with walnut sauce and a fritto misto that costs roughly half what the harbour terraces charge for the same fish.
A wooden pontoon bar floating off the western quay, open since 1961 and long claimed as one of the most romantic bars in the world. Negronis and Vermentino arrive with focaccia and olives; the pontoon sways when the ferries come in.
Portofino's least theatrical harbour bar, open from breakfast for cappuccino, sfogliatelle and slabs of plain focaccia genovese sold by weight. Locals dunk the focaccia in the cappuccino — it is a genuine Ligurian habit, not a tourist stunt.
Run by Luigi Miroli since 1975 and the reason half the yachts moor here. The signature is pappardelle al Portofino — tomato, pesto and a splash of cream — alongside baked fish under salt. Nine tables outside, booking essential weeks ahead.
On the emerald cove between Portofino and Santa Margherita, a beach-club kitchen doing crudo of Sicilian red prawn, king crab and spaghetti with datterini. Loungers on the sand are billed separately from the restaurant and cost more than the meal.
The Cerea family of Da Vittorio in Bergamo run this harbour-front dining room, turning out paccheri alla Vittoria finished tableside and Ligurian seafood with Michelin technique. The terrace looks straight down the mooring line of the piazzetta.
On Camogli's seafront since 1964, baking focaccia col formaggio in trays all morning and selling camogliesi — rum-cream filled pastries the size of a thumb. Sold by the etto and eaten standing on the promenade wall opposite.
The 1885 osteria where focaccia di Recco col formaggio was codified and which later won it IGP protection. Two paper-thin sheets of unleavened dough, stracchino between, blistered at 300°C and served in wedges the moment it leaves the oven.
Piero Lugano's cellar bottles Abissi, a metodo classico aged 60 metres down on the seabed off Portofino for over a year, plus bianchetta genovese and ciliegiolo from terraced vineyards above the coast. Tastings run at the counter.
The oldest tavern on the square, angled so the tables catch the last light off the water. Order salted anchovies with butter, a plate of fried anchovies and a carafe of Vermentino, and watch the day-trip crowd drain out on the 18:00 boats.