Ristorante Vulnetia, Piazza Marconi, Vernazza

Ristorante Vulnetia, Piazza Marconi, Vernazza
Thursday 14 September, 2006

After leaving Manarola we walked to Corniglia where the terrain was a little more hard core - people passed us with walking sticks and hiking boots (mainly German tourists). We met some friends at Corniglia train station and decided to catch the train to Vernazza for a long lunch. Meanwhile some of our friends pushed on and commenced the very steep zig zag path - we watched them disappear as small dots in the distance.

Vernazza is a fishing village and still retains the charm and colour of the other Cinque Terre towns. We had received a recommendation for our long lunch - Ristorante Vulnetia and made a bee line for it. Fortunately without a reservation they were able to squeeze in our party of 7. The restaurant reminded me of a grotto - there were large stone archways separating each dining room and bizarre cement wall features, animals paintings and ceramic wild animals such as cheetahs and tigers dominating the floor space. It was intriguing.

The staff sat us on the end of a massive table with some American tourists at the other end. We swapped stories of the Cinque Terre and learnt that they had approached the walk from North to South so had only walked between 2 villages so far and had given up because they weren't prepared for the terrain and steep climb. We had a good laugh and recommended they catch the train to Riomaggiore so they could at least do the Tunnel of Love.

Ristorante Vulnetia is a seafood restaurant so I decided to share the local speciality with a friend - seafood risotto. Like most Italian restaurants we were served complimentary fresh crusty bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar - delicious! Our meals were all huge and ensured we sat and enjoyed our long lunch.

The risotto was fabulous and consisted of crab claws, calamari, prawns and mussels - it was just beautiful and because it was a dish for 2 came served on a large steaming platter.

I can highly recommend this family run restaurant - we had a great time and it was very reasonable.

Ristorante Vulnetia - Piazza Marconi 29, Vernazza - T: 0187821193

www.camerenicolina.it