Places and restaurants recommended by Casale Amati

The area and its culinary specialities

It is great to cook together here in Casale Amati, have lunch in the garden, have a nice glass of wine seated around the table or maybe in front of our woodstove.

However, sometimes it is a pleasure to go out and find out what the area has to offer and to taste some local dishes, cooked with care in local restaurants that are rich with atmosphere.

Any suggestions?

We have personally tried out some restaurants close-by our Casale. What we have put together is a short but valuable list of restaurants which caught our attention for their atmosphere and flavours.

In the village of Nicola, for example, we recommend the restaurant da Fiorella just a few minutes by car from Casale Amati. It’s quite a tight and curvy road but you’ll be rewarded by the beautiful views along the way. Here you will find simple but top quality dishes, based on the local traditions and seasonality availability which can be combined with a bottle of wine from their well supplied wine cellar.

For meat based dining in our village, we at Casale recommend La Bisteccheria, a friendly atmosphere with a top quality choice of meats.

Fancy eating out in Liguria, roughly 30 minutes by car from out Casale, the pub named L’Orto di Ameste, near la Sierra di Lerici, offers a breath taking panorama of the Gulf of the Poets together with tasty dishes inspired by local Ligurian cuisine.

Moving on to San Terenzo, maybe after a lovely walk on the seafront which connects the small village to Lerici Castle, you will find La Creuza dei Mauri, an intimate restaurant located in an internal alleyway of San Terenzo where fish-based dishes are their speciality.

Still in the Gulf of the Poets but in the direction of Portovenere, on the island of Palmaria in front of the town, we recommend La Locanda Lorena. Take the water taxi from Portovenere’s small pier that is available for clients of the restaurant where the view is truly breath taking.

If the delicious lardo di Colonnata lard is what you are after you’ll need to go across to Tuscany, about 40 minutes away from Casale Amati. For us a place you cannot miss is Venanzio in Colonnata, located in a white Carrara marble paved square of the town centre. It is an interesting restaurant because of its ability to match the antique town traditions with original tastes.

During the summer and perfect after relaxing days spent at the seaside, Bagno Rina, in Ronchi di Massa, offers seafood based food, is a great place to go. Try happy hour after a pleasant day by the seaside in Bagno Palmo Mare in Ronchi di Marina di Massa. Sophisticated and near the well-known Capannina club in Forte dei Marmi, we recommend Bagno Piemonte which offers a very good food service.

If you love art, creativity, typical Versilia flavours and wine (here there’s a wide and fine selection) in Pietrasanta we recommend Enoteca Marcucci, which often organizes events and offers great food and a huge selection of great wines.
Whilst in Pietrasanta, being pizza lovers, and much more, Trattoria Pizzeria Betty, in the central Dome Square is a great place to eat.

In the hinterland of Camaiore, in Capezzano pianore, La Dogana is a well-known restaurant with wonderfully delicious dishes on offer. In Lucca La Buca di Sant’ Antonio is an historical and welcoming restaurant which has a welcoming open fireplace during the winter months, recommended for those who love typical lucchese cuisine and for those who love the warmth of a familiar place.

And in the evening, just 20 minutes by car away from Casale, one can find the charming and lively Sarzana, offering many pubs, restaurants and bars. We tried out La Compagnia dei Balenieri, a small and typical restaurant in the historical city centre of Sarzana, where excellent fish-based dishes are to be enjoyed. In the city centre of Sarzana, we recommend the Simon Boccanegra pub for those who are looking for an easy-going and enjoyable place to eat, famous for stuffed focaccia bread it also offers local dishes.

And if you happen to be in Sarzana on a Saturday morning and you love to cook, we recommend you a visit the Mercatino della Terra which is held between Martiri della Libertà Square and Gori street. Here you’ll find plenty of fresh food to challenge yourself in the making of delicious dishes once back at Casale Amati.

NOTE: in the above text the restaurants displayed are based on our personal taste and experience. We do recommend you contact them personally to confirm if they’re open, ask them for the service prices, to book reservations and to obtain more details about their menus.