Eating "early dinner" in Cinque Terre area

Since CT is so absolutely overrun with American Tourists I doubt you'll have too much difficulty finding food at a reasonable hour.

I enjoyed 2 meals, a lunch and a dinner at Cantina di Miky in Monterosso on the seafront. I am vegan and they had plenty of food to accommodate me so you should be able to find something that will work for you. This restaurant is listed in Rick's book. The GF of the owner is from New Jersey, I believe. It is right on the promenade with a wonderful view of the sea and a great spot to people watch. I went there once solo and once with my brother and SIL. According to the Yelp review they are open from noon to midnight. The good thing about getting there early is you will get a great seat. Take a sweater in case the breeze comes up.

www.yelp.com/biz/la-cantina-di-miky-monterosso-al-mare

lisa,

You shouldn't have any trouble finding a place to have dinner & wine at 17:00 anywhere in the Cinque Terre. I'm most familiar with Monterosso and most of the places both in the old town and new town should be open then. Dining at that time is probably a good idea, as many of the restaurants will get very busy later in the evening.

Thank you all for the great suggestions. I remember the last time I was in Italy (Como) and there were no restaurants serving meals between 2pm-7pm. I was so hungry as I have to eat at around 5pm. I was told to come back at 7pm. I really cannot eat that late as it just does agree with my "system." I have also found success in contacting some places via Facebook to ask questions ahead of time such as what they do serve at around 5pm. We did not have Facebook the last time I traveled to Europe so that's been helpful.

@Pam...great to see a Vegan's opinion here. I prefer to eat a mostly vegetarian diet although I do like cheese and yogurt. One of my favorite things is grilled vegetables with either pasta or with crusty bread. If you have any other restaurant recommendations that have great vegetable choices, feel free to post here or send me a message.

@James....you said

We're probably just second cousins because you're a 5 am slacker I see. By 5am I've already had a quart of coffee, showered, eaten at least once and am out the door...lol...>>>>

I am SO UP at 5am and I am SUCH a morning person.

I've been known to show up at daybreak at ruins sites and paid the watchmen off to let me in promising to be out before the ticket takers show up to start their opening, etc. unless there was just a chain across the entrance, when I just wander past or over it "by accident"...haha...>>>

That's great! Love it! Are people OK with us morning types? Any place to get a decafe coffee (I cannot have caffeine)

Laughing at you guys! I actually thought it was harder to have to wait for breakfast than find an early dinner. Have some snacks in your room because they are not ready for breakfast at 5 when my stomach is saying it's time to eat.

Lisa, some of the best meals I had were combos of roasted veg and pasta. Also had some really good soups, but it had turned cool during part of our visit to Italy.

I did note that what was served many places was what was fresh in the market that day.

I'm a morning person who usually eats dinner earlier than 7 too, and planning a trip to Cinque Terre, so I have been reading this thread. But Pam, I totally agree about waiting for breakfast! When I am staying at a place that has breakfast included, but that breakfast doesn't start until 8 it feels like such a long wait until breakfast. I usually go out for a walk before breakfast and then I am the first person in the breakfast room. So far lisaew, I haven't had trouble anywhere finding some place serving food when I'm ready for it. Often the places with outdoor seating in the main squares or town centers-probably because they are ready for tourists.

Thank you all! Glad I am not alone! I did find myself eating at some of the same places on my last trip simply because they were decent and open when I was ready for a "feeding" LOL! I am happy that I have a fridge or mini bar (I am hoping that means fridge) at all the places I am staying.

If a person takes powdered decaf...how much does one pay for a cup of hot water? Or if the place does not have a microwave, how does one get hot water?

"I am happy that I have a fridge or mini bar (I am hoping that means fridge) at all the places I am staying."

Minibar does mean fridge, but depending on the place, it may not have any room for you to store your own items. And at fancier hotels (like the Rome Airport Hilton, and other places at that level), they use a computerized system; if you move an item, you are charged for it, whether you actually consumed it or not. So, if you want to use the minibar for your own stuff, you may have to ask them to clear it out, and they may or may not be willing to do this. Again, the more expensive the hotel, the more likely this will be a problem. At "lesser" places, there's usually just a few drinks and snacks in the fridge, and you can put in your own stuff easily.

"If a person takes powdered decaf...how much does one pay for a cup of hot water?

You can get decaf in Italy - it's called "Caffè Hag." I don't know how easy it is to get a cup of hot water in Italy, or what they would charge, as I've never done this.

"Or if the place does not have a microwave, how does one get hot water?"

You could tote a multi-voltage immersion heater, like this one: http://www.magellans.com/dual-voltage-heating-coil. If it's really important to you, consider it, as it's small and light. In Italy, unlike some other countries, it's not standard to have a kettle in the room (although the aforementioned Rome Airport Hilton did have one).

Set your watch 2 hours behind.
When it's 7pm local time your watch will show 5pm.
Go to bed at 9am by your watch (11pm local time). Then the next morning get up at 5am according to your watch. It will actually be 7am, but I can guarantee you your body has no idea how to read the time and will be totally fooled. To fool your body even more, set your watch display to show military time (also the European norm). Your body will have no idea what is going on and your stomach will give you no trouble at all.

I had the exact same issue in the CT! I am sure there are plenty of places in Monterosso as people suggest but if you're like me you don't want much to do with that town. I wanted to get pictures of sunset most nights, which made it difficult to get dinner and get myself in bed by 10. I remember we had good luck in Manarola at an excellent restaurant called Aristide (not the bar, but the restaurant portion) where we had such a delicious meal we returned the next day. Got out with plenty of time to take sunset photos so i'm sure we were eating by 6 at least!

I guess I am with Roberto in a way, do not assume that your body will react the same way in Italy. You will be taking in a 6-7 hour time change, so your body clock will already be out of wack. Your 9:00 bed time is about 3:00 in the morning there so your body will want to wake up later and stay up later already...shifting your hours is probably the easiest thing to do, even by an hour or two. May seem radical, but I would suggest just losing the watch once you get there, take your cues from your body and what you see around you.

Thanks for the specific details, Harold :-). I am staying at smaller Inns so hopefully the mini bar will suffice. As long as I can get decaf, I will be OK :-). Just do not want to be given caffeine by mistake. That would be really horrible.

JP...thanks for the tip about Manarola! That is one village I do want to get a sunset pic of if possible so if I can be done with dinner by 8pm-ish, that would be great! Glad I am not the only one who wants to be in bed and done by 10pm.

And...thanks to everyone for all the responses, the ideas about the clock, etc. Greatly appreciated!

I also recommend Cantina di Miky in Monterosso. We ate there several times during our 5-day stay in Monterosso and loved it. They don't close between lunch and dinner so you can easily pop in for an early dinner. One afternoon, we opted for a late lunch/early dinner at around 3-4pm which was no problem at Cantina di Miky. I also can't eat any fish or shellfish and don't like meat (except for chicken) and I had no problem finding plenty of options on their menu. You should definitely try the Fried Bread with cheese in the middle (it was outstanding) as was the Pesto Soup...I made a meal out of these 2 items several times. They also have a nice cheese platter and a bread & pesto platter that we enjoyed. We felt that the prices were very reasonable and one of the advantages of eating an early dinner is that you can avoid the often long lines at peak dinner time. They offer seating outside overlooking the ocean as well as in a nice courtyard as well as downstairs in the restaurant itself. We enjoyed eating outside by the ocean but one night we ate downstairs inside the restaurant and enjoyed the atmosphere there as well. Have a great trip!

Thanks, Sheron! Great info about Cantina Miky. I was looking for a place I can start to eat "dinner" at about 4pm. Then, if I can relax there and finish up around 5:30...perfect.