Trattoria da Sandro – Vernazza

Even the Slow Food Movement would Baulk at the Slow Service here:

Maria, our landlady recommended this place and said that she and the locals would dine here. This trattoria is on the right-hand side of via Roma as you walk towards the train station. There is an inside restaurant, but even without any views, we prefer al fresco dining .

What I remember most about Trattoria da Sandro is not the food, but the extremely long wait for service and meals. There was only one other couple who arrived later than us and a small family on the inside table and yet it took over half and hour for the entreé to arrive and then another long wait for the main meal.

We are firm believers in “slow food” especially in relaxed places like the Cinque Terre, but such long waits would even irate the founders of the Slow Food movement.

The waitress was getting more stressed than us, presumably because she couldn’t bear being asked again by the two tables when the food was coming.  We then asked the manager why the long wait and she said that the kitchen was really busy and that they were having problems coping?  You could look through the service window of the kitchen and the two chefs were cruising and not at all in a hurry to feed the restaurant’s diners. The food, when they finally arrived were lacking in flavour and not at all memorable. If not for the photos, I could have easily forgotten the cozzé and swordfish that we ate.

We asked for the bill and this was another long wait – you could hardly blame the kitchen for this delay! Exasperated and against his normal practice, Tony went up to the cashier to pay.

Da Sandro’s prices are cheaper and it’s a much quieter place than the harbour-front restaurants, but the slow service is a real put-off and the bland food certainly wouldn’t draw us back here again.

Things to do in Cinque Terre and Genoa

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