Santa Margherita

A few Santa Margherita thoughts and stories follow. Again a trigger warning - I get a bit philosophical.

We like Santa Margherita. It’s a bit more commercial/touristy than Sestri Lavente, so if you go I’d strongly suggest shoulder season (April/early May or late September/October). All the rental beach cabana’s will be gone, we think, and the city slower.

Our hotel (Palace) was an excellent mix of “We’ll leave you alone to enjoy yourself” and “We will get you what you need.” Sometimes higher end hotels can be suffocating, that’s not the case here. Reception was friendly and efficient. The newish bar tender/sommelier was great and had invented some very delicious drinks. At dinner he recommended an excellent Vermentino Nero that complemented both Fran’s beef and my fish - a difficult task. The hotel is a five minute walk from the train station and then another 5 on to the main town so it’s got a great location. The rooms are nice but lack a view. Still, I’d stay here again.

I’m writing this part so I remember the story: one of our waiters at the hotel, Antonio, was a man about my age, maybe a few years younger. On our first night, the night we ate at the Francy restaurant where he was a waiter. He asked where we’d come from. We’d told him Sestri Lavente and that we loved it. Turns out he was from Sestri Lavente and we had a nice conversation about it. We got special treatment after that.

The town remains a mix of old Italian and resort town. I suspect, but don’t know, most of the towns income comes from tourism. Other than fishing I didn’t really see any obvious industry. The old Italian city parts are beautiful:

And the food is as good as almost anywhere in Italy. It’s different (more seafood) and of course they have their own kind of pasta (Trophie with pesto). Even if our favorite restaurant (Il Nostromo) is no more there’s plenty of great places (e.g. Angolo 48). Because the town can be touristy you have to follow the food rules carefully - the restaurants near the waterfront looked pretty uninventive/touristy but the stuff a tiny bit off the beaten path was really  good. We did find a good bar, Sabot, on the main piazza, so there are some exceptions. Here are a few food pics from the town:

A great place and a must see. We’ll be back for a few nights, off season.