All Traditional recipes Places we love Stories

The Oneglia journal

Stella

Recipes, places and stories — it all starts just outside the door.

Places3 min read

Chez Braccioforte, my father's fish place

The fish restaurant of the Oneglia harbour: the same family for five generations, a dining room with real tablecloths, and fish bought every day at the auction right out front. It's one of my father's places of the heart, and when I'm back in Oneglia it's where I like to return.

Places3 min read

Where to eat fish in Imperia (and around)

There's fish that was still in the sea this morning and on your plate by dinner. In Oneglia, under the arcades of the port, and then down the coast as far as Cervo and Sanremo: I don't eat fish myself, but these are the places the real connoisseurs in my circle swear by, from the 1892 classic to the buridda of old.

Places3 min read

Where to eat farinata in Oneglia

Chickpea flour, water, oil and salt, baked in a copper pan in a wood-fired oven: farinata is the Ligurian street food par excellence, and in Imperia it even has its own name and its own twist. Here's where to eat it properly.

Places3 min read

Hostaria Besugo, the real sea cooking of the harbour

On the Oneglia harbour, under the arcades of Calata Cuneo, the Hostaria Besugo does old-fashioned Ligurian sea cooking: buridda, cuttlefish zimino, the freshest raw fish. Stone walls, vaults, an open oven. In the diary I've already called it the beacon of sea cooking on the harbour, and here's why.

Places5 min read

Getting around Imperia without a car (or almost), summer 2026

In summer, a car in Imperia is more of a problem than a solution. Here's how to get around without stress, from someone who grew up here: real walking times, the Riviera Trasporti buses stop by stop along the coast, the train to Sanremo and Genoa, and the cycle path heading west. Honest about the limits too, because Imperia is hilly.

Places3 min read

Osteria della Ciccia, the meat trip up the Arroscia valley

When the craving for meat is the serious kind, you get in the car and drive up the Arroscia valley: in Ortovero there's a Tuscan osteria where the grilled fiorentina comes from Dario Cecchini's shop. Fixed menu with the wine included and an open kitchen — with one honest piece of advice for the drive home.