What to Eat in Genoa: Pesto, Focaccia, and the Ligurian Kitchen

Genoa’s food is among the most distinctive in Italy. The Ligurian kitchen has produced pesto, focaccia, and farinata — three products that are globally known but rarely encountered in their authentic form outside the city.

What to Eat

Pesto alla Genovese — the original pesto. Basil leaves (Ligurian basil, smaller and more delicate than Tuscan), Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil. Made in a marble mortar — not a blender, which bruises the basil. Served on trofie or trenette pasta. The Genovese version is lighter, less garlicky, and more herbaceous than anything outside Liguria.

Focaccia Genovese — thick, oily focaccia with a chewy interior and crispy, olive-oil-soaked surface. Studded with sea salt. Eaten for breakfast (dipped in milky coffee is traditional), as a snack, or at any time. Completely different from Apulian focaccia — lighter and richer simultaneously.

Farinata — a thin chickpea flatbread baked at high heat in a wood-fired oven. Crispy at the edges, soft in the centre, seasoned with black pepper and rosemary. Sold from specialist focaccerie and paninoteche. Eaten standing. One of the best street foods in Italy.

Trofie al pesto — the canonical pairing. Trofie are short, twisted pasta made from flour and water. The pesto clings to the twists. Sometimes served with green beans and potato (trofie al pesto alla Genovese, the full traditional version). Order it at least once.

Trenette — flat ribbon pasta, similar to linguine, the other classic pesto pairing.

Zimino — a stew of salt cod or cuttlefish with Swiss chard, tomato, onion, and spices. A Genoese Sephardic Jewish tradition. Found in the caruggi (alleyways) restaurants of the historic centre.

Buridda — a Ligurian fish stew with salted cod, anchovies, pine nuts, olives, and capers. Port city food — the ingredients are those that could be preserved on long voyages.

Pandolce Genovese — a dense fruit cake with candied citrus, pine nuts, and fennel seeds. The Genoese version of a festive cake; lighter than Panettone but more complex.

Street Food and Snacks

The caruggi — Genoa’s labyrinthine medieval alleyways — are the best place for street eating. Focaccerie, friggitorie, and farinata bakeries operate from tiny premises throughout the historic centre. The Mercato Orientale (covered market, Via XX Settembre) is one of the best food markets in Liguria.

Wine

Ligurian wine production is small but significant: Pigato (a full-bodied white from Riviera di Ponente), Vermentino, and Rossese di Dolceacqua (the one red worth seeking out). These wines are almost impossible to find outside Liguria — drink them here.

Sciacchetrà from the Cinque Terre is a sweet passito wine — rare, expensive, and remarkable.