Ristorante San Giorgio

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Family Story Behind Every Plate

Ristorante San Giorgio traces its roots to the 1980s, when Giorgio and Teresa Scala opened their first restaurant in Albisola Superiore. Teresa's devotion to quality ingredients and her instinct for traditional Ligurian cooking quickly made the place a local landmark. Her philosophy — that every recipe tells a story — became the foundation the family has built on ever since. Today, under the name San Giorgio di Scala Danilo & C., the family runs four restaurants across Genoa, each one a continuation of that original commitment. The Viale Brigata Bisagno address is the flagship, recognized both by the Michelin Guide as a restaurant of high quality worth a stop, and by Wine Spectator, which awarded it the Best of Award of Excellence in 2021 — a mark of a cellar that goes well beyond the expected.

Chef Alessandro Marino's Seasonal Italian Menu

The kitchen is led by Chef Alessandro Marino, whose current menu reads as a confident, ingredient-led take on Italian cuisine. Starters move between the refined and the bold: salt cod heart with peas and horseradish, scallop with nasturtium and kiwi, and a raw prawn with Swiss chard, green olives and vermouth sauce. A Seppia — cuttlefish — arrives with almonds, white apricot and Beluga caviar, a pairing that signals ambition without showboating.

The pasta section is a particular point of pride. All fresh pasta, bread, focaccia and grissini are made in-house. Highlights include Perle di Genova al pesto — the city's most iconic dish, done here on home turf — and ravioli di astice with myrtle and bitter wild herbs from the Ligurian hinterland. A smoked Verrigni spaghetti with peppers and anchovies rounds out a section that honours Italian cuisine's pasta traditions while keeping things genuinely seasonal.

Mains span land and sea: stuffed squid with prebuggiùn (the classic Genoese wild herb mix) and walnuts, the catch of the day prepared alla ligure, pigeon in crust with seaweed and scampo, and lamb with asparagus and saffron. Desserts — including a chocolate soufflé with black garlic ice cream and cherry, and a strawberry with rose and rhubarb — are made in-house, as are the seasonal sorbets and gelati.

Tasting Menus and the Table Philosophy

For those who want to hand over the reins entirely, two tasting menus are available. "Seguimi" is a seven-course surprise at €160 per person, with optional wine pairing from €120. "Nelle tue mani" offers five courses at €120, with pairing from €60. Both are designed for the whole table — a choice that reflects the Scala family's belief in shared experience and attentive, anticipatory service. Their guiding principle is direct: "Il cliente non deve chiedere mai" — the guest should never have to ask for anything. When no request is ever made, they consider excellence achieved.

The restaurant also accommodates vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diners on request, and even welcomes four-legged companions with a dedicated menu for dogs — a detail that says something about the warmth of the place.