Gelateria il porticciolo

Oooo yeaaah!!! Delicious goodness after hike on a hot Summer day. Get some gelato and get your feet wet in the Mediterranean

What a refreshment! After the 2 hour hike from Monterosso we found a great place to stop for some ice cold dessert! They offer a small bench outside to relax or walk down further towards the pier for better seating.

This was our first gelato place in the Cinque Terre region and I must say that the gelato here is quite good, but by no means the best I’ve had in Italy. It was at first. until I went to Florence and had delicious and creamier gelato there. I’ve tried pistachio, cinnamon, tiramisu, ambrogio (nuts, cream & chocolate), lemon, and strawberry. While they were all very flavorful with fresh ingredients, my favorites were pistachio and ambrogio. A must stop place if you’re in Vernazza!

This was probably THE BEST gelato I had in Italy.
We came here on a tour guide’s recommendation — he said it was really good gelato, made from grape juice (I think that’s what I remember him saying. I could be making this up though). I’m sure he gets some kind of kickback for telling us that, but at least the man wasn’t lying! I had the coconut and the prickly pear (pears from those cactus-​looking things that you would see if you’re hiking along CInque Terre) and both were amazing. It wasn’t overly sweet and you could really taste the flavors of the fruit in it. It’s also the cheapest gelato I’ve had in Italy. Only 2 Euros for a small cup. Practically a steal!
Now, it’s back to over-​priced, too thick New York City gelato. *SIGH*

Location: Vernaza, in the Cinque Terre.
Food: Strictly gelato and perfect for a pit stop, post trek. I tried the fragola (strawberry) and ambrogio (nuts, cream, chocolate). Both were delicious and refreshing. They offered a variety of flavours to suit pretty much anyone.
The place: It’s tiny so the line up backs out into the street. This isn’t a sit down place.
Service: Good. There’s only one fellow serving and he’s pretty efficient.
Price point: a bit more expensive than what you’d pay in Rome — about 1.50 € per scoop.

My husband and I finally finished our hike from Monterosso to Varenna, and we were eager to sit down to rest! My husband decided to jet off to get some gelato, and spotted this storefront by the water-​front.
He came back and informed me that the owner (or server) at the gelato store told him, «No taste test!» Good grief, that’s the first time I’ve ever been to a gelato store and they don’t offer taste tests. I mean — come on, why are they being so cheap? At least offering 1 – 2 small taste tests of your gelato would be nice. Sheesh… I’m shaking my head as I type this up.
Anyways, my husband ended up getting one flavor in a cone and was pretty happy w/​his gelato. 4 stars for the gelato, 2 stars for the service, so 3 stars overall.
My experience at the other gelato store up the main street on the way to the train station was much better — Gelateria Vernazza!

Decided to drop by this place on a Cinque Terre tour after our guide said this was THE place to get gelato out of the 5 cities. However, I was a bit disappointed… might have been due to the fact that our guide said this place was really good for their sorbet and fruity flavors, which isn’t what I usually get…
I got the Ambrogio flavor (vanilla + chocolate bits + nuts). It wasn’t spectacular, but there were chewy chocolate chunks and peanuts inside, which added some refreshing texture. But honestly, the gelato tasted like the stuff you find in those plastic one-​gallon container tubs of ice cream you can get at cheap grocery stores (you know, the ones you ate when you were 5 years old). Furthermore, I felt like the shop really skimped on the serving size, and I was quickly stuck with an unappetizing sugar cone that I ended up throwing away.
Cinque Terre is much better known for their pesto pasta instead of their ice cream huh…

The best gelato we had in Italy. Do get the nocciola (hazelnut) — you won’t forget it.