A day among fishing boats, pirates, saints and good food: a trip to Santa Margherita Ligure - Part II.

Walking along the seafront we discover that Santa Margherita Ligure is the second port in Liguria by number of fishing boats, after Sanremo. Indeed, the picturesque multitude of vessels that every day return from the sea with the excellent fresh fish of the Tigullio in their nets is remarkable and, besides enchanting us from an aesthetic point of view, it also whets our appetite. Luckily we don't have to walk far to find the ideal place to taste the best the sea, and not only, can offer. Just a stone's throw from the cliff we find, in piazza Martiri della Libertà, the Ristorante MOG, a place with an outdoor area that immediately strikes us for its young, trendy and elegant style, characteristics we'll find again at the table.

We settle into the bright room facing the Giardini a Mare, where our gaze can wander among the beautiful aquarium at the entrance, the many elegant bottles of wine and champagne and, above all, the open kitchen. Welcoming us with great kindness are the owners Oscar Pellitta, the chef, and Mario Cantarelli, a perfect host, whose initials inspired the name of the restaurant. Both have important experience in the field behind them and are bound not only by a working partnership but also by a long-standing friendship. Completing the staff is the kitchen manager Riccardo Casiraghi. "We opened in 2016 with the idea of creating a modern, refined place, with à la carte cooking based on very fresh, high-quality raw ingredients and recipes marked by creativity, but also by simplicity and always respecting Italian taste with a touch of contamination.

We have never offered the things usually offered to tourists, for example, pesto: we have it too, and an excellent one, made with Prà basil and Italian pine nuts, Parmigiano Reggiano and pecorino romano, but we offer it to children. On the menu we prefer to offer dishes of very fresh fish, which we largely buy from the fishermen, or even excellent foreign products such as American shelled scallops, but also cuts of meat that are impossible to find around here, such as Spanish pork or Irish red meat. Our menu changes every two months, and closely follows the seasonality of the raw ingredients, and in choosing them we always favour local companies.

For example, our paccheri come from a farm that produces and refines its own flour." These choices have allowed MOG to climb the Tripadvisor rankings quickly; in fact the restaurant has reached the top spots in Santa Margherita Ligure without any help. From this summer it will be possible to enjoy their dishes also at the restaurant and at the beach bar of the Grand Hotel Miramare, but there will also be new items on the menu, which is constantly evolving, including the introduction, from June, of a selection of caviars, from Siberian to Iranian, up to the famous Beluga. Paired with excellent champagnes, the fresh caviar to be enjoyed on warm summer evenings will confirm the refined style of the place.

We start with American scallops seared with chopped pistachios and pumpkin cream, and with a mixed raw seafood dish with langoustines, prawns and two types of tartare, the sashimi of bluefin tuna and the tataki of amberjack, accompanied by little exquisite sauces such as raspberry dressing. We also taste a shellfish dish of clams and oysters, while our friends who prefer dishes from the land opt for the foie gras with homemade brioche bread with caramelised pear. We continue with one of the restaurant's flagships, the tagliolini with cuttlefish ink with langoustines and burrata from Andria, but we also find the paccheri with lobster irresistible. Our carnivorous friends instead choose the maltagliati of fresh pasta with a touch of lamb and pecorino cream. We wash these delicacies down with excellent, carefully selected wines.

The cellar, which initially started with about fifty labels, today boasts over 120, among which there's plenty of room for Ligurian wines from respected regional agricultural companies, alongside which there are also labels from just about all the Italian regions, together with a fine selection of champagne. This time we accompany our dinner with a local Vermentino Colli di Luni from the Ottaviano Lambruschi winery. Some of us instead prefer slightly more aromatic wines and choose Sauvignon and Chardonnay from the Girlan winery. To quench our thirst there isn't only the rich wine list, but even a water list in which we find mineral waters, including French ones, and microfiltered water: a touch of refinement that fascinates us.

Among the fish dishes we decide on the grouper scaloppine in parchment, Mediterranean style, but we also let ourselves be seduced by the tempura of prawns and leeks with mustard and honey sauce. We also don't forgo tasting the suckling pig cooked at low temperature with caramelised apple and sautéed new potatoes. Besides the excellence and originality of the dishes, we really appreciate the fact that everything is served already ready to be enjoyed, we don't have to struggle to clean and crack shells. These details also make the difference, as does the fact that although every dish is prepared on the spot, the waiting times are absolutely reasonable.

Finally, we have only to give in to the sweet temptations of the homemade desserts, including the white chocolate half-sphere covered with raspberry glaze, and a deconstructed tiramisù with the cream, the biscuit and the chocolate poured at the last moment. Besides these treats, we can also enjoy tasty seasonal fruit, served in a basket. At the end of dinner we treat ourselves to another taste of a delicious citrus liqueur. After this lovely day we're certain that if at the time of Dragut there had already been such a pleasant place, with refined cuisine and a convivial atmosphere, the terrible pirate, instead of wreaking havoc, would have preferred to enjoy lovely dinners a stone's throw from the sea, and as far as we're concerned, we'll certainly be back here soon for other "food and wine raids".

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Ristorante MOG Piazza Martiri delle Libertà, 46-47 0185/283957