Pizzeria DA ELI di Leonardini Eliana

this was our last meal in monterosso and we definitely made the right choice. food was fresh, delicious and not very expensive. house wine was excellent as well! we started with a fried seafood plate with calamari, anchovies and shrimp. then had the pizza ely (incredible! still dreaming about it) and the trofie with pesto. so fresh and wonderful and the service was great too. highly recommend!

Great seafood ravioli. Filled with sea bass in a tasty sauce and gamberini. Tried this elsewhere and it wasn’t even close. Sphagjetti pomodoro was not special but it hit the spot. Service was ok – think 5 terra have had enough tourists.

There were so many restaurants in this little quaint town in Cinque terre, Italy, I did not know which one to go to, I went to my Unilocal app and bingo, this came out, I was really impressed and gave it a try, I was in 7^th heaven, this was the best ristorante on planet earth.
Their pizza and seafood was the best I had ever had in Italy. At home in the US, even in the most expensive restaurants, the mussels were always chewy, the seafood here was so succulent, this told me the seafood was fresh off the boats right on the pier in Monterosso al Mare!
The mussels in tomato and garlic sauce was better than any Michelin restaurant in Cannes, we dunked the bread in the sauce, it was delicious to the last bite.
The pizza must have been cooked in a wood oven, the crust had an amazing flavor, the salami was so tasty, it was also reasonably priced as compared to the other pizzerias.
The prawns with marinara sauce was also delicious.
We were so stuffed, we had no room for desert, we also wanted to save room for gelato later.
The next time we go to Italy, we would definitely come back here just for the seafood and some relaxation on their beautiful boardwalk.

So I stayed in an amazing bed and breakfast in Monterosso and was told this was the spot for pizza. I visited this place twice in the two days in Monterosso. Can you tell I liked it?
The first time we had a couple of beers and two pizzas. We had the diavola pie and the five cheese pie. Both terrific pizzas.
The next time we visited we still had another pizza and then the fried seafood dish consisting of prawns, calamari, and anchovies. Of course this was great two.
I HIGHLY recommend this place. It was amazing

We stayed only two days in Monterosso and managed to eat at this restaurant twice — that’s saying something. We ordered the pizza Diavola as well as a four cheese pizza the first time, and returned for the Diavola and a fried seafood antipasti with squid, anchovies (a Monterosso specialty), and prawns. We had a couple of Italian beers over lunch that paired well with our pizza. Lovely outdoor patio seating to accompany the perfect weather. Will be returning in the future!

On the recommendation of our hotel, we had dinner here our last night. So very glad we did! We were seated quick enough, and after looking through the menu each decided on a pizza and a bottle of the house red wine to share.
My choice, the Quattro formaggi was excellent– creamy, salty, with a great thin, slightly chewy crust (which I love). Boyfriend opted for the crudo, with marscapone cheese and Parma ham and he was very pleased. House wine was nice, not amazing, but very drinkable at € 16 a bottle.
As it was our last night, we wanted dessert as well. Everything is homemade, so no menu listed, our waitress had us follow her inside to see the display case with our choices– a very tough one to make with all the lovely options! My pear and almond cake was unbelievably delicious, sweet, moist, light and delicate. Didn’t hurt that they offered it up with a shot of a local lemon liquor, sort of like limoncello.
Great value– € 50 total for the two of us. Do try if you’re in Monterosso!

A great meal with good service at a reasonable price. Stopped for a quick lunch while exploring Monterosso. The area is known door it’s pesto so I had to get fresh pasta with pesto. It was delicious! Also had some calamari that was fantastic! Warning: portion sizes are HUGE!!! The calamari could have easily been shared by 4 or more. Loved it!!!

Gayle and I «dined» here on the 2^nd evening we were in Cinque Terre. We had enjoyed a substantial Lunch in Corniglia (after hiking there), and decided to «go easy» for Dinner. Our Rick Steves’ book led the way (and just down from the Church).
We were seated outdoors and under a canopy directly across the street from the restaurant proper. The Pizza was tasty, but along with the service was otherwise unremarkable. At the same time, we were happy enough to sit, relax, and take stock of a pretty remarkable day.

TOURIST TRAP! Pizza ordered was described as topped with german sausage and mushroom but ended up being sliced hot dogs and canned mushroom! Horrible service and charged us $ 7euros for tap water!!! Stay away!

We heard about this place from a couple we ran into near the St Augustine Statue. I had heard the food in cinque terre was nothing great, so I asked this couple if they had any recs for dinners. They raved about this place the started with an «E» and described to us where it was. Later that night we were searching for the restaurant we didn’t know the name of and found it after wandering around in circles. It was lucky for us the monterosso isn’t very large.
That night my husband and I shared one of the mixed seafood appetizers which was creative and so yummy! They had a stuffed mussel in there which was very similar to a crab cake. You just have to try it — I’d never had anything like this before. For dinner we had the spaghetti al mare (standard dish we learned at every restaurant there) and the mussels in garlic. The pasta was very tasty and the mussels were succulent. I will say after having mussels a few more times there that the ones at Ely were a little too salty, but deliciously fresh.
So while the meal is going by I’m thinking of dessert. Soon after we sat down I saw a scrumptious looking dessert go to a little boy at a near by table. When I asked the waiter what that was he said «cheesecake» but that was the last slice. And although I don’t normally have a sweet tooth– I really really wanted to try this cheesecake. So we asked if we could see the dessert menu — and the waiter responded with «I am the list». totally made us crack up. But nothing else sounded like it would have been worth the calories. So I asked if they would have the cheesecake tomorrow– to which our friend responded «let me ask my mother in law». Turns out it a family run business. When he was coming back to our table a little girl came running down to block to greet him with a hug that was the best advertisement for being a dad.
Long story short this place made me feel warm and fuzzy. The next day we went back and got the cheesecake and then went to dinner. It was light and tasty and nothing like american cheesecake. Highly rec this place!

My girlfriend and I had intended to dine elsewhere, but the restaurant was closed – so we wandered old Monterosso in search of something else. Pizzeria da Eli looked like it had some solid offerings so we gave it a shot.
We shared two pastas, but the memorable one was the trofie al pesto – a local variety of pasta shaped like a small twist, served with delicious house-​made pesto. For our second course my girlfriend ordered the seafood salad, which consisted of a variety of marinated and cooked sea critters. I ordered their swordfish, which had a wonderful flavor but was unfortunately overcooked – it tasted dried out and tough. It was topped with a mountain of delicious roasted potatoes and tomatoes. My girlfriend ordered the seafood salad – which contained a whole menagerie of marinated and cooked sea critters. I’d suggest it is for the more adventurous diners.
The entire meal (with salad, 2 first courses, 2 second courses, wine and digestivi) was 76 euros. We probably could have ordered less and saved some money – I ended up barely touching my swordfish. Their menu is reasonably priced, and they had a number of fairly inexpensive options (including pizzas) so this place is likely to be a crowd-​pleaser – especially if you have kids with you.