Restaurant in Genoa, Italy
Genoa's credible seafood room. Book it.
Le Cicale in Città is a Michelin Plate-recognised seafood restaurant in Genoa, holding consistent recognition in 2024 and 2025. The kitchen is strongest on raw fish and produces one of the only menus in the city to feature mupa, a rare deep-water Mediterranean fish. At €€€ with a 4.6 Google score from 301 reviews, it is a reliable first choice for serious seafood in Genoa.
If you are visiting Genoa for the first time and want one meal that captures what the city does with seafood, Le Cicale in Città is a reliable, Michelin-recognised answer at a price point that does not require a special occasion to justify. The room is classic, the service is genuinely warm, and the raw fish alone is worth the detour. Book here before you consider the harbour-facing alternatives.
The atmosphere at Le Cicale in Città sets a tone immediately: mirrors and silverware, a room that feels settled and assured rather than trendy. The energy is unhurried — this is a dining room where conversation carries over the sound of cutlery, not the other way around. For a first-timer, that matters. You are not walking into a scene that requires decoding. The room reads as a place that has been doing this for a long time and does not feel the need to announce it. If you are comparing this to the more contemporary rooms in Genoa — Soho or Voltalacarta, for instance , Le Cicale in Città sits firmly in the classic, grown-up register. That is a feature, not a limitation.
The table to the rear of the room, near the arte povera-style dresser, is the one to request for special occasions. It offers a degree of separation from the main floor and a more considered setting. If you are planning a birthday dinner or an anniversary, ask for it when you book.
Le Cicale in Città has earned consecutive Michelin Plates in 2024 and 2025, which signals consistent kitchen standards rather than a flash-in-the-pan reputation. The kitchen's focus is fish and seafood, and the raw fish preparations are where the menu performs at its highest level , precise, product-led, and a direct expression of what Ligurian seafood cooking does when it is not trying to impress through technique alone.
The mupa is the order worth knowing about. It is a deep-water Mediterranean fish that rarely appears on menus outside the region, and its presence here is one of the more genuinely distinctive things about the venue. Prawns feature when in season, so timing your visit to coincide with their availability is worth factoring in if you can. The home-made pasta dishes , particularly the chicken plin with brown gravy , give the menu a grounding in northern Italian tradition that keeps it from feeling like a strictly fish-only proposition. If you are dining with someone who does not eat fish, the primi section gives them a credible alternative.
For context on how this kitchen compares to the sharper end of Italian seafood cooking nationally, venues like Uliassi in Senigallia and Quattro Passi in Marina del Cantone operate at a higher tier of ambition and price. Le Cicale in Città is not competing with them , it is doing something more grounded and local, and that is the correct framing for your expectations.
The venue's editorial angle lends itself to thinking about what you drink here. Liguria's wine production is small and not always well-distributed, but Genoese restaurants of this register typically carry Vermentino and Pigato from the Riviera Ligure di Ponente, which are the correct local pairings for raw fish and simply prepared seafood. Ask what they are pouring from the region before defaulting to something more familiar. The service style , described as cheerful and friendly in Michelin's own assessment , suggests the room is approachable enough that you can have that conversation without it feeling like a test. For a broader sense of what Genoa's bar and drinks scene looks like beyond the table, our full Genoa bars guide covers the city's options in detail.
Address: Via Giuseppe Macaggi, 53r, 16121 Genova. Cuisine: Seafood, with house-made pasta. Price range: €€€ , expect a three-course dinner with wine to sit in the range appropriate for a Michelin-recognised room of this type in Genoa. Reservations: Booking is rated Easy, but advance booking is recommended, particularly for the rear table or weekend evenings. Dress: Smart casual; the mirrored room and silverware set a tone, but Genoa is not a city that enforces formality. Awards: Michelin Plate 2024 and 2025. Google rating: 4.6 from 301 reviews, which is a meaningful sample at this type of restaurant. Leading for: First-timers to Genoa's seafood scene, couples, small groups; solo dining is possible though not confirmed by seating data.
Genoa is an underrated city for seafood, and Le Cicale in Città is one of the more credible places to experience it. For a broader orientation before or after your visit, our full Genoa restaurants guide covers the full range. If you are building a longer trip, our Genoa hotels guide and experiences guide are useful companion reads. Other Genoese restaurants worth knowing about in this tier include Ippogrifo and Santamonica. For Italian seafood restaurants operating at a comparable or higher level elsewhere in the country, Gambero Rosso in Marina di Gioiosa Ionica and Alici on the Amalfi Coast are worth cross-referencing for your wider Italy itinerary. If you are curious about the country's top tier more broadly, Osteria Francescana in Modena, Dal Pescatore in Runate, and Reale in Castel di Sangro represent a different calibre of ambition and investment. Also worth noting for the northern Italian context: Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler in Brunico sets a benchmark for how Italian fine dining can anchor itself in regional product. Le Cicale in Città operates on a different scale, but the commitment to local ingredients is a point of shared logic. Finally, for a local wine perspective, our Genoa wineries guide gives context on what is being poured in the region.
Yes, for a first visit to Genoa's serious seafood dining. The Michelin Plate recognition is consistent across two years, the 4.6 Google score across 301 reviews suggests the room performs reliably rather than occasionally, and the price tier is appropriate for what you receive. If your priority is the mupa or seasonal prawns, check timing before you commit to a date. If your priority is the rear table, mention it when you book.
Book in advance, even though the booking difficulty is rated Easy , weekends fill faster than the rating implies. Focus on the raw fish and, if available, the mupa: it is a deep-water Mediterranean fish that rarely appears on menus outside Liguria and is one of the more distinctive things the kitchen does. The chicken plin with brown gravy is worth ordering if you want something from the pasta section alongside your seafood courses. The room is classic and the service is approachable, so do not hesitate to ask about the wine list , local Ligurian whites like Vermentino or Pigato are the natural pairing for the fish menu.
The database does not confirm counter seating or a dedicated solo setup, but the service style , described as cheerful and friendly in Michelin's assessment , and the classic room format suggest a solo diner would be comfortable here. At €€€, solo dining represents a meaningful spend per head, which is worth weighing against Rosmarino at €€ if budget is a factor. For the full solo dining experience at a Michelin-recognised seafood table in Genoa, Le Cicale in Città is a reasonable choice; just call ahead to confirm seating arrangements.
There is no confirmed bar seating in the available data for Le Cicale in Città. The venue presents as a traditional dining room rather than a bar-forward space. If bar dining or a drinks-first format is what you are after in Genoa, our full Genoa bars guide is the better starting point. For a table at Le Cicale in Città, the standard reservation route is the right approach.
At €€€, yes , given the consecutive Michelin Plate recognition and a 4.6 Google score from 301 reviews, the kitchen is delivering consistently at this price tier. The comparison that matters most here is against Il Marin, which sits at the same €€€ price point with a harbour setting. Le Cicale in Città trades the view for a more classic, interior-focused room and a product-led menu with dishes like mupa that you are unlikely to find elsewhere. If you are spending €€€ in Genoa on seafood, this is a defensible choice. If you want to spend less, Rosmarino at €€ covers Ligurian cooking at a lower outlay.
Il Marin is the most direct peer: same price tier, Italian Seafood focus, with a harbour view that Le Cicale in Città does not offer. If design and setting matter as much as the food, Il Marin has the edge. San Giorgio sits at €€€ with a Modern Cuisine approach, which is the right alternative if you want more creative cooking rather than the classic seafood format. Rosmarino drops to €€ for Ligurian cooking, making it the value play. The Cook at €€€€ is the top-spend option in Genoa for Modern Cuisine, appropriate if you want to push further up the ambition and price curve.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Cicale in Città | Seafood | €€€ | Easy |
| Il Marin | Italian Seafood, Seafood | €€€ | Unknown |
| San Giorgio | Modern Cuisine | €€€ | Unknown |
| Rosmarino | Ligurian | €€ | Unknown |
| La Pineta | Traditional Cuisine | €€ | Unknown |
| The Cook | Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Unknown |
Comparing your options in Genoa for this tier.
This is a classic, settled dining room — mirrors, silverware, formal service — not a casual trattoria. The kitchen holds consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025), so standards are consistent rather than occasional. Focus on the raw fish and, if available, the mupa, a deep-water Mediterranean species you will rarely find on a menu elsewhere. For a special occasion, request the table near the arte povera-style dresser at the rear of the room.
The room's classic format — mirrors, a settled atmosphere, attentive service — works better for pairs or small groups than for solo diners. That said, cheerful, friendly service is part of what Michelin's own notes highlight, so a solo visit is far from unwelcoming. At €€€ pricing, you are paying for a full sit-down experience, which makes the counter or bar format more economical for solo travellers if that option exists.
Bar seating is not confirmed in the available venue data, and this is a table-service dining room by format. To check availability, check the venue's official channels via their Genoa address at Via Giuseppe Macaggi, 53r. Given the €€€ price point and formal room, a reserved table is the intended experience here.
At €€€, yes — provided seafood is your reason for visiting. The Michelin Plate across two consecutive years signals reliable kitchen standards, and the mupa, seasonal prawns, and house-made primi with sauces give the menu a specific identity you are paying for. If you want a lighter, lower-cost Ligurian seafood meal, Genoa has simpler options, but Le Cicale in Città justifies the spend for a considered dinner rather than a quick lunch stop.
Il Marin, at the Porto Antico, is the comparison most people make — higher profile, harbour views, and a stronger wine programme, but also harder to book and pricier. The Cook is the city's Michelin-starred option if you want a more ambitious tasting format. San Giorgio suits groups looking for a broader menu in a more relaxed setting. Le Cicale in Città sits between these tiers: more serious than a neighbourhood trattoria, less theatrical than a destination restaurant.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
