Restaurant in Genoa, Italy
Few tables, serious fish, book ahead.
A Michelin Plate-recognised seafood restaurant on Via Assarotti with a handful of tables, an owner-chef focused on quality fish and classical technique, and a 4.6 Google rating across 431 reviews. At the €€ price point, it delivers more than most Genoa seafood options at this tier. Book in advance and order the cappon magro if it is on the menu.
Getting a table here takes planning, but not heroic effort. Booking in advance is strongly recommended — the restaurant holds few tables and its reputation in Genoa is well-established enough to keep them filled. For a Michelin Plate-recognised seafood restaurant at the €€ price point, the demand is entirely predictable. If you have visited once and want to return, the honest answer is: yes, book again, and this time order the cappon magro if it appears on the menu.
Voltalacarta sits on Via Assarotti in Genoa, reached through a small doorway that gives little away. The room is simple and intimate — a handful of tables, a friendly atmosphere, and a format that keeps the focus on what arrives on the plate. There is no theatre of arrival here, no grand entrance to manage your expectations upward. The room is modest by design, and that modesty is part of the point.
What the kitchen delivers against that low-key setting is the reason Voltalacarta has earned its standing among Genoa's serious eating options. The owner-chef works with top-quality fish, applying classic techniques to recipes that carry a personal signature. This is not a restaurant where the menu reads like a taxonomy of the Mediterranean , it is a kitchen with a point of view, shaping fish-forward dishes through an imaginative but disciplined lens. The Michelin Plate awarded in 2025 confirms what Genoa diners have known for some time: the cooking here is worth the effort of getting a reservation.
If you are returning rather than visiting for the first time, the most important piece of advice is direct: when the cappon magro is on the menu, order it. This Ligurian seafood salad , traditionally a layered construction of cooked fish, vegetables, and a sharp green sauce , is prepared here with enough care and individuality that Michelin's own notes describe it as having its own identity card. That is an unusual distinction for a single dish, and it tells you something about how seriously the kitchen takes its version. Cappon magro is a dish that demands patience and skill in its assembly; finding one executed at this level, at a €€ price point, is the kind of thing worth building an evening around.
The progression of a meal at Voltalacarta follows the logic of a kitchen that knows its strengths. Fish is the through-line, prepared with imagination but grounded in classical technique. For a returning guest, the right approach is to let the menu guide the evening rather than seeking to replicate a previous visit exactly , the kitchen's focus on seasonal, quality-driven fish means what is available will shift, and that flexibility is worth embracing. Think of each visit as a variation on a theme rather than a repeat performance.
At the €€ price range, Voltalacarta sits in a category where Genoa has several options, but the Michelin Plate recognition and a Google rating of 4.6 across 431 reviews suggest this is not a restaurant coasting on neighbourhood goodwill. Those numbers, combined with a consistent reputation for quality fish cookery, indicate a kitchen that delivers reliably rather than occasionally. For context, peer venues in Genoa's seafood and Ligurian category include Il Marin (Italian Seafood, Seafood), which operates at the €€€ tier with harbour views, and Rosmarino, another €€ option focused on Ligurian cooking. Voltalacarta occupies its own position: more intimate than Il Marin, more seafood-specific than Rosmarino, and priced accessibly for what the kitchen produces.
For diners who have experienced what a tightly focused, owner-run seafood restaurant can do at this price in Italy , places like Uliassi in Senigallia or Gambero Rosso in Marina di Gioiosa Ionica at the higher end of the register , Voltalacarta operates in a similar spirit at a more accessible price point. It is not competing with Osteria Francescana in Modena or Quattro Passi in Marina del Cantone for complexity or ceremony, but it is doing something more useful for most evenings: delivering precise, personal, fish-forward cooking in a room where you can actually have a conversation.
The intimacy of the space is a practical consideration as much as an aesthetic one. With a small number of tables, the service is attentive and the atmosphere is genuinely warm rather than performed. This is a restaurant where the owner-chef's presence shapes the experience directly, and that consistency matters when you are deciding whether a second visit will match the first. At Voltalacarta, the evidence suggests it will.
Other Genoa restaurants worth considering depending on your evening include Ippogrifo, Le Cicale in Città, Santamonica, and Soho. For a broader view of eating and drinking in the city, see our full Genoa restaurants guide, our full Genoa bars guide, and our full Genoa hotels guide. If you are planning further around Liguria or northern Italy, our Genoa wineries guide and experiences guide are worth a look alongside standout Italian seafood destinations such as Alici Restaurant on the Amalfi Coast and Dal Pescatore in Runate.
Quick reference: Michelin Plate 2025 | €€ | Google 4.6 / 431 reviews | Book in advance | Via Assarotti 60, Genoa | Seafood-focused, intimate, owner-run.
Yes, at the €€ price point it over-delivers relative to most of Genoa's seafood options. The Michelin Plate recognition and a 4.6 Google rating across 431 reviews support the value case. For comparison, Il Marin offers a waterfront setting but costs noticeably more for a similar seafood focus. Voltalacarta gives you precise, personalised fish cookery in an intimate room without the premium tier price tag.
There is no confirmed bar seating or counter arrangement in the available information for Voltalacarta. The restaurant is described as having just a few tables in a small, intimate room. Walk-in or bar-style dining is not a format this venue appears to support , booking a table in advance is the intended approach.
Book at least a week in advance, and further ahead if you have a fixed date in mind. The restaurant has few tables and a strong local reputation, which keeps availability tight. Michelin Plate status in 2025 has added to its profile, so the booking window is not getting shorter. At the €€ price point with this level of recognition, last-minute availability exists occasionally but should not be relied upon.
The intimate format and friendly atmosphere make it a reasonable choice for solo dining , small rooms with attentive, owner-run service tend to suit solo guests better than larger, noisier spaces. The €€ price point keeps the solo bill manageable. For solo seafood dining in Genoa, this is a more personal option than Il Marin, which operates at a larger scale. Call ahead to confirm availability and seating arrangements for one.
The kitchen's strength is in its fish-forward, personally crafted recipes built on classical technique , a format that suits a tasting progression well. If a tasting menu is offered, the cappon magro is the dish to anchor it around when available: Michelin's own notes single it out as a standout. At the €€ price tier, a tasting format here would represent strong value compared to what Reale in Castel di Sangro or Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler in Brunico charge for comparable ambition. Confirm current menu formats when booking.
Yes, with the right expectations. This is an intimate, quietly serious restaurant rather than a grand celebratory room , the atmosphere is warm and personal, which suits a dinner for two or a small group marking something meaningful. It is not the venue for a large party or a flashy setting. For a special occasion where the food and the personal touch matter more than the surroundings, Voltalacarta is a sound choice at the €€ price point. For a more formal special-occasion option in Genoa, The Cook at €€€€ offers a different register entirely.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voltalacarta | Seafood | €€ | A tiny doorway leads to this simple, friendly and intimate restaurant with just a few tables, where booking in advance is highly recommended given the restaurant’s excellent reputation in the city. Its renown stems from the owner-chef’s cuisine, which focuses mainly on top-quality fish prepared in imaginative and personalised recipes using classic techniques. If it’s on the menu, make sure you try the “cappon magro” (a type of seafood salad), which is so good that it even has its own identity card!; Michelin Plate (2025); A tiny doorway leads to this simple, friendly and intimate restaurant with just a few tables, where booking in advance is highly recommended given the restaurant’s excellent reputation in the city. Its renown stems from the owner-chef’s cuisine, which focuses mainly on top-quality fish prepared in imaginative and personalised recipes using classic techniques. If it’s on the menu, make sure you try the “cappon magro” (a type of seafood salad), which is so good that it even has its own identity card! | Easy | — |
| Il Marin | Italian Seafood, Seafood | €€€ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| San Giorgio | Modern Cuisine | €€€ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Rosmarino | Ligurian | €€ | Unknown | — | |
| La Pineta | Traditional Cuisine | €€ | Unknown | — | |
| The Cook | Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Genoa for this tier.
At €€, Voltalacarta sits in the mid-range for Genoa dining and delivers well above that tier. The owner-chef uses high-quality fish in personalised recipes, and the restaurant holds a Michelin Plate (2025), which signals consistent kitchen standards. For the price, it competes with Il Marin on quality while feeling considerably more personal and less tourist-facing.
There is no bar seating documented for Voltalacarta. The restaurant operates with just a few tables in a small, intimate room, so your options are a reserved table or nothing. Walk-ins are a risk given the venue's reputation in Genoa — don't count on a seat without a booking.
Book at least one to two weeks out, and more if you're visiting on a weekend or around local holidays. Voltalacarta holds very few tables and its Michelin Plate recognition keeps demand consistently ahead of capacity. Booking in advance is described as highly recommended even by Michelin's own notes on the restaurant.
It works for solo diners, though the small room means you'll be close to other tables. The friendly, intimate atmosphere noted by Michelin makes it less awkward than larger, more formal spots. If the cappon magro is on the menu, ordering it solo gives you a full read on what the kitchen does best.
Menu format details are not confirmed in available data, so committing to a specific tasting menu verdict would be speculation. What is documented is that the owner-chef focuses on imaginative, personalised fish dishes using classic techniques — which typically translates well to a set menu format. Confirm the current offering when booking.
Yes, with caveats. The room is simple and intimate rather than grand, so if the occasion calls for a big, theatrical setting, look at San Giorgio or The Cook instead. But for a dinner where the food does the talking — Michelin Plate-level fish cookery in a genuinely personal environment — Voltalacarta is a strong call at the €€ price point.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
