The story
On the small Piazza Sant’Elena in Genova, Trattoria dell’Acciughetta makes anchovies the undisputed star. This 4.5-star seafood trattoria serves generous portions of traditional Ligurian fare at fair prices. Creator Where The Foodies Go calls it “a great trattoria for traditional Genoese seafood dishes” like brandacujun and anchovy-based pastas, noting the menu feels both inventive and deeply rooted.
Standout plates include the Fritto di Salvia con Fonduta di Acciughe—fried sage leaves with anchovy fondue—and the Spaghetto con Crema di Cima di Rapa e Bagnun di Acciughe, a clever twist on turnip tops and anchovy sauce. Also on the menu is a pasta with egg cream, tuna, and guanciale. The trattoria delivers honest, flavorful cooking that stays true to its Ligurian roots.
Synthesised by AI from every creator’s review. First reviewed 2025.
Most-loved dishes
AI summary of what 4 dish mentions say about the food
Reviewers rave about the Brandacujun, a creamy salt cod sensation that steals the show. The overall vibe is rustic, soulful, and deeply satisfying.
“Tonight I'm tasting another dish I wanted to taste from the Genoese tradition, brandacujun: salted cod cooked together with potatoes, garlic, parsley, Taggiasca olive oil. You mash everything, you eat it like a cream, let's say. And tonight I'll take the fancy version because there's also an olive soil, pesto, and then there's fried carasau bread which is good. The cod gets a nice boost especially from the olives. The aftertaste of pesto afterwards is very delicate, it goes really well together. A very good dish and I also like the crunchy part. Fried carasau bread, everything perfect.”
What creators say
1 creator has covered Trattoria dell'Acciughetta. Most active: Where The Foodies Go
- Where The Foodies GoLoved
G di GENOVA - Genova Food Tour - 🇮🇹 "L'Italia dalla A alla Z" 🇮🇹 - Episodio 7 · @ 0:00
A great trattoria for traditional Genoese seafood dishes like brandacujun and anchovy-based pasta, with generous portions and fair prices.
Dishes mentioned
Fritto di Salvia con Fonduta di Acciughe
Fru, frich, if I'm wrong correct me. They're fritters based on lettuce or zucchini flower or in this case sage. It's already good like this. Then here at Acciughetta they rightly serve as a dip a fondue of anchovies. Mamma how good. Dry fried that smells of sage. But this anchovy fondue, I'll have a bottle prepared to sip. Delicious.
Brandacujun
Tonight I'm tasting another dish I wanted to taste from the Genoese tradition, brandacujun: salted cod cooked together with potatoes, garlic, parsley, Taggiasca olive oil. You mash everything, you eat it like a cream, let's say. And tonight I'll take the fancy version because there's also an olive soil, pesto, and then there's fried carasau bread which is good. The cod gets a nice boost especially from the olives. The aftertaste of pesto afterwards is very delicate, it goes really well together. A very good dish and I also like the crunchy part. Fried carasau bread, everything perfect.
Spaghetto con Crema di Cima di Rapa e Bagnun di Acciughe
Spaghetti with cream of turnip tops, bagnun of anchovies, the anchovy sauce, and a nice herb crumble. I'd like to point out the generosity of the portions. I mean, this must be 200g of pasta. Good. Good. There are many points where you can go wrong. The pasta cooking they got right al dente. You can put too much anchovy and it becomes too salty, but instead it's precise. The turnip top is a perfect combination with the anchovy. The crumble gives crunch. We're all happy.
Pasta con Crema d'Uovo, Tonno e Guanciale
Fake carbonara made with tuna and guanciale together. Good. Pasta cooking precise. Very rich in cacio, pecorino. That little touch of tuna obviously makes it a completely different dish, but I must tell you, you know, it's not bad. Let's not call it carbonara, let's call it pasta with egg cream, tuna, and guanciale, but it's good. We're in Liguria. Homeland of basil, don't you want to have a basil panna cotta with berry sauce? Very delicate. Look, basil is bastard, eh? Because it's genetically bastard. Bravo Suciara. If you put too little you don't taste it, if you put too much it tastes like pesto so with dessert it doesn't go well, you have to dose it very well like in this case: a light aftertaste of basil and the acidity of the sauce cuts through the panna cotta. Good. Very well guys, I'd say we can recommend Trattoria dell'Acciughetta too. We paid for four dishes, the panna cotta was offered to us, €60.
