Trattoria Le Caravelle: Stuffed Anchovies, Mandilli and a Surprisingly Good Lunch in Lavagna
Trattoria Le Caravelle sits at Via Como 31 in Lavagna, attached to the small Hotel Le Caravelle and only a short distance from the coast. There is nothing remotely theatrical about it. No panoramic terrace, no designer dining room trying to compete with the Ligurian Sea, no menu written as a manifesto.
Instead, the kitchen goes straight for the food people actually come to Liguria hoping to eat: mandilli with pesto, pansoti with walnut sauce, stuffed anchovies, clams, red prawns, grilled fish and the catch of the day.
Chef Toni Sahraoui keeps prices unusually grounded for the Riviera, with most first courses between €13 and €18 and seafood mains topping out around €20. The restaurant therefore occupies an increasingly appealing middle ground: more interesting than a generic hotel trattoria, considerably less self-conscious than many restaurants closer to the waterfront.
On our 2026 visit, the food comfortably outperformed the modest setting: pesto was vivid, seafood cooking direct and the whole meal refreshingly free of ceremony. Is Le Caravelle worth crossing Liguria for? No. But if you are in Lavagna and want honest local cooking without paying for the view, it is a very smart address.
Stuffed Anchovies Are the Starter That Feels Most Ligurian
The acciughe ripiene cost €10 and immediately make more sense here than another anonymous plate of cured meat.
Fresh anchovies are filled with a herb-scented stuffing and fried until golden. The attraction lies in the contrast: oily, intensely flavoured fish inside, crisp coating outside, herbs cutting through the richness.
Liguria has always understood anchovies as more than a cheap substitute for larger fish. Fried, salted, stuffed or marinated, they belong naturally to the coastal table.
At €10, this is where we would begin.
Mussels Keep Things Even Simpler
The cozze alla marinara, also €10, rely on garlic, extra-virgin olive oil and parsley.
That is enough.
Mussels already provide their own broth as they open, so the best sauce is often the one that interferes least. Garlic gives depth, parsley freshness and olive oil rounds the cooking liquor.
Bread becomes mandatory once the shells are empty.
The seafood salad at the same price—cuttlefish, mussels, clams and octopus with seasonal vegetables—is the colder, cleaner alternative, but the mussels have more immediacy.
Mandilli al Pesto Are the Dish We Would Order First
The mandilli al pesto fresco cost €13, with potatoes and green beans available on request.
This is the plate that most clearly places the restaurant in Liguria.
Mandilli are exceptionally thin sheets of fresh pasta whose name refers to handkerchiefs. Their delicacy matters: they carry pesto differently from trofie or trenette, folding through the sauce rather than fighting against it.
The pesto itself needs to remain bright and aromatic. Basil should lead; garlic, pine nuts, cheese and olive oil should support rather than flatten it into a heavy paste.
Potatoes and beans make the dish more traditional and more substantial, but we prefer the mandilli almost naked, with the pasta and pesto left to dominate.
At €13, it is also one of the strongest reasons to know the restaurant.
Pansoti with Walnut Sauce Go Deeper into Ligurian Tradition
The pansoti in salsa di noci, again €13, are richer and more autumnal in character.
The filled pasta combines ricotta and greens, while walnut sauce brings creaminess, nuttiness and a faint bitterness.
This is a dish where excess sauce quickly becomes a problem. Pansoti should still taste of their filling rather than simply behaving as vehicles for walnuts.
Compared with the mandilli, the plate is softer, rounder and more substantial.
If two people are eating together, order both. They show two very different faces of Ligurian pasta for €26.
Spaghetti Le Caravelle Put the Sea into One Plate
The Spaghetti alle Caravelle cost €15, combining mussels, clams, prawns and squid.
This is the restaurant’s straightforward seafood pasta.
The shellfish provide salinity, prawns sweetness and squid the firmer texture that keeps the plate from becoming repetitive. The real test is the sauce left at the bottom: it should taste concentrated and marine rather than oily.
At this price, there is no need for lobster theatrics or an avalanche of shellfish piled vertically over the pasta.
It is generous enough as it is.
Linguine with Clams Are the Cleaner Test
The linguine alle vongole veraci cost €16 and strip the idea back further.
Clams, garlic, olive oil and parsley leave nowhere for the kitchen to hide.
The pasta needs to carry the clam liquor without becoming wet, and the shellfish should remain tender rather than shrinking into rubbery little commas.
Between this and the mixed seafood spaghetti, we would choose the linguine when the clams are particularly good.
The simpler plate has the higher ceiling.
Red Prawn Risotto Is the Richer Seafood Route
The risotto al gambero rosso costs €18 and uses a house-made shellfish bisque.
Here the sea becomes deeper and sweeter.
Red prawns have enough natural richness that the risotto does not need excessive butter or cheese. The bisque should give the rice intensity without turning it into a shellfish soup.
This is a more polished first course than the spaghetti, but still comfortably within trattoria territory.
Gnocchi, Prawns and Pesto Should Not Work This Well
The Chicche della Nonna, at €18, combine homemade potato gnocchi, sautéed prawns and creamy basil pesto.
It sounds almost too soft: potato gnocchi, prawns and pesto all lean towards sweetness and richness.
What saves the dish is basil.
Its aromatic freshness gives the prawns and potato enough lift, while the gnocchi absorb the sauce more aggressively than pasta would.
This is the least traditional Ligurian first course among the strongest options, but also one of the more intriguing.
Catch of the Day alla Ligure Is the Main Course with the Clearest Identity
The pescato del giorno alla ligure costs €18 and comes with potatoes enriched with pesto.
This is where the restaurant’s modest style becomes an advantage.
Fresh fish rarely improves when hidden under elaborate sauces. Ligurian cooking already has everything it needs: olive oil, herbs, vegetables, potato and controlled acidity.
The pesto potatoes are richer than a conventional boiled side, but they also tie the fish back to the region without forcing basil directly onto the fillet.
For a first meal here, this is the second course we would choose.
The Mixed Grill Is Remarkably Reasonable at €20
The grigliata di pesce costs €20 and combines sea-bream fillet, prawns, scampi and swordfish.
That is a lot of seafood for the price.
The difficulty is timing rather than complexity. Prawns and scampi cook quickly, sea bream needs delicacy and swordfish becomes dry the moment enthusiasm exceeds precision.
The plate succeeds when each piece reaches the table on its own terms rather than everything receiving the same number of minutes over the grill.
Lemon should remain optional.
Grilled Octopus Has More Modern Energy
The griddled octopus tentacles cost €18, accompanied by paprika potatoes and a house sauce.
Octopus benefits enormously from this two-stage treatment: tenderisation first, intense heat afterwards. The goal is a soft centre with crisp, caramelised edges.
Paprika gives the potatoes smoke and warmth without competing with the sea.
It is a more contemporary plate than the catch of the day, but still simple enough to fit the room.
Wine Pairings
Mandilli al pesto: Cantine Lunae Le Creuze Pigato Colli di Luni DOC — herbal, saline and naturally at ease with basil.
Stuffed anchovies: Bisson Ü Pastine Bianchetta Genovese — lean and citrusy against fried oily fish.
Grilled seafood: Durin Pigato Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC — mineral, fresh and broad enough for prawns, scampi and swordfish.
Meat Is There, but Seafood and Liguria Are the Better Argument
The land-based menu includes slow-roasted veal at €15, beef tagliata with mushrooms at €18, knife-cut beef tartare at €18 and green-pepper fillet at €18.
Those prices are certainly attractive, but Le Caravelle becomes much more distinctive when pesto and seafood enter the picture.
The meat section is best regarded as flexibility for mixed groups rather than the reason to book.
Desserts Keep the Trattoria Tone Intact
Desserts cost €7, including tiramisù, panna cotta, crème caramel, lemon sorbet and the cake of the day.
Nothing here needs architectural pastry.
After pesto, shellfish and grilled fish, a lemon sorbet makes the cleanest exit. Tiramisù is the more indulgent choice if dinner has stayed light.
The prices remain consistent with the rest of the meal rather than suddenly doubling once sugar arrives.
The Wine List Understands the Price Point
Wine is similarly grounded.
A bottle of Cantine Lunae Le Creuze Pigato costs €22, one of the most obvious orders with seafood and pesto. Bianchetta Genovese is €25, while several whites—including Ribolla Gialla and aromatic northern varieties—remain between €18 and €25.
Even house wine from Colli di Luni stays uncomplicated: €3 for a quarter litre, €6 for half and €12 for a litre.
At the opposite extreme sits Tommasi Amarone at €70, but that feels almost like a different conversation.
The sweet spot is clearly local white wine around €20–€25.
Service, Atmosphere and Prices
Le Caravelle is a small hotel trattoria rather than a Riviera showpiece, and pretending otherwise would miss its appeal.
The dining room is plain and functional. The interesting things happen on the plate.
Service on our visit was friendly and direct, with none of the choreography that can make a simple coastal lunch feel unnecessarily formal.
Prices are the strongest surprise. Stuffed anchovies (€10), mandilli al pesto (€13) and catch of the day (€18) produce a substantial three-course savoury meal for €41 before drinks. A simpler lunch of mandilli and a glass or carafe of local white can stay remarkably low for the Ligurian coast.
Is this where you book an anniversary months in advance? Probably not. Is it the sort of unpretentious place you are pleased to discover after too many €30 plates of seafood along the Riviera? Absolutely.
Useful Information
- Address: Via Como 31, 16033 Lavagna, Genoa
- Chef: Toni Sahraoui
- Cuisine: Ligurian and Italian trattoria cooking, with a strong seafood focus
- Setting: Restaurant within Hotel Le Caravelle
- Dishes to look for: Stuffed anchovies, mandilli al pesto, pansoti with walnut sauce, linguine with clams and catch of the day
- Stuffed anchovies: €10
- Mandilli al pesto: €13
- Pansoti with walnut sauce: €13
- Spaghetti alle Caravelle: €15
- Linguine with clams: €16
- Red-prawn risotto: €18
- Chicche della Nonna: €18
- Catch of the day alla ligure: €18
- Grilled seafood: €20
- Grilled octopus: €18
- Desserts: €7
- Vegetarian options: Available
- Gluten-free choices: Available
- Hotel: Rooms available in the same property
- Pets: Accepted at the hotel
- Best for: Ligurian pasta, seafood, moderate prices and an informal meal in Lavagna
Our Rating of Trattoria Le Caravelle
Food: 8.8/10
Direct Ligurian cooking with more personality than the understated room initially suggests.
Starters: 8.9/10
Stuffed anchovies are the standout, while mussels keep the seafood side admirably simple.
Ligurian Pasta: 9.2/10
Mandilli and pansoti are the strongest argument for coming here.
Seafood Pasta: 8.9/10
Clams, mixed shellfish and red prawns give the first-course section good range without inflated prices.
Fish: 9/10
The daily catch and mixed grill stay close to the ingredients instead of hiding them.
Meat: 8.4/10
Competitively priced, though clearly secondary to pesto and seafood.
Desserts: 8.3/10
Traditional and uncomplicated, which is exactly what this meal needs.
Wine List: 8.8/10
Local Pigato and Colli di Luni pricing make drinking Ligurian wine pleasantly painless.
Service: 8.8/10
Friendly, direct and well matched to the trattoria format.
Atmosphere: 8.2/10
Simple rather than memorable; come for the food, not the room.
Value for Money: 9.5/10
€13 Ligurian pasta and seafood mains around €18–€20 are difficult to argue with on this stretch of coast.
Overall Rating: 8.9/10
