La Brinca Restaurant
Ne

La Brinca was founded in 1987 in Ne, hinterland of Chiavari and Lavagna, a few kilometers from the sea of the Italian Riviera.

As early as the 1930s, the Circella family, in this small village in the Graveglia Valley, ran a typical osteria that was the gathering place for local farmers. The grandchildren, mindful of the family tradition, restored the old farmhouse of La Brinca and created a “caneva con fùndego da vin,” meaning tavern with store and wine cellar. La Brinca is the feminine nickname for Texinin (Teresina) of the Brinche family, who lived in this farmhouse in the mid-19th century.

Today La Brinca are brothers Roberto and Sergio with wife Pierangela and twin sons Matteo and Simone, Roberto’s son Stefano, and all the girls and boys who work in the kitchen and dining room. Grandmother Franca, after a lifetime in the kitchen, now oversees the vegetable garden.

The kitchen, led by young Simone, offers traditional dishes from hinterland of Liguria region, strictly linked to the seasons, with continuous use of local vegetables and fruits, and fragrant herbs.

A tradition that is projected into the present, with the reworking of ancient recipes, and the reinvention of historic dishes always prepared with absolutely local ingredients to be enhanced. The pasta is strictly handmade by Roberto, including ravioli with herbs, gnocchetti with “Quarantina Bianca Genovese” potatoes, chestnut picagge or the taglierini to add to Minestrone alla Genovese, the delicious local vegetable soup. Then the small stuffed lettuces in broth remind us that Ligurian cuisine is famous for stuffing anything, starting with traditional meats, such as veal cima, herb-stuffed rabbit and tomaxelle. Cheeses come from the best local producers, while desserts are Pierangela’s realm, with exquisite preparations that vary with the season.

Matteo and Sergio’s cellar has more than a thousand wine labels, with continuous tastings and selections, especially dedicated to natural producers. Large selection of spirits and liqueurs of all origins. In the Caneva, the cellar-shop below the restaurant, you can buy wines, local oils, home-made jams and Ligurian specialties.

Countless awards have been won by the Brinca over the years, from Matteo’s award as Best Sommelier of Italy 2021, for the Michelin Guide, to Best Osteria of Italy 2020 for Osterie d’Italia, Slow Food Chiocciola since 1996, Best Trattoria of Italy 2020 for L’Espresso, Tre Gamberi Gambero Rosso, since 2004, Corona Radiosa for Gatti Massobrio, since 2006, and Corona Radiosa Rossa Unica in 2023, just to mention the most recent.