Editorial
Genoa drinks the Ligurian way, wine and aperitivo and the odd grand cocktail room, mostly in the lanes of the centro storico. The three below are the ones we could stand behind as currently-open Genoa bars. We cut seven that had closed, turned out to be restaurants, or could not be verified at all.
Les Rouges sits inside the Palazzo Imperiale on Piazza Campetto, one of Genoa's UNESCO-listed Rolli palaces, which makes it the most striking room in the city for a cocktail. The drinks are ambitious and the setting frescoed and grand, so expect to pay for the address. Go for evening aperitivo or an after-dinner drink, and take in the ceiling while you are at it.
Banano Tsunami floats on a barge in the Porto Antico, a seasonal April-to-October spot for an aperitivo and a cocktail right on the water. DJ sets push it into the early hours on Friday and Saturday. It is more party than purist, and the better for a warm night. Go at sunset in summer, and stay for the music if the mood takes you.
Caffe degli Specchi has stood on Salita Pollaiuoli since 1908, a historic literary cafe that does a fine cappuccino in the morning and an aperitivo or cocktail by evening. It is a Bottega Storica, the real old-Genoa article rather than a tourist remake. Prices stay fair. Go for morning coffee in the centro storico, or a spritz before dinner.
The three above are where Genoa actually drinks, from a palazzo cocktail room to a floating summer bar and a historic cafe. All sit in or near the centro storico, within a short walk of the old port. Genoa is a small drinking city, so quality beats quantity here.
Tom Callahan covers pubs and pints across the UK, Ireland and beyond. Value-conscious, suspicious of anything overpriced, and always with one eye on the match.