How to Get a Table at Manarola’s Nessun Dorma

The best view in Manarola — and, perhaps, in all of Cinque Terre — can be found on a cliffside across from the heart of town. There, you can watch as the pastel-colored buildings of Manarola glow warmly in the light of the setting sun while people gleefully jump off rocks into the sea below.

Though there are free viewing platforms on this cliffside area, there’s also a wonderfully positioned aperitivo bar — Nessun Dorma, where you can soak in all this beauty while enjoying some food and drinks.

However, getting a table at Nessun Dorma can be a bit confusing — and competitive. The bar accepts no reservations, instead using an app-based system with a waitlist you can only enter when you’re already physically located in Manarola.

When I visited Manarola, I used Nessun Dorma’s app to eventually secure a table with a perfect view. I made some mistakes along the way and discovered some crucial tips and tricks for having the best possible experience at Nessun Dorma.

In this post, I’ll tell you everything I learned about how to get a table at Nessun Dorma in Manarola.

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How to Get a Table at Nessun Dorma

Here’s a step-by-step process for getting a table at Nessun Dorma.

Step 1: Download the Nessun Dorma App

Before you go to Manarola, download the Nessun Dorma app. The icon looks like this:

On Nessun Dorma’s website, you’ll also find a QR code directing you to the app.

Step 2: Go to Manarola

When you arrive in Manarola, open the Nessun Dorma app. Click on “terrazza,” where you will find a prompt to get in the queue. This is how to add yourself to the waitlist for a table.

Select the number of people in your party and click the confirmation button.

If you are not physically in or near Manarola when you try to enter the queue, it will not work. This is to ensure that Nessun Dorma spends less time trying to track down people who joined the waitlist without the ability to claim their table on short notice.

Note that Nessun Dorma’s aperitivo service begins in the late afternoon (prior to that, they are open only for pesto-making classes), and the queue may not open until shortly before service begins. At the time of my visit, the bar opened at 4 pm and the app queue opened at 3:30 pm. If the queue is not open when you open the app, keep checking back regularly.

Step 3: Wait!

Now it’s time to wait. Walk around town, watch people jump off the rocks into the water below, enjoy the view from the platform beside Nessun Dorma — whatever floats your boat.

But keep an eye on the app, because it will send you important updates about your place in line.

Step 4: Walk up to the Viewing Platform

Eventually, you will get a notification (or the app will tell you) that you are 10 tables away from the front of the line. At this point, you should head up to the viewing platform if you are not already there — you will want to be near the bar shortly after this.

Step 5: Go to the Entrance of Nessun Dorma

When the app says you are 5 tables from getting seated, go to the entrance of Nessun Dorma.

When it is your turn (which can happen very quickly after the 5 table notification), they will call your table number (which you will see in the app) to be seated. You need to be near the entrance to hear this happen. If you do not respond quickly to this announcement, they will terminate your place in line and you will need to reenter the queue.

My friend and I learned this from personal experience — we were not paying close attention to my phone and missed the updates that we were 10 and then 5 tables away from the front of the line. The second time around, we were careful to be much more attentive!

Step 6: Be Seated

When your table number is called, step forward to be seated. You will be shown to a table; you do not get to select your own table (unless, perhaps, the bar is relatively empty).

Nessun Dorma occupies a narrow space with two rows of tables: one along the fence (with better views) and one along the cliffside. Where you’re seated is a matter of luck (though I did observe that groups larger than 2 were less likely to be seated along the fence). You can request to be reseated if you’d prefer a better view, but don’t hold your breath. (For one thing, there may not be any other available tables!)

More Tips for Visiting Nessun Dorma

How Long the Nessun Dorma Queue Takes

So, how long will you have to wait in the Nessun Dorma queue? That totally depends. If you’re visiting during the summer or other particularly busy times, you may wait for a while. But if you manage to enter the queue right when it opens in the afternoon, you may not need to wait long at all.

I can tell you that when my friend and I visited Nessun Dorma on a busy day in late August, we waited for a little under an hour from the time we reentered the queue (after our initial failure) until we were seated.

Timing Your Visit to Nessun Dorma for Golden Hour

If you’d like to be sitting in Nessun Dorma during the best golden hour light, you want to ensure that you’re seated AT LEAST an hour before the time of sunset on the day you’re visiting.

You have two options for making this happen: (1) press your luck with the timing and enter the queue 30-90 minutes before you want to be seated (if you’re there during a busy season, enter the queue on the earlier side), or (2) get there well in advance of golden hour and plan to order lots of food and drinks so you can hang out for a long time.

My friend and I were seated at around 5:15 pm on a day when the sun set at 8 pm. When we arrived, it was not near golden hour, though the colorful buildings were still beautiful in the late afternoon light. We lingered over snacks and multiple drinks until about 7:30 pm, when Manarola glowed spectacularly in the warm light of the setting sun.

Food and Drinks at Nessun Dorma

Be aware that Nessun Dorma is not a full restaurant — it is an aperitivo bar.

This means that they serve lighter foods like bruschetta and meat and cheese boards, which are meant to serve as a pre-dinner snack, rather than traditional Italian meals. You won’t find any pizza or pasta at Nessun Dorma, though you’ll find plenty of wine and cocktails.

For what it’s worth, I thought both the food and drinks at Nessun Dorma were fine but not amazing, and that the views and experience were better reasons to stop at Nessun Dorma.

An Alternative Option: Take the Pesto Class

If you don’t want to fuss around with waiting for a table, there’s another option: take Nessun Dorma’s lunchtime pesto class.

Pesto classes are a common offering in the towns of Cinque Terre. At Nessun Dorma’s class, visitors make pesto by hand, eat lunch, and taste some wines.

I haven’t taken the pesto class at Nessun Dorma, so I can’t speak to that particular experience.

But I did take this pesto class at Cinque Sensi in Vernazza, and it was absolutely wonderful! I’m actually not usually a huge fan of cooking classes while I travel — among other things, I’m a picky eater, which can cause problems — but the pesto class was perfect. I learned about (and tasted!) local cheeses, wines, and oils — and, of course, learned how to make pesto (with a mortar and pestle!), which I promptly got to eat with a bowl of fresh pasta and green beans.

So, while I can’t personally promise that Nessun Dorma’s pesto class is equally wonderful, I do generally recommend that visitors to Cinque Terre give a pesto class a try.

To book Nessun Dorma’s pesto class, check their website here.

Final Thoughts on Manarola’s Nessun Dorma

Yes, Nessun Dorma is worth the wait and the effort! I can’t think of a better place in Cinque Terre to eat great food and savor great drinks while also enjoying a uniquely spectacular view.

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