Antipastoteca di Mare

Antipastoteca di Mare Review

Hidden halfway up the hill to the Castello di San Giusto, in what the Triestini call the old city, this informal little restaurant specializes in traditional preparations from the cucina povera—literally the "cooking of the poor," though nowadays it's a culinary movement in which creative flair transforms the humblest ingredients. The inexpensive fish—bluefish, sardines, mackerel, mussels, and squid—are accompanied by salad, potatoes, polenta, and house wine. The consistently tasty and fresh dishes, especially the fish soup and the sardoni in savor (large sardines with raisins, pine nuts, and caramelized onions—"savor" is the Triestino-dialect equivalent of the Venetian "saor"), show what a talented chef can do on a limited budget.