5 Best Restaurants in Cagliari, Sardinia

The gilded Antico Caffè once served as an intellectual haunt for famous writers like D.H. Lawrence and Grazia Deledda, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1926. With its street-front terrace and polished-wood interior, it has anchored the base of the Bastione di St. Remy since 1855, serving as a social center from breakfast time until well after midnight; the menu features local fish and meat specialties. You can also get pastas, salads, and such desserts as tiramisu and elaborate artisanal gelato concoctions. 

Conveniently located a few steps from Cagliari's cathedral and archaeological museum in the Castello quarter, this tiny, welcoming spot offers a range of delicious lunchtime snacks to eat in at a counter or take out in a small or large box. Choices may include chicken salad, tripe and peas, caponata, and parmigiana, as well as freshly prepared filled panini. In the summer months it opens in the evening, too.

Take a tour of contemporary Sardinian gastronomy in this trendsetting place that has become a hit with the cagliaritani. You can choose between eating à la carte or the small dishes offered on the tasting menus (€30, €35, and €40, including desserts), which might include such bold pairings as tagliatelle with pesto, hazelnut, cherry, and fresh orange, beef strips with berries and myrtle liqueur, and sea bream fillet with cherry, thyme, and orange oil. The weekday "business lunches" (€11–€17) are an especially good value. Dishes can be adapted for vegetarians and others with special dietary requirements.

A meal at this restaurant in Cagliari's lively Marina quarter, near the port, makes for a quick and affordable introduction to Sardinia's rural cuisine. Dishes can be ordered as part of a fixed-price meal or separately, and portions are large, so go easy on antipasti to leave room for main courses of lamb, sausage, and the famous Sardinian maialetto (roast suckling pig, aka porcheddu). Service is brisk and informal; choose a table on the street or within the brick-vaulted interior. The same family also runs Su Cumbidu Mare, nearby on Via Concezione, that focuses on the island's sea-based gastronomy.

Seafood is the name of the game in this no-frills eatery at one end of the Marina's main restaurant alley. Below a gallery of paintings and old black-and-white photographs, two rows of marble-top tables line the walls, invariably filled with local families cheerfully tucking into such dishes as seafood risotto, grilled eels, and pesce al pomodoro fresco (a mix of sea-bream, red mullet, sea-bass, and sole in a fresh tomato sauce). Booking is essential.