There are a couple of tricks that you should know to help you save a little bit of money, not to waist food and still eat well.

One of these, is to “watch out” when you are offered the “giro di antipasti” (“a round of starters”). Most waiters will offer you this choice and you might think this only involves a couple of starters. You may say yes, and then order a first  course or even a second dish as well. By the time all your mix starters come around though, 6-7 dishes are on the table and you realise that this is enough food already!
Mix starters are very trendy in Cagliari but that is often what kills your bill. So, make sure of what they include, how much they cost and how hungry you are! What I often do, is to order the rest of my meal only after having eaten the starters (not ideal if it is late and the restaurant is overcrowded though).

The other tip is on wine. Bottled wine is not sold by the glass. Of course, you might feel like treating yourself for a good meal and taste one of the famous and prestigious local wines but be aware that the house wine is often good anyway. You could even ask to have a taste of that before making your choice.

Third tip is about tips! Should you or should you not tip? and how much? Well, Sardinians do not tip. Your bill always includes an item called “coperto”, which is basically the service.

Which restaurants would I recommend?
I would not go to chains like the pizzeria “Rossopomodoro”. They got not character and the pizza is not even good. I did not like it at all.

For traditional Sardinian atmosphere and food based on meats and pastas you can try “Su Cumbidu”. It is pretty central (Via Napoli) and is got lot of character. In the summer you can also eat outdoors. Last time I went, we had some starters, a main course each, coffee & house whine and we spend about 25-30 Euros. Sardinian liqueur and sweets is on the House.

If you like good fish and the “trattoria” atmosphere, which means lots of noise and very informal service, then try “Lilliccu” in Via Sardegna. Normally starters, main course, coffee & house wine will come up at around 35 euros each.

A very cheap, extremely informal but good one is called Vai che ce n’e‘ (Viale Sant’Avendrace 261). It is not in the central and most touristy area though. The menu choice is limited to pizzas, grilled steaks (horse and veal), and salads. It is very popular so do expect queues. When you get there you need to ask for a table straight away. You will be given a number and a beer and wait outside. When your table is nearly ready, you are brought a menu (still outside) and your order is taken. Soon after you sit down, which can take a while, your delicious stake or generous pizza comes around. The owner is extremely kind and very good fun and your bill normally comes to be around 12-15 euros including wine, pizza bread, coffee & mirto.

Bye for now!
Manu

Also, If you are staying in Cagliari you could spend the night at the Apartment Mara

It does not matter if you are still in Sardinia (maybe in a villa where you can cook) or already back home, you should be able to find all the ingredients you need to prepare this very easy and delicious pasta. If you are not in Italy, visit your nearer Italian delicatessen and look for :

• 5oo grams of “Malloreddus” also called “Gnocchetti Sardi”  (this kind of pasta is typically Sardinian)
• 150 grams of fresh sausage – it must have very little fat and above all it should contain some anise (very aromatic!)
• 800 grams of very mature tomatoes or basic tomato “passata” (no added spices)
• 150 grams of grated Sardinian Pecorino cheese (not the Roman one – too salted!)
• A small onion, Saffron, 1/2 glass of olive oil, five basil leaves and salt

Let’s start:

Thinly chop the onion – then the sausage & the tomatoes in small pieces. Some people, especially Sardinian grandmas, prefer to take the sausage skin away before chopping it.

Poor some olive oil in the pan and once this is warm put the onion. When this turns gold add the sausage bits and let them cook a little before putting the tomatoes.  After ten minutes, sprinkle a pinch of saffron (I like generous pinches!) and salt as you like. Let it go for at least another 30 minutes stirring it every now and then.

The sauce is  now  ready, switch the fire off and add the basil leaves. Put a pan of water to the boil. Add the salt and the malloreddus (only when the water is boiling properly,please). Depending on which brand of pasta you bought, it could take it  from 12-15 minutes to cook, but you should always taste it before as malloredus do tend to stay pretty hard inside.

Finally, drain the pasta and poor some sauce in a big bowl first, then the malloreddus, then some more sauce and the cheese.

Mix it all and.. how does it taste?  enjoy

Manu

After eating lovely seafood for three days, I was  really ready for some MEAT!  We were recommended the Agriturismo PAULES near Dorgali/Orosei. Although it was not really on our way we decided to make an effort to get there .  We gave them a call  to advise that we were coming and the owner kindly explained us the best way to get to them.

I must say that the journey was not as easy as we had assumed, and the road direction boards were just terrible, but eventually we got there in just over half an hour.

It was an extremely hot day and so sunny that we could barely keep our eyes open.  Towards the end of our journey we drove through a little alley and finally got to the farm. We spotted some trees that offered a little shadow where to park our cars and prevent the wheels from melting! The hit was so unbearable that despite seeing cute donkeys waiting for some kind of greeting, we rushed into the farmhouse desperate for air conditioning and a shed on our head.

The place looked very welcoming and full of atmosphere. Ancient farm tools, traditional Sardinian carpets, black and white pictures and thick wooden chairs and square tables. There was a group of people already sitting down. We were welcomed straight away and offered a table and some pillows to place on our son’s chair, so that he could reach his plate.

No menus exist in the real farmhouse, you are offered what the chef cooked on the day. So we were brought fresh cheese (ricotta) and honey, local thin bread (pane carasau), Sardinian dry sausage,  row ham and wild cards as a start. Everything was absolutely divine. The hosts were all very efficient and friendly. They asked us about our journey and stay in the area and gave us some insights of the area and their farm.

The first course came then: “potato agnolottusu ” (Sardinian fresh stuffed pasta) generously dressed with tomato sauce and grated pecorino cheese. By the end of it I was staffed myself..! Soon after, a nice plate of  succulent boiled lamb and potatoes got to the table. This is not something you normally get in hotels or restaurants in Sardinia. Delicious! just like my grandma would have cooked it!

Not the end of it though: traditional roasted piglet, fresh salad and tomatoes, local sweets, coffee and liqueur (mirto) had to follow! Everything tasted extremely fresh and was presented always with a smile by the owner and his family. Even Luca’s father was impressed, while the little one was covered with food and had soaked the pillow with tomato sauce…

We were presented a very modest bill (17 Euro each) which we thought was really not much at all. The only downside I could think of, were the numerous and a bit annoying flies. But the place was extremely clean and off course we were in a real farm in a very hot day of August.

We found out that the Agriturismo Paules, also offers room stay and camping facilities together with horse riding excursions in the area. I can not comment on that as we did not stay longer but that is a thought for you!

If you decide that you do not want to book an hotel in Sardinia but stay or maybe just eat in an Agriturismo here are our tips:

1) A real farmhouse should make most of its income from the farm itself, it does not matter if it farms sheeps, goats, horses or if it grows artichokes and tomatoes. The hospitality side should not take over or be their main business.

2) Most of the food you are offered should not only be cooked, but also produced and processed in that farm.  This makes a farm a real Agriturismo.  If you are offered a seafood based menu (does not mater how good this is) there is something wrong!

3) Agriturismos do not tend to be located on the beach.. and I found that the best ones are sometimes in not so obvious or easy to reach locations.

4) If you are vegetarian, make sure they do have some options in advance!

Manu

Blog-Sardinia

I must admit that when I heard the price first (70 Euro per person..) I though it was maybe a bit pricy but by the end of a superb day,  I  had changed my mind completely.

We bought tickets at the Nonno Pio booth in Cala Gonone harbour and left at around nine AM.  The boat is a real fishermen boat and it can only fit about 15-20 people, which is great, as you get to know and chat with the others. We gently sailed towards Cala Goritze and on the way the crew recovered the fishing nets left on the previous day. We could closely see many kinds of fishes and we were told what they were and how you could cook them…

The coast is amazing there and the knowledgeable crew told us so many interesting stories and intriguing legends about the different sites. They dropped us in the gorgeous Cala Mariolu beach, with its incredible clear waters and superb beach made of very tiny, white and smooth stones. We could spend two hours in this little paradise. Nonno’s Pio crew were great, they even had some parasols that everybody could borrow for the beach.

When they picked us back, it was lunch time..and a great lunch. We ate what they had just fished in the morning – they grilled it in front of us! We also had a lovely squid pasta, salad, local wine, coffee, fruits, Sardinian sweets and MIRTO off course.

Afterwards, we were given the choice of stopping at another bay, the beautiful Cala Biriola or visiting the Fig Grotto. Although the temptation of a nap on the beach after lunch was great, we decided to visit the Grotto and walk a little bit. This was also very good. It was cool in the Grotto and this gave us a break from the heat. The Grotto was very fascinating and the guides extremely knowledgeable and entertaining.

At the end of the visit, Nonno Pio’ staff were already there to collect us with a flipper boat. We could join the others, who had chosen the beach option, and depart for the famous Cala Luna, which unfortunately was very busy being July. It was good that we arrived there by the late afternoon though, so that most of the crowd were leaving ..We staid there for another 90 minutes and then back to Cala Gonone at around seven  and we said goodbye to Nonno Pio crew: our new heros!

Thanks guys – really enjoyed that!

Manu

Cagliari’ s natives are crazy about seafood and, if you do not only want to visit Cagliari but live Cagliari, you must try some of the local specialties where the locals go.

Among these are the kiosk/restaurants in the Poetto area. Originally born as very simple booths where fishermen would sell sea urchins, they slowly turned into sort of “trattorias”.

I would not really call them restaurants as the facilities and service are very basic (you eat and drink with plastic cutlery and plates) but the seafood is fresh and normally of excellent quality. The kiosks are usually very busy and noisy but fun! Specialties are off course the”bottarga”, sea urchins & cuttlefish but you will also find sea basses, sardines, sea breams etc. Everything is cooked with very few spices and flavorings, mostly roasted or grilled. My favourite off course pasta with sea urchins.

Enjoy!

Manuela

For a quick and delicious slice of pizza, do not miss “Federico Nansen” in Corso Vittorio Emanuele, n 320 (city centre). You can buy pizza by weight and take it away to eat or have it there if you can find a seat! This is a very popular place for the “Cagliaritani” where you can eat well for not much money and Stefania, Maurizio & Serena are extremely friendly. You can choose among so many toppings but do not miss the nutella’s pizza!

If you go there, tell them that Manuela & Luca from London sent you (they are really good friends of ours)…but do not expect any discount for it!

Enjoy!

Manu

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