A foodie's guide to Sardinia
Sardinia gets under your skin. I’m not the only person to have felt it. The renowned food writer Claudia Roden said: ‘I don’t know if it is because Sardinians are unbelievably hospitable, and their land is so beautiful, or because their food evokes a remote past, or because it is simply so good, but it provokes a strong emotion of the kind you never forget.’
Separated from Italy by language, culture, history and geography, this idiosyncratic island, lost in the Mediterranean, has much to offer any hungry traveller searching for something a little less ordinary. The food culture is, like the place itself, theoretically Italian, but really a world unto itself. While they both share some essential philosophies – the focus on ingredients and extreme freshness, the peasant roots that make each dish simultaneously comforting and abundant – Sardinian food seems a distilled version; somehow even simpler, more rustic, more wild. The emphasis on tradition is even more pronounced. Food is never just food. It is a memory, a moment recaptured in a mouthful. It is friendship, love, celebration. Often today, it is easy to lose sight of this. In Sardinia it is not.
I first visited when I was 18, on a holiday with a friend’s family. We stayed in a remote villa in the north, and my most potent memory was the night I dragged everyone out to the local agriturismo, where we, the only guests, feasted on ricotta ravioli in fresh tomato sauce, roast suckling pig, raw artichokes with home- pressed olive oil for dunking, and then deep-fried cheese pasta with honey and orange zest, all rounded off with myrtle liqueur. Every single thing we ate was made or produced on the farm, and it couldn’t have been simpler, or more delicious. It didn’t feel strange to be the only diners, as we were made not to feel like customers at all, rather friends at the family dinner table.
I moved to the island three years ago. Since then, I’ve realised many things; about myself, about eating, about cooking. Far too trite to say I found myself – I didn’t anyway – but I found my food, and that’s a pretty good place to start.
WHERE TO EAT IN SARDINIA
DA RENZO
This restaurant in Siamaggiore, part of a smart hotel, has one of the most luminous dining rooms. It’s particularly famed for matching Sardinian pastas with local seafood. The pasta is made by a company set up by the owner; buy some to take home. Try a raw platter, then the rock lobster, or aragosta. The tiramisu is pretty fool-proof, too.
Address: Da Renzo, Strada Statale 292 Nord Occidentale Sarda, 131, 09070 Siamaggiore OR
Website: darenzo.it
JOSTO AND FRAMENTO
These sister joints in Cagliari are run by one of the island’s foremost chefs, Pierluigi Fais. At Josto, timeless classics are reimagined with clever combinations. Up the hill is the Framento pizzeria where traditional slow-fermented dough is baked with typical or more unusual toppings such as smoked salmon or cauliflower. Crispy, slightly sour and completely moreish, this is pizza Sardinian style.
Address: Josto, Via Sassari, 25, 09124 Cagliari CA; Framento, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 82, 09123 Cagliari CA
Website: facebook.com/josto; facebook.com/framentopizza
SA NASSA
Named after the characteristic fishing nets made in the area, this is unquestionably Bosa’s best restaurant. Tucked down an alleyway and run by a father and son, it serves a variety of local dishes; order anything cooked with the local Malvasia, a slightly sweet, fragrant white.
Website: Sa Nassa, Lungo Temo Alcide De Gasperi, 13, 08013 Bosa OR
Telephone: +39 347 781 4166
NAUTILUS
Another spot on the coastal road is Alghero. Known as Little Barcelona, it was previously a Catalan colony and is great for an evening aperitivo and a stroll around the cobbled streets. At Nautilus, go for whatever on the menu is ‘alla catalana’, a speciality of fresh fish marinated in oil and served with finely sliced red onion, parsley and vinegar.
Address: Nautilius, Forte della Maddalenetta, 4/A, 07041 Alghero SS
Website: nautilusalghero.com
DA MARCO
This shack just off the quartz beach of Mari Ermi has no frills, with gingham paper tablecloths and sandy floors, but it fills up in minutes for summer lunches. Try the local fregola pasta (like cous-cous) cooked in a seafood and tomato sauce. Other favourites include a type of escabeche with orange and the irresistibly salty bottarga pâté.
Address: Da Marco, Spiaggia di, 07020 Porto Taverna SS
Telephone: +39 340 568 4528
SU GOLOGONE
One of Sardinia’s loveliest hotels, this is the place to try the region’s most famous dish: suckling pig. See them roasted over an open hearth in the dining room.
Address: Su Gologone, 08025 Oliena, Province of Nuoro
Website: sugologone.it
DOMU ANTIGA
Run by Samuel Lai and his family, this little B&B is a labour of love. After inheriting the property in the centre of the island from his grandmother, Samuel restored it slowly and sympathetically. Food is prepared by his mother and sister: cakes and tarts using locally grown fruit; savoury dishes such as wild-boar stew. Breakfast includes yogurt, home-cured salamis and hams, and Samuel’s sheep’s milk ricotta which he demonstrates making for anyone who wants to learn. The whole place is filled with arrangements of wildflowers, gathered by his ex-florist mother, and pale-pink dog roses bloom in the grassy courtyard.
Address: Domu Antiga, Via IV Mori, 08030 Gergei Provincia di Cagliari
Price: doubles from about £95
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MARIO CESARE
Just down the road from Domu, Samuel’s sister Giulia runs this tiny one-storey stone house with just two bedrooms. It formerly belonged to a local painter, after which it is named. A famed recluse, Cesare left his home to the postman on his death. Giulia persuaded the postman to sell it to her, and has since created a place so charming it feels like stepping into a storybook – decorated simply with prints left behind by the artist as well as his old paint tubes and even his leather boots. Each morning Giulia lays breakfast outside beneath the bougainvillaea.
Address: Mario Cesare, 20 Via Logudoro, 08030 Gergei
Price: about £80
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SA PERDA ARRUBIA
On the west coast overlooking vineyards, this agriturismo is deep in the Mediterranean maquis, at the foot of Mount Astili. Not far from the beaches and set in a spectacular granite-studded landscape, the house dates back to the 1940s and has a wonderful terrace for breakfast with a view.
Address: Sa Pedra Arrubia, Località Perda Arrubia, Cardedu
Price: doubles from about £55
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Pictured: saron aoili
WHAT TO BRING BACK FROM SARDINIA
Apart from delicious places to stay and eat, Sardinia has other, more unique highlights for travellers. Traditional goods and crafts are celebrated throughout the island during Cortes Apertas, which translates as ‘open courtyards’, in the autumn. Here producers open up their doors as clusters of people wander through mountain-top villages, tasting a local wine, a special variety of potato or a specific dolce. You’ll also find stalls selling items that make great gifts for food lovers. Here’s what to look out for.
KNIVES
Sardinia is famous for its blades. Legend has it that every man here carries one, often crafted out of wood or horn. As well as visiting individual workshops, make a trip to Clemente Binelli in Cagliari – as much a museum as a shop.
BRONZE PASTA CUTTERS
Also stocked by Clemente Binelli, these little gadgets are used to carve intricate patterns in local dolci and pasta. They render the finished products as delicate and dainty as lace and, because they are beautifully fashioned out of bronze, are worth collecting purely to look at too.
BASKETS
There’s a long tradition of basket weaving in Sardinia, and reed baskets are still used to dry pasta. If you miss the markets, try La Bottega dell’Intreccio in Oristano for plenty of hand-shaped loveliness.
