Italian€€MarinaDaily 11:00-15:00, 19:00-23:59
Su Cumbidu on Via Napoli feeds the Marina fixed-price Sardinian menus under brick arches, culurgiones and seadas at prices Cagliari students accept.
Order: Culurgiones, potato and mint, in tomato sauce.
Tip: The set menus are the value play at around €20 to 30; go early, because groups book out the arched back room.
Seafood€€MarinaDaily 12:30-15:30, 19:00-23:59
Sa Schironada on Via Baylle runs long hours for the Marina in Cagliari, Sardinian fish and roast plates and a crisp fritto misto from the Gulf.
Order: Zuppa di cozze with pane carasau, then seadas.
Tip: Open every day and late, which makes it the fallback when the smaller trattorias in the Marina have shut their kitchens.
Seafood€€MarinaMon-Tue 12:00-15:00, 19:45-22:45; Thu-Sun 12:00-15:00, 19:45-22:45
Trattoria da Serafino works a corner of Via Lepanto in Cagliari, an air-conditioned room of local fish plates and a back room for long lunches.
Order: Whatever local fish is on the board that day.
Tip: Closed Wednesday; the private back room takes the business lunches, so the front fills with regulars.
Seafood€€MarinaMon-Sat 13:00-15:00, 20:00-23:00
Stella Marina di Montecristo works the far end of Via Sardegna in Cagliari, sixty covers of maritime kit and fish bought fresh that morning.
Order: Whatever came off the boats that morning, cooked simply.
Tip: It shuts for a variable stretch in August, and the sixty covers go fast in summer, so call the mobile number to hold a table.
Italian€€CastelloTue-Sun 13:00-14:00, 20:30-22:00
Pani e Casu sits on Via Santa Croce inside Cagliari's Castello walls, serving bread, pecorino and Sardinian home cooking a few metres from the ramparts.
Order: Pane carasau with pecorino and a glass of Cannonau.
Tip: Service windows are tight, one hour at lunch and ninety minutes at dinner, so book; Monday the door stays shut.
Pizzeria€€StampaceDaily, lunch and dinner
Framento is Pierluigi Fais's Cagliari pizzeria on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, sourdough and long fermentation, 51st in 50 Top Pizza Italia 2026.
Order: La Rimuginata, smoked mullet, cherry tomato, fiordilatte and mint.
Tip: It runs lunch as well as dinner every day, which is rare for a Cagliari pizzeria; book, because the room turns over slowly.