Semolina rolled into rough pellets, toasted until nutty, then simmered in the broth of tiny arselle clams. It is the plate Cagliari is judged on, soupy rather than dry, eaten with a spoon in the Marina.

Fregola is made by rubbing coarse semolina with salted water in a wide terracotta basin until it beads, then toasting the beads in the oven, which gives the pasta its colour and its smell. The technique is old and shared across the western Mediterranean, closest in method to North African couscous, and it has been documented in Sardinia for centuries. The arselle are the small clams raked from the lagoons and shallows around the Golfo degli Angeli, so the dish is a direct product of the water the city sits on. Cagliari serves it wetter than the inland versions, closer to a soup, with garlic, parsley, a little tomato and the clam liquor doing the seasoning.

1 editor pick for Fregola con le arselle in Cagliari, ranked by editorial score. All Cagliari signature dishes · Fregola con le arselle across every city.

Antica Hostaria ★ 4.1

€€€ItalianMarina

Antica Hostaria on Via Cavour is the old-school Cagliari osteria of the Marina, dark wood and a fish-led list of Sardinian classics under Antonio Mura.

OrderFregula con arselle, or the baked capon with artichokes and potatoes.

TipClosed Sunday. The room started as a mid-nineteenth-century inn and the kitchen still leans on the fish list rather than the printed classics.

DirectionsBook a table

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Fregola con le arselle makes more sense with someone from Cagliari explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

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