Suckling pig roasted whole over embers of myrtle and juniper until the skin crackles and the meat stays moist. In Cagliari it is a booked-ahead plate, ordered a day in advance and eaten in a group.

Porceddu is the shepherds' roast of inland Sardinia, cooked for feast days and still the centrepiece for Christmas and family celebrations. The pig weighs four to six kilos, is split and spitted, and turns slowly beside rather than over the fire so the fat renders without scorching. Myrtle is the signature: branches are laid under the meat as it rests, or the roast is buried in myrtle leaves so the aromatic oils settle into the skin. In the city it is a restaurant dish rather than a home one, because few Cagliari kitchens have the space or the fire for it, and the rooms that do it well ask for 24 hours' notice.

1 editor pick for Porceddu in Cagliari, ranked by editorial score. All Cagliari signature dishes · Porceddu across every city.

Also in: Alghero.

Su Cumbidu ★ 3.7

€€ItalianMarina

Su Cumbidu on Via Napoli feeds the Marina fixed-price Sardinian menus under brick arches, culurgiones and seadas at prices Cagliari students accept.

OrderCulurgiones, potato and mint, in tomato sauce.

TipThe set menus are the value play at around €20 to 30; go early, because groups book out the arched back room.

DirectionsBook a table

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Porceddu 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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