Gaijin Izakaya is a japanese izakaya restaurant in San Benedetto, Cagliari.
Editorially verified August 1, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must order: A run of skewers off the charcoal counter.
Why locals love it: A four-day-a-week izakaya in San Benedetto, off every Marina tourist route and rated by the Italian guides.
Tip: Only four days a week, Wednesday to Saturday, and both sittings are small, so book ahead rather than walking up.
Address: Via Giacomo Puccini 15A, 09128 Cagliari
La Locanda dei Buoni e Cattivi in Cagliari is a villa restaurant and guest house that trains young staff, cooking seasonal organic Sardinian plates.
Order: Sunday's Sa Picchettada buffet lunch.
Why locals love it: A villa restaurant that doubles as a training kitchen for young Sardinians, with a garden nobody expects behind the gate.
Tip: Weekday lunch runs a fixed-price menu alongside the carte; the garden and terrace are the reason to book ahead in spring.
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.
Why locals love it: Sixty covers at the quiet end of Via Sardegna, where the fish arrives that morning and the room stays local.
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.
Il Birrificio di Cagliari brews on Via Newton and pours its own beer beside grilled meat, the city's own brewpub rather than another bottle bar.
Order: The house lager alongside the grilled beef.
Why locals love it: Cagliari's own brewpub sits out by Via Newton, far enough from the centre that visitors rarely find the taps.
Tip: It took a Barcelona Beer Challenge gold for its Tuvixeddu; it sits out by the ring road, so it is a taxi rather than a walk from the Marina.
Babeuf pairs tea, wine and slow reading on Via Giardini in Cagliari, a small Villanova room of cheese boards, tartare and shelves of magazines.
Order: A tartare and a glass off the natural list.
Why locals love it: Part wine bar, part reading room on Via Giardini, the kind of Villanova address locals keep for slow evenings.
Tip: It works better as a long early evening than a quick drink; the reading material on the shelves is there to be used.
Panefratteria builds its Cagliari menu on pane carasau, the sheet bread softened into pane frattau and zuppa gallurese in a modern room on Via Azuni.
Order: Pane frattau, tomato, pecorino and a poached egg.
Why locals love it: A whole menu built on pane carasau, the sheet bread most visitors only meet as a bread basket in other rooms.
Tip: Closed Tuesday; there is a garden at the back and the grappa and Sardinian wine list is longer than the food menu.
Osteria Kobuta cooks Japanese-Sardinian plates in Cagliari off Largo Carlo Felice, a seasonal menu built for sharing in a room of maybe ten tables.
Order: The seasonal sharing menu, start to finish.
Why locals love it: Ten tables of Japanese-Sardinian cooking behind Largo Carlo Felice, a room most Cagliari guides still miss entirely.
Tip: Closed Tuesday, and the kitchen writes a new menu each season; WhatsApp booking is the fastest way to get a table.
