Duanima is a modern european restaurant in San Benedetto, Cagliari.
Editorially verified August 1, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must order: The weekly menu, whichever way it runs.
Tip: Only Saturday and Sunday have a lunch sitting; the rest of the week it is dinner from 20:00 and the room fills fast.
Address: Via Sebastiano Satta 28, 09127 Cagliari
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.
Order: Fregula con arselle, or the baked capon with artichokes and potatoes.
Tip: Closed Sunday. The room started as a mid-nineteenth-century inn and the kitchen still leans on the fish list rather than the printed classics.
Old Friend in Cagliari is Dario Torabi's Villanova bistrot, where offal, spice and BBQ oysters are plated for people who came out to be surprised.
Order: BBQ oysters, then the herb-cured mullet.
Tip: Torabi opened the place in 2016 and moved it to Via Abba; dinner only, and the menu changes with what the boats and gardens bring.
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.
Tip: Weekday lunch runs a fixed-price menu alongside the carte; the garden and terrace are the reason to book ahead in spring.
Trattoria Lillicu has fed the Marina from Via Sardegna for generations, marble tables, no printed menu, and whatever the Cagliari boats landed that morning.
Order: Spaghetti with arselle clams and bottarga.
Tip: Do not ask for a menu, the waiter recites the catch; arrive by 13:00 or after 14:00 to miss the queue. Monday the trattoria stays shut.
Sa Domu Sarda on Via Sassari is the Cagliari address for cucina regionale di terra, the inland Sardinian side of the island rather than the harbour.
Order: Whatever the inland menu is running that day.
Tip: Book for dinner, the two plain rooms fill with locals; the kitchen runs straight through from 12:30 and again from 19:30, seven days a week.
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.
