30 editor picks across Italy.
30 seafood restaurants worth the trip across Italy, editor-ranked. All cuisines in Italy.
Al Tuguri works Alghero's Catalan seafood tradition over several levels of a Via Maiorca townhouse, with tasting menus from €40 to €75 a head.
OrderThe seasonal tasting menu, seven courses at €75 or the shorter three-course run at €40.
Chef Francesco Pais now leads the kitchen at Al Tuguri in Alghero, running a seasonal tasting menu in three to seven courses, €40 to €75 a head.
OrderThe seasonal tasting menu, seven courses at €75 or the shorter three-course run at €40.
Il Marin at Genoa's Porto Antico holds a Michelin star; chef Marco Visciola cooks seafood tasting menus with cappon magro and pesto tortelli.
OrderSpaghetto Martini cocktail e caviale, or the cappon magro, both on the May 2026 menu.
TipThe May 2026 menu prices three courses at €65, five at €80 and seven at €100, plus a €3 cover.
Luigi Pomata cooks Carloforte tuna in Cagliari, three rooms and a port-facing terrace above Viale Regina Margherita, raw fish to open and red tuna to follow.
OrderRed tuna, raw then seared, the house speciality.
TipLunch service runs 13:00 to 15:00 Tuesday to Saturday and is the cheaper way in; tinned house tuna is sold to take home.
Trattoria Lillicu has fed the Marina from Via Sardegna for generations, marble tables, no printed menu, and whatever the Cagliari boats landed that morning.
OrderSpaghetti with arselle clams and bottarga.
TipDo 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.
Trattoria Lillicu has fed the Marina from Via Sardegna for generations, marble tables, no printed menu, and whatever the Cagliari boats landed that morning.
OrderSpaghetti with arselle clams and bottarga.
TipDo 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.
Luigi Pomata cooks Carloforte tuna in Cagliari, three rooms and a port-facing terrace above Viale Regina Margherita, raw fish to open and red tuna to follow.
OrderRed tuna, raw then seared, the house speciality.
TipLunch service runs 13:00 to 15:00 Tuesday to Saturday and is the cheaper way in; tinned house tuna is sold to take home.
Il Pavone has kept its veranda on Piazza Sulis in Alghero since 1979, cooking octopus salad, spaghetti alle vongole veraci and the day's fish four ways.
OrderSpaghetti alle vongole veraci, then the day's fish grilled all'isolana.
The Michelin Guide lists Il Pavone in Alghero for straightforward seafood cooking and a long wine list, served from a veranda facing the marina.
OrderSpaghetti alle vongole veraci, then the day's fish grilled all'isolana.
Da Marino al St. Remy is Cagliari's small brick-walled seafood room by San Salvatore da Horta, run front of house by Marino Cogoni with Silvana Sardu cooking.
OrderSeafood antipasti, then a pasta with the day's catch.
TipThe wine list leans hard on Sardinian growers; book, because the rooms hold only a few tables and Sunday is closed.
Da Marino al St. Remy is Cagliari's small brick-walled seafood room by San Salvatore da Horta, run front of house by Marino Cogoni with Silvana Sardu cooking.
OrderSeafood antipasti, then a pasta with the day's catch.
TipThe wine list leans hard on Sardinian growers; book, because the rooms hold only a few tables and Sunday is closed.
Il Sanlorenzo in Rome's Centro Storico is the Michelin-starred seafood-only room. Priced at €€€€. At Via dei Chiavari 4/5. Booking recommended.
OrderThe crudi platter and the spaghettone alle vongole with the daily catch.
TipThe €85 lunch tasting is the more accessible entry; dinner runs €150 carte. Book a fortnight ahead.
Nautilus looks over the Alghero port from the Forte della Maddalenetta, with terrace tables above the marina and spaghetti with clams and bottarga.
OrderSpaghetti with clams and bottarga, eaten on the terrace above the marina.
Booking is sensible at Nautilus in Alghero, where the terrace tables over the marina go first and the kitchen runs lunch and dinner every day.
OrderSpaghetti with clams and bottarga, eaten on the terrace above the marina.
Stella Marina di Montecristo works the far end of Via Sardegna in Cagliari, sixty covers of maritime kit and fish bought fresh that morning.
OrderWhatever came off the boats that morning, cooked simply.
TipIt shuts for a variable stretch in August, and the sixty covers go fast in summer, so call the mobile number to hold a table.
Stella Marina di Montecristo works the far end of Via Sardegna in Cagliari, sixty covers of maritime kit and fish bought fresh that morning.
OrderWhatever came off the boats that morning, cooked simply.
TipIt shuts for a variable stretch in August, and the sixty covers go fast in summer, so call the mobile number to hold a table.
Cucina Valoria on Piazza Valoria in Genoa's old centre has 26 seats and a daily-changing menu from chef Davide Suanno, inspired mainly by the Ligurian sea.
OrderWhatever is on that day's menu, which the chef builds around the best ingredients available.
TipLunch is served Tuesday to Sunday and dinner Tuesday to Saturday; the kitchen is closed all day on Monday.
Trattoria da Mirko cooks only the day's catch on Via Gioberti in Alghero, finishing with seadas in honey and a myrtle and nougat semifreddo.
OrderThe mixed grill off the day's catch, then seadas with Sardinian honey.
A small Alghero seafood room on Via Gioberti, da Mirko sends out mixed grills and fish soups, then house tiramisu. Wednesday is the closing day.
OrderThe mixed grill off the day's catch, then seadas with Sardinian honey.
Scaccomatto in Bologna's Mazzini is the Mario Ferrara fine-bistro running a sea-and-land tasting carte that crosses Adriatic seafood with the Emilian land.
OrderThe seasonal tasting carte, the carbonara di mare, the slow-cooked guancia.
TipBook a fortnight ahead online; the tasting carte is the value option at 75 euros and wine pairings 35 euros more.
Voltalacarta, a small fish restaurant on Via Assarotti, a short walk from Piazza Corvetto in Genoa, is known for its cappon magro and has few tables.
OrderThe cappon magro when it is on; Michelin and Gambero Rosso both name it the house signature.
TipMichelin describes a tiny doorway and only a few tables, and advises booking ahead given the kitchen's reputation in town.
La Cantinella in Naples' Santa Lucia waterfront has run the classic seafood carte since 1971, with the Bay of Naples view, vongole and crudo di mare.
TipClosed Sunday. Book three weeks ahead via the website. Bay-view terrace tables go first.
La Lepanto on Via Carlo Alberto in Alghero builds its list around lobster, raw seafood platters and fregola with crustaceans for around €45 a head.
OrderLobster done the Lepanto way, with a raw seafood plate to open.
Rafel sits on the sand at Lido San Giovanni in Alghero and cooks spaghetti ai ricci, lobster alla catalana and a fish soup worth the two-kilometre walk.
OrderSpaghetti ai ricci when the sea urchin season is open, lobster alla catalana when it is not.
Aquatica sits on the Banchina Sanità between the Alghero yachts and the bastions, and is built around raw tuna, swordfish, prawns and scampi.
OrderThe raw plate of tuna, swordfish, prawn and scampi, cut to order.
Two kilometres from the Alghero old town, Rafel pairs a covered cocktail veranda with a seafood kitchen and beach service with umbrellas after lunch.
OrderSpaghetti ai ricci when the sea urchin season is open, lobster alla catalana when it is not.
A 110-seat sea-view dining room near Piazza Sulis, La Lepanto is where Alghero visitors go for aragosta, fregola with crustaceans and a raw fish plate.
OrderLobster done the Lepanto way, with a raw seafood plate to open.
A 60-seat room on the Alghero waterfront between the yachts and the bastions, Aquatica serves weekday dinners except Tuesday and weekend lunch at about €35.
OrderThe raw plate of tuna, swordfish, prawn and scampi, cut to order.
A 110-seat sea-view dining room near Piazza Sulis, La Lepanto is where Alghero visitors go for aragosta, fregola with crustaceans and a raw fish plate.
OrderLobster done the Lepanto way, with a raw seafood plate to open.
A 60-seat room on the Alghero waterfront between the yachts and the bastions, Aquatica serves weekday dinners except Tuesday and weekend lunch at about €35.
OrderThe raw plate of tuna, swordfish, prawn and scampi, cut to order.
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