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SeafoodMarina
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.
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Modern EuropeanMarina
Terra sits on the ground floor of Palazzo Tirso in Cagliari, a central design kitchen turning Sardinian seasonal produce into a gourmet carte.
OrderThe seasonal Sardinian tasting menu.
TipThe same hotel runs the Cielo terrace upstairs, so book Terra for dinner and move up for a drink over the Golfo degli Angeli.
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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.
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SeafoodMarina
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.
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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.
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SeafoodMarina
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.
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SeafoodMarina
Sa Schironada on Via Baylle runs long hours for the Marina in Cagliari, Sardinian fish and roast plates and a crisp fritto misto from the Gulf.
OrderZuppa di cozze with pane carasau, then seadas.
TipOpen every day and late, which makes it the fallback when the smaller trattorias in the Marina have shut their kitchens.
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SeafoodMarina
Trattoria da Serafino works a corner of Via Lepanto in Cagliari, an air-conditioned room of local fish plates and a back room for long lunches.
OrderWhatever local fish is on the board that day.
TipClosed Wednesday; the private back room takes the business lunches, so the front fills with regulars.
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JapaneseMarina
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.
OrderThe seasonal sharing menu, start to finish.
TipClosed Tuesday, and the kitchen writes a new menu each season; WhatsApp booking is the fastest way to get a table.
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ItalianMarina
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.
OrderPane frattau, tomato, pecorino and a poached egg.
TipClosed Tuesday; there is a garden at the back and the grappa and Sardinian wine list is longer than the food menu.