In the short holiday in Sardinia, being practically still in Italy, we knew we would enjoy classic Italian cuisine: pizza, pasta, but we also thought about introducing something new, local, as we are accustomed to doing when we are traveling.
Well, with pizza or pasta you can never go wrong, after all, the basic dishes of the most widespread and most loved cuisine in the world are to everyone's taste, but if something culinary and novel also makes an appearance in the landscape, something that is also pleasing, it is indeed a satisfying thing!
Read also:
The Traveler
We had experienced local specialty in Bosa, which was fregola pescatora, and we really liked it, perhaps also because we were very hungry, but the result was impressive.
In Alghero, on our first outing in the city, after we got acquainted with the Centro Storico, we sat down for a meal in the heart of it, the Via Carlo Alberto area, where we had seen an establishment with a resonant name: Ristorante Pizzeria Regina Marguerita.
It is adjacent to the small Piazza Sventramento, located on a corner of Via Buragna, and visually, it attracted us from the street with its neat appearance.
We would find that the interior was chic and stylish as well. Tables spread out into the Piazza Sventramento under generous umbrellas, and I believe there's a wonderful atmosphere in the old center here in the summer.
We entered, sat down, and immediately, a lady came and brought us the menus. We were set on pizza, but, unfortunately, we were told that the pizza chef was not available that evening and were asked to order something else.
We had the option to leave for another restaurant and satisfy our pizza craving, but it was so nice, beautiful, and warm inside that we decided to stay and choose something else, as there would be other times for pizza.
So, we quickly turned our attention to other dishes, myself to pasta with porcini mushrooms (tagliatelle ai funghi porcini-13 €), my wife to lasagna (lasagna alla napoletana -10 €), and for drinks, we each had an Ichnussa beer, which is the most famous but also very good Sardinian beer.
The beer was brought to us immediately and with it some very good rolls from the house. The pasta or lasagna did not take too long to arrive, and with the pasta, I received a packet of grated parmesan that added a special taste to it.
After we had enjoyed them, upon request, we were given the bill of 36 € which included a cover charge of 4 € (2 €/person). Reasonable, I would say, and we paid by card.
Since our first culinary experience in Alghero went well, we thought of returning to Regina in the following days, but it was not to be, as other establishments attracted us more.
On the evening of the second day, after returning from Bosa, we took a tour through Alghero, stopping on the promenade Lungomare, more precisely, opposite the port, at a place with a more bizarre name: Jo’PleR, obviously a restaurant specializing in fish but also a pizzeria.
A street sign placed in front of the entrance presented the main dishes in a manner that made us crave, yet the prices displayed did not seem to shock us. Moreover, we had seen many fellow countrymen milling about, as I mentioned we kept “bumping” into each other, those from the plane, so we took it as a good sign.
We entered, the restaurant was not a small one, so we found seats without any problem. The interior was elegant, with a warm atmosphere both literally and figuratively.
The menus were brought to us immediately, bulky, with a plethora of dishes on offer. We were craving pizza and knew, without a doubt, that its time had finally come.
We pondered for a bit to choose from a few varieties that caught our eye in the pictures, my wife settling on a gustosa pizza, and I on a local one, sarda. Each of these was 8 €.
For drinks, this time, we wanted wine, Sardinia being famous for its wines here, which, surprisingly, are not cheap at all. The lady who took our order, seeing us undecided, recommended a popular variety, Vermentino di Sardegna Aragosta, a dry white version.
A half-liter bottle cost 10 €, but it was worth it. The same goes for both types of pizza, because at one point we shared them, proving to be very tasty. The bill included a cover charge of 4 €, it seems that in Alghero this was consistently set at 2 € per person. We paid by card, without any issues.
The day that was to come, much more beautiful and warmer than the previous ones, with plenty of sun, was spent exclusively in Alghero, walking the city far and wide.
At lunchtime, many restaurants already had their tables outside waiting for customers. For us, mealtime found us again on the Lungomare promenade where a terrace with tables, protected by plastic material walls and a generous canopy, in front of a restaurant along the sea-facing line of buildings had caught our eye.
Its name, Il Porto, was very fitting, being located right opposite the port of Alghero. In fact, what had caught our eye was the street sign on which were displayed, with photographs, several dishes that looked very appealing.
We snagged a table on the terrace, under the canopy, and shortly a gentleman came with the printed menu, in two copies. We had seen on the street sign, among other things, calamari with french fries and salad, which instantly made us crave it.
We ordered two portions, and for drinks, they had dry white wine by the carafe, at half a liter for 8 €, so we started with one.
The portion of calamari with fries and salad, by itself, was quite generous and not too expensive, 12 €, not to mention that it was successful from a sensory standpoint, with the calamari being crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. So tasty that another carafe of wine was needed to accompany it.
At the end, to avoid any potential discomfort of any kind, we ordered, at the waiter's suggestion, a local digestive called mirto, a native liqueur, flavored from herbs (macerated myrtle berries), distilled, of a dark amber color and divine taste.
The bill came to around 50 € including the classic cover charge, the same known amount of 4 €, paying in the usual way, with a card.
Since our experience at Jo’PleR had been very pleasant, we decided to repeat it on the following evening, our last night in Alghero.
That time, wife, being more conservative by nature, or perhaps because she really liked the gustosa pizza, ordered the same, while I went for the classic margherita (6 €), with which I knew I had good chemistry, never disappointing me: as simple as it is good!
For drinks, we reiterated the Vermentino di Sardegna Aragosta wine, and in the end, the bill was 28 €, which we also paid with a card.
In Alghero, we ate well and at okay prices, but it must be taken into account that in the warmer season, these can increase, sometimes unjustifiably.
Dishes from a wide range of Italian cuisine in general, but also those specific, local ones that are good to try, to get a broader idea about the culinary chapter of the island, can be easily found.
The only regret related to the culinary part was that we didn't find any operational gelaterias; otherwise, despite the cold there, we surely would have indulged in ice cream.
Although we arrived in Alghero right after a memorable storm, which brought with it quite unpleasant weather phenomena throughout Sardinia, our first mini-vacation of the year revealed, as much as we could see, a beautiful, green island with welcoming people, which looks like paradise in other times of the year.
Honestly, I would return to Alghero for a few days in another season, in spring or autumn. Alghero constitutes a good gateway to Sardinia, from where you can rent a car to traverse the island far and wide, which requires a bit more time, maybe up to two weeks.
For us, the Alghero experience meant an unusual place, a Catalan preview, since in less than two months, we were going to Barcelona for the first time, but that's another story...
Thank you for reading and make sure to subscribe. We're constantly exploring new destinations and share our stories, tips, and the beauty we discover along the way.