Sardinia Restaurant - Ristorante Barbagia

Via Galvani,94 Olbia Tel 0789 51640

This Sardinia restaurant is my favourite in Olbia, really traditional and really good. Although it is on the coast this is one of the best places to try the cuisine of the Sardinian hinterland.

I know the temptation is to eat seafood when you are on a seaside holiday but though seafood is on the menu avoid it. Pig out on pig or wild boar, the two traditional meats of the interior.

Sardinian cooking from the inland regions of Sardinia is very different to any other Italian region, not exceptional like the cuisine of Piedmont but still good.

Giuseppe Loddo and his wife Gianfranca have been running this place since time immemorial and like them the recipes are from long ago.

What to Eat?

Well as I mentioned earlier try go with pork and wild boar. The Salciccia di Maiale (Pork Sausage) and Salciccia di Cinghiale (Wild Boar Sausage) are good appetizers.

If you want to miss out on the pork this round then try the Tamata chi sa Frughe which is a very unique Sardinian cheese and tomato dish.

Starters are a mixture of local pastas. Try the Maccarones de Busa with wild boar (cinghiale) sauce.

Main course is easy. If it is in season then don’t miss out on what is the best dish in Sardinia, the roast piglet.

Traditionally in Sardinia they cook a whole lot of little piglets on a spit – sounds gruesome but tastes great.

The first time we saw them on a spit at a wedding Maria and I felt a little sorry for the little piggies. Despite a lot of debating and doubt about eating them we finally succumbed to local pressure and ate the dish... it is truly outstanding.

Desserts are nothing special – the usual Italian fare like Tiramisu etc - and their tiramisu is nowhere near as good as my tiramisu recipe.

To conclude this Sardinia restaurant is very good. Not up to the level of some of those restaurants I have selected in Piedmont but still excellent and well worth visiting.

If you are enjoy good food don't miss a superb guide book to the cuisine of Sardinia - Foods of Sicily & Sardinia and the Smaller Islands. It is packed full of wonderful recipes and beautiful illustrations. Read more under my book review section.

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