SARDINIA: A Foodie's Guide
including one of Stanley Tucci's favourite restaurants
What you’ll find in this post:
A little catch up
Recipes I’ve made this week (that I think you’ll love)
A foodie’s guide to Sardinia; one of the friendliest, most delicious places I’ve ever been
A Little Catch Up
Today was the first proper chilly morning here in London. And I loved it. It’s a bit of a change from the warmer weather we had in Sardinia last week but I’m SO ready for autumn. I hope you’re really well and that your fluffy socks are at the ready for crispier temperatures!
We went on holiday for 7 days to the gorgeous land of SARDINIA. I was blown away by the people, the food, the landscape…one word: GORGEOUS. Above are a few “sneak peek” pics from Sardinia but for the full foodie guide, keep scrolling further down this post.
For those of you who haven’t been keeping up to date with this newsletter or any of my socials (no hard feelings by the way, it’s great to have you back!!)…my COOKBOOK is out in the world and I still can’t quite believe it. You’ve been sending me pictures finding it in your local bookshops and it makes my DAY!!!
So…
My cookbook “The World Is Your Dumpling” is officially out in the UK and (I’m saying it) as Christmas is only 11 weeks away, why not buy a copy for anyone and everyone you know who loves dumplings?!
For those of you in the USA, my book will be out on October 26th, so make sure to preorder here!
Join me at CookBookBake in Hove/Brighton 17th Oct for a cooking demo, book signing, and lots of fun chats! Get your tickets here.
Recipes I’ve Made This Week (That I Think You’ll Love)
The Sauciest Sweet & Sour Chicken Noodles
I've been trying to perfect a homemade sweet and sour sauce recipe for so long and I can now proudly say that I've succeeded. This sweet and sour chicken noodles recipe is tangy, sweet, comforting and absolutely delicious. It takes less than 30 minutes to make and uses simple and accessible pantry ingredients.
This Goat Cheese Pasta is creamy, made in one pot, and super delicious. It requires only a handful of ingredients including tomatoes, onion, garlic, vegetable stock, goat cheese, dill, and lemon zest for freshness. It's one of my favourite one pan meals to make at the moment. I think you're going to love it!
A Foodie’s Guide To Sardinia
Before we dive into the glorious melting pot of Sardinia’s food scene, I just want to start by saying that I have never visited a country inundated with such warm and lovely people.
Every. Single. Person we met was delightful. From the lady at the car hire desk to the hotel breakfast staff, they were all SO smiley, SO helpful, SO kind.
Right, moving on.
Locations
We flew into Olbia which is on the north-eastern coast of Sardinia. Hired a car, and drove over to Alghero, a western seaside city encircled by ancient walls. We stayed at a hotel for 4 days just outside of the city before driving over to Orosei, a traditional Italian village on the eastern side of the island, for the remaining 3 days.
Alghero: on the seafront, incredible views of the sunset, lots of lovely restaurants and bars, great for cycling and running, practical sandy beaches that are easy to get to.
Orosei: a few km inland from the seaside, sea views of the sunrise (if you travel down to the beach), a drive to some of the most beautiful beaches, a little bit more touristy, but great hiking trails.
Restaurants & Bars
Angedras Bistro, Alghero: the best sunset bar/bistro. It’s right on the seawall and is such a lovely place to people & boat watch. Great local wine & beer. We didn’t have any food there so can’t vouch for that!
Mabrouk, Alghero: One of Stanley Tucci’s favourite restaurants in Sardinia (he filmed here in season 2 on “Searching for Italy”). Henry organised a surprise visit to this restaurant and WOW WOW WOW. It was a 10-course set menu (which I love) for 55 euros. I don’t want to tell you too much about it because I want you to discover it for yourself but in a nutshell it’s a beautiful evening of fresh fish and locally sourced ingredients that are phenomenally prepared. I highly recommend the whole experience. I’d suggest going directly to the restaurant when you arrive in Alghero and booking a table for the following night, it’s a bit of a challenge to book online. GO!!!
Regelato, Alghero: the BEST ice cream I have ever had in my entire life. The pistachio cream and the crunchy cherry flavour, 2 scoops, big yummy yum.
Oropizza, Orosei: A stroll away from the old town centre is a local’s favourite pizzeria. Nothing fancy, just really really good pizza. The carbonara pizza was one of our favourites. FYI they only take cash and be prepared to have lots of chirpy Italians hanging around to pick up their takeaways. It was a vibe and VERY tasty.
Orion La Veranda, Orosei: Where do I start?! If you walk 10 minutes out of town, you’ll stumble across this family-run restaurant clearly loved by locals. Carbonara: 10/10. Pizza: 10/10 (whacky toppings and SO good). Pistachio-crusted tuna: you’ve got to give it a go at least once. It’s a busy place so make sure to turn up as it opens so you can get a table. Food may take a while as it’s family run and they have a lot of covers, but it’s worth it.
FYI on a couple of restaurants:
Cajo, Alghero: a local pizzeria in the centre of Alghero old town. Don’t get me wrong, the pizza was delicious and pretty well priced, but it was VERY touristy. We queued for about 30 minutes.
Trattoria Cavour, Alghero: a cute restaurant once again and okay food but overpriced in my opinion and small portions.
Let me know if this was helpful or if you have any other questions about visiting Sardinia!
Em xxx