sardinia diary: restaurants in tortoli

tortoli is the perfect base from which to explore pretty much all of sardinia as it is approximately two to three hours by car from cagliari airport in the south east, olbia in the north east and alghero in the north west. it has easy access by boat to some of the most exclusive and secluded beaches in sardinia and it is just a two hour drive to the breathtaking costa smeralda.

we went to tortoli to spend a few days with our friend rutton, whose summer house is very close to the beach towards one end of town. even though torotoli was very busy given it was the last big weekend in august, it didn't feel touristy or overcrowded at all, especially where we were staying. actually it felt quite authentic sardinian though i'm sure there are more remote towns, especially in the mountains that are even more rustic. rutton took us to many restaurants during the few days we spent there but there are two that stand out:

ristorante pizzeria da lucitta
this is rutton's local pizzeria. simple sardinian food to die for. i tasted a type of sardinian pasta called culingione. it's kind of like ravioli but a bit plumpier and is filled with a mixture of potato, ricotta, pecorino, olive oil and garlic (and sometimes even spinach, i think ). it's really hearty and yummy, especially with just a bit of freshly prepared pasata and some basil.



i also shared a pizza porcini with the boys. i absolutely loved the thin crust and also liberally sprinkled peperonicino on the mushrooms to kick it up a notch.



agriturismo ogliastra
agriturismo or farm holidays are increasing in popularity all over italy. i guess many of us want to get closer to nature and also eat seasonal and regional food when on holiday. though we didn't stay at this farm which is about 15 minutes from tortoli, we went there for dinner one night.



it's a pre-set menu and you just show up and enjoy the ambience while food and wine is continually brought to the table. we were the only non-italians at farm but we befriended a charming young couple from northern italy who we ended up chatting with all evening in a hilarious combo of english, french, spanish and a smattering of italian.



the main attraction for h and rutton was the roast pig which had been roasting all day in an outdoor oven. for me, the mozzarella was the show stopper. it was so fresh, it couldn't have been made any earlier than that morning from milk just milked from a buffalo that is rasied on the farm. i also ate fried eggplant, moist pane carasau, ravioli and plenty of fresh fruit. we drunk lots of crema di limone (limonecello with milk) at the end of the meal which was pure manna. i was obviously so happy that i even forgot to take a photo of the this divine drink!