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Alghero eats differently from the rest of Sardinia, and the reason is the same as everything else about this town.
Six hundred years of Catalan settlement left a kitchen that is not quite Italian and not quite Spanish. The signature dish is a lobster preparation you will not find in Cagliari. The wine is a grape that grows essentially nowhere else. And the fish comes in on boats you can watch unloading at seven in the morning, a few streets from where you will eat it.
The lobster
Aragosta alla catalana is the thing to eat here once.
Spiny lobster, boiled and cooled, split and served over raw sliced onion and tomato with good olive oil, lemon, salt and nothing else. No butter, no sauce, no heat. It sounds austere and it is the opposite: the sweetness of the lobster against raw onion is a genuinely brilliant combination and it is over a hundred years of local practice.
It was invented in this town, at a restaurant called La Lepanto, in 1949. That restaurant is still there and still does it, and there are half a dozen others that do it as well or better.
Two honest warnings. It is expensive, because spiny lobster is expensive: expect it priced by weight and expect the bill to be a serious number. And it is a summer dish, best from spring through to the end of the season. Order it once, on a night you have decided is the good night, rather than assuming you will get round to it.
Book. From June to September the places that do it properly fill a day or two ahead.
What else to order
Fregola. Toasted Sardinian semolina, closer to giant couscous than pasta, usually with clams or with a seafood broth. This is the island dish rather than the Catalan one and it is everywhere for good reason.
Sea urchin. In season, roughly winter into spring, and served either raw by the spoon or stirred through spaghetti. When it is good it is one of the best things on this island. It is regulated and seasonal, so if a restaurant offers it in August, be suspicious.
Whatever came in this morning. The market counters have the fish before the restaurants do, and a good place will tell you what arrived rather than reciting a fixed list. Denti, orata, spigola, whole and grilled with nothing on it.
Copulettas and seadas at the end. Seadas are fried pastry parcels of fresh cheese under bitter honey, salty and sweet at once, and they are the Sardinian dessert worth ordering.
The wine
Order Torbato, and order it here rather than anywhere else, because this is more or less the only place on earth it is grown.
It is a white grape that had almost died out and was brought back by one estate outside town in the last century. It is dry, faintly bitter, with a little salinity to it, and it goes with the fish and the lobster as if designed for both, which in a sense it was.
The estate is Sella & Mosca, founded in 1899, a few kilometres inland, and it also makes Vermentino, Cannonau and a sparkling Torbato. They run tours of the cellars and the old estate at fixed times, usually late morning and mid afternoon, and you need to book roughly a week ahead in season.
If you do not get out there, drink it in town. Every decent list here has it.
Otherwise: Vermentino di Sardegna for white, Cannonau for red, both local and both good by the carafe for very little.
Where to eat
In the old town lanes. The concentration is around the streets behind the cathedral and toward the walls. This is where the atmosphere is: tables out in lanes two metres wide, string lights, the sound of the whole street.
On the ramparts. The bars along the inside edge of the walls charge for the position. Worth it for a drink at seven, less so for a full dinner, where you pay for the view rather than the kitchen.
Around the port. More seafood, slightly larger rooms, a bit less charm and often a bit better value.
Out in the country. The agriturismi inland do a fixed multi-course farm dinner for a set price, and it is a lot of food for the money. You need a car and a driver who is not drinking.
Breakfast, and the thing nobody tells you
Breakfast in Alghero is a bar, not a hotel, and it is better that way.
You stand at the counter, you order a coffee and something sweet, and you are out again in five minutes for a fraction of what a hotel buffet costs. Ask for a caffè and you get an espresso. Anything else needs naming.
The thing worth ordering is not a cornetto. It is a slice of whatever is under the glass dome at the end of the counter, which around here is often something almond-based and dense, closer to a Spanish pastry than an Italian one. Another quiet piece of the Catalan inheritance, and nobody puts it on a menu.
The bars in the lanes open early because the fishing boats come in early. If you are up at seven you will find the town already going, which is a different place from the one the day visitors see.
Practical
Book from June to September. A day ahead is usually enough; two for the lobster places at a weekend.
Eat late. Nine is normal. Turning up at seven means an empty room and, often, a kitchen not fully going.
The covered market on Via Cavour is worth an early morning even if you are not cooking. Fish, cheese, bread and the local flatbread, and it is where the town actually shops.
Coperto is standard and is not a tip. Service is not usually added; rounding up is enough.
Cash. Cards are taken almost everywhere now, but the market stalls and the smaller places prefer cash.
What to book before you come
Booking a table is rarely necessary outside August. These three are worth arranging in advance.
- A food and wine walk through the centre. Do it on your first or second night and it changes where you eat for the rest of the week.
- A home cooking class with a four course meal. The best way to understand why Sardinian food is not Italian food.
- A winery visit with a tasting. Vermentino and Torbato, at the source, twenty minutes out of town.
Frequently Asked Questions
What food is Alghero known for?
Aragosta alla catalana, spiny lobster served cold over raw onion and tomato with oil and lemon, which was invented in the town in 1949. Also fregola with clams, sea urchin in season, and Torbato, a white wine grape grown almost nowhere else in the world.
How much does lobster cost in Alghero?
It is priced by weight and it is the expensive meal of a trip rather than a casual dinner. Treat it as one significant meal rather than something to order twice, and book a day or two ahead in summer.
What wine should you drink in Alghero?
Torbato, a dry, faintly bitter white with some salinity that is grown essentially only around Alghero, having been revived from near-extinction by the Sella & Mosca estate outside town. Vermentino and Cannonau are the other reliable local choices.
Can you visit a winery near Alghero?
Yes. Sella & Mosca, a few kilometres inland and founded in 1899, runs tours of its cellars and historic estate at fixed times, generally late morning and mid afternoon, with tastings. Book about a week ahead in high season.
When should you eat dinner in Alghero?
Around nine. Earlier than eight and you will be alone in the room. From June to September book ahead, particularly in the old town lanes and for anywhere serving the Catalan lobster.
Read also: Where to Stay in Alghero | The Best Things to Do in Alghero | Victoria’s Complete Guide to Alghero
