2 Best Restaurants in Sardinia, Italy

In the hills above Porto Cervo, this soothing hideaway—where a sheltered terrace looks out onto a verdant garden—is a great place to take a break from the coast's glossy trappings. Recommended antipasti include sa cannacca (dried sausage with pecorino cheese) and octopus salad with potatoes; ravioli di cernia e carciofi (homemade ravioli with grouper fish, artichokes, and truffle) is a great pasta choice; and the grilled fish is an excellent main. Although seafood is the specialty, there are some notable meat dishes, too, such as osso buco that melts off the bone. The restaurant lies 3 km (2 miles) south of Porto Cervo, in the Pantogia neighborhood.

Fresh flowers on white linen tablecloths add color to the bright glass-enclosed dining area of this delightful eatery on busy Piazza Sulis; gold-framed paintings and oversize wine bottles capped in wax add Italian charm—as does the seasonally changing menu of pasta and seafood dishes such as tagliolini pasta with mullet roe, artichokes, and pecorino cheese, or potato-stuffed culurgiones (a ravioli-like pasta) topped with sheep's cheese, dried tomatoes, and wild rocket. The prix-fixe menus (€40, €50, and €60) include six appetizers, two tastings of pastas or main courses, and a traditional dessert.