Trattoria Lillicu

Didn’t make a reservation but they were kind enough to to squeeze us in. Super good and friendly lead staff and amazing antipasti (that was all we had and left so full!)

Lecker. .gutes Essen gute Preise… hatten Pasta und Clamari zusätzlich gab’s Gemüse. …Service auch nett und freundlich.

Trattoria Lillicu is a very reliable restaurant in Cagliari, Sardinia’s principal city and an important Mediterranean port.
It is easy to find. It is on Via Sardegna, which is parallel to and behind Via Roma, which runs in front of the port and the ferry terminals. (One would think Via Sardegna, named after their very island, would be their main drag fronting the port, but it isn’t).
I like seafood enough, and it’s up for grabs in a big way in Sardinia, as it is in Sicily, but I went with «safer» yet local pasta offerings. Sardinians offer up culurgiones (their version of ravioli) and malloreddus (their version of gnocchi) and, while they are slightly different, they are equally good. Note that many words in the Sardinian dialect end with «u» or an «s,» which is atypical for Italy, but one needs to remember that parts of Sardinia, such as Porto Torres, are closer to Barcelona than they are to many parts of Italy, even though Cagliari is closer to the Italian mainland.
The service was very polite, while a bit restrained. This is typical in Sardinia. They march to a different drummer than they do in Sicily or Naples, where you’ll find service that is over the top in its casual brand of friendliness … or over the top in rudeness. When it came to desserts, the waiter suggested some regional desserts of which one, which contained cheese, is reputedly very good. I was an idiot and had to stick to something with chocolate. I wish I had listened to him and enjoyed a fully authentic regional Sardinian meal.
Trattoria Lillicu has been there for a very long time, it is always busy with locals and tourists, and it is found in most of the tourist guides. I recommend it.

Perfect 10! Most memorable meal ever!
One of the most memorable meals of my 20 something life! Sardegna aka Sardinia is known for their amazing coastal cuisine and fresh seafood. This place was one of the best!
Found this thanks to our very charming receptionist in the hotel– Umberto! And what a find it was :) There’s only one seating time for dinner here– 8:30 pm. Get here when they first opened or you better eat else where. We were lucky enough to be the first people and got seated without reservations. What happened next was a magical meal experience of a lifetime.
Travel– its the best way to explore new culture, food and people. And food is such that can teach a thing or five about a new culture. My favorite way to learn. This place has a small tiny kitchen, long communal tables and fresh seafood. It doesn’t have any fancy décor, fancy tables or fancy anything. And it is cooked to order with the exception of antipastis.
We started with a bottle of house white– viola: Pinot Grigio obsessions! Each antipasti entrée is around 8 euros. Or you can try all 7 antipasti including mussels, and such for 20 euros. Smaller portions of course. And their bocconi aka seaslugs! Wow… green little creatures boiled in salt water served with tooth pick. Oh SO GOOOOD. So good, I had it twice!!!
Oh and once you get your antipasti– your waiter will tell you to slow down. No ordering antipasti, primi, secondis and such at once. The kitchen needs time he says. And he was right.
We sat, drank wine and marveled at the simplicity of each seafood in olive oil dish while surrounded by many local Sardinian families and different group of guys. Everyone’s talking, chatting and having a blast. It felt like I was at someone’s house. Someone’s basement to be exact. It’s so comfy, relaxing and delicious. Did I mention delicious??? It was DELICIOUS!
Now to my main courses– the sole purpose and reason of me flying to Sardinia is for Grey mullet eggs. Our primis– we opted for linguine in clams with grey mullet eggs and mix seafood pasta aka frutti di mare.
Primi
* Pasta vongole — with grey mullet eggs. Mind BLOWN! Pasta, olive oil and clams just the way I like it. With added bonus of dried fish eggs. It wasn’t salty. It was simply perfect!!! This is the dish you would and should travel for. I did and I’m so glad!
* Seafood pasta aka frutti di mare– I typically hate any sauce on my pasta. My perfect bowl usually just have olive oil. And I hate all the Americanized tomato sauce and the nastiness of it. They all taste the same and crappy! But this particular taste anything but. I’m pretty sure you can’t make this at home no matter how good you are. You just won’t have the same ingredients! Something are meant to work for! This was it. It was almost sweet with lobster, prawns, clams, mussles and halibut. It was just perfect.
As we finish our amazing pasta courses: this guy busted out his guitar and started singing O sole mio! He’s an older gentleman that’s having a little too much fun and entire restaurant including us sang along with him. You can’t get this anywhere, seriously!!!
After digesting our 7 courses of seafood and 2 courses of pasta, we ordered our secondsi!
Secondi
*Fritto misto aka Fried mix seafood and — this shouldn’t be good but this was amazing. All things seafood battered lightly fried to a perfect fluff! At this point, I’m full up to wasu! But the aroma and flavors kept us eating more. It was
!!
*Sparda (swordfish!!) Swordfish baked in olive oil with lemon. This was light and tasty.
Ended this fabulous meal with more singing, mirto shots and espresso!!! After amazing 11 courses of food, I was ready to pay every euros I had. Oh did I mention there were no prices on the specials? We ordered everything he recommended and they were all specials! Turns out it cost me around 80 euros! For the amount of food we had, WOW!
So amazing, we went back the next day for lunch and had the same 11 courses all over! Marco the server is now my facebook friend :) We talk often and I always bug him to send me food. His respond: signora, Our kitchen is always open! :) I will be back soon! Dreaming to be back for a bite of everything!

Good food and lots of it. That’s what normally gets the Gourmet Belly excited. What’s even more exciting is when it involves seafood, a generous amount of alcohol, and all this at a very reasonable price.
Located on one of the main pedestrian streets of Cagliari, Lillicu is permanently packed with locals and an absolute find for the discerning traveller who manages to get a reservation.
The concept is relatively simple. No menus, seafood only, and you eat what the kitchen feels like cooking up on the day.
For Gourmet Belly and friends, we were somewhat familiar with this — just like when we were growing up. Eat what was served on the table, or be starved! The only concern was that no menu, means no prices… but nonetheless, we were ready!
Mamma Mia… Mamma Mamma Mia… and what a feast this was.
Antipasti included massive portions of: Fresh Tuna Salad, Polpo, White Bait fritters, Swordfish Pomodoro, Welks, and Mussels in white wine and garlic
Primi and mains consisted of two types of pasta: Tuna Linguine in a tomato sauce, and a Spaghetti Vongole, followed by a tomato baked Rascasse fish commonly found in the waters of Corsica near by.
All four of us at the table had matching smiles as we scoffed all this amazing food, washed down with chilled glasses of local red and white wine… the perfect dining experience indeed. This was probably heightened by Giampaolo, the (slightly mad) waiter that also serves as the entertainment for the evening as he goes around with his guitar in between serving dishes.
Then out comes the bottle of Mirto — a local spirit made from Myrtle berries, which in hindsight shouldn’t have been left unattended on our table. After practically consuming the whole bottle, saluting other customers nearby, we found out that these are traditionally consumed by sipping slowly, and NOT to be downed in one like a shooter. Uh Oh… spot the tourists.
This is the third time that the Gourmet Belly has been fed by Lillicu, and it is yet to disappoint.
At around EUR35 per head for some amazing seafood cooked traditional Sardinian style, drinks, dessert of Sebada (fried ravioli stuffed with cheese and drizzled with honey) and coffee, the only disappointment is not being able to eat like this every day…
Definitely not to be missed if you are ever in Cagliari!