Al Tuguri

A stone house from 1973

Al Tuguri opened in 1973 and is one of the longest-established eateries in Alghero's old town. It is on Via Maiorca, a cobbled street a couple of steps from the bastions, in a historic stone building spread over several floors, with small rooms and vaults. In summer you also eat on a terrace from which you can see the rooftops and the tiled dome of the church of San Michele. It is now under new management, with Francesco Pais in the kitchen.

What you eat

The cooking mixes sea and land from the Sardinian and Alghero traditions, with seasonal produce, the day's catch, meats from the island and vegetables from its own biodynamic garden. The menu changes with the seasons. On the autumn one there are roasted culurgiones, the Sardinian filled pasta, with sheep broth and pecorino (€20); cuttlefish in its ink with smoked potato purée (€20); seafood fregola with sea bass (€28); suckling lamb in a casserole and a picanha aged thirty days (€25). For dessert, myrtle tiramisu (€9) or a cheese board.

If you are in no hurry, order the week's tasting menu: three to seven courses, €40 to €75, served to the whole table, with a four-glass wine pairing for €30. The cellar is Sardinian wines: cannonau, vermentino and other grapes of the island.

What it costs and when it opens

It is a mid-to-upper-priced restaurant: with two courses and dessert à la carte, reckon €45 to €60 per person without wine, according to the prices on its menu. It is open every day, at lunchtime from 12:00 to 15:00 and in the evening from 19:00 to 23:15. When we prepared this page, its website announced a holiday closure until 8 December: if you go in winter, check that it is open.

Getting there and booking

It is inside the old town, which is a limited-traffic zone: park outside the walls and walk five minutes. Book on the form on its website, by email or by phone; from 18:00 they also answer the landline. After dinner, the bastions are one street away.