L'Ancora Porticciolo

A dining room on the beach since the sixties

L'Ancora is on Viale La Pelosa, the road that runs from Stintino to the beach, right on the sand, beside a small private harbour. It is a building from the 1960s, of stone and wood, with large windows looking onto the Gulf of Asinara: from the table you see the marina, Isola Piana, La Pelosa with its tower and Capo Falcone. It is run by the Mistral company, of Alberto Sabiu. Some people arrive by boat and moor in front.

What to order

The menu is seafood, with homemade pasta and fish from the fishermen of the gulf. Among the first courses, the linguine alla falconiera, with clams, bottarga and fresh tomato; the spaghetti all'Ancora, with mussels, clams, squid and prawns; and the fregola ai frutti di mare, the Sardinian grain pasta with seafood. All are around €24. From the town's tradition, the polpi alla stintinese, octopus with potatoes and tomato, at €20.

For a main course, the grilled fish of the gulf, at €8 per 100 grams, or the aragosta alla catalana, lobster with tomato and onion, at €20 per 100 grams, which must be ordered in advance and is served only from 1 March to 31 August. There are also mixed fried seafood, a seafood grill and meats. If you do not want fish, the homemade culurgiones, stuffed with potato, pecorino and mint, or a wood-fired pizza, which they also serve at lunchtime.

The menu marks with an asterisk what is frozen at source or blast-chilled, such as the raw dishes and some shellfish. Ask what is on offer that day.

What it costs

It is a mid-to-upper-range restaurant: a first course and a fish main course easily exceed €50 per person. The cover charge is €3 in the dining room and €2 in the bar. On the bar terrace they serve salads, pizzas and sandwiches, for a quick beach lunch. There is wholemeal and gluten-free pasta if you ask.

Getting there and when

It is halfway between the town and La Pelosa, with private parking. It opens from 8:30, with breakfasts; lunches are from 12:30 to 15:00 and from 18:00 there is aperitivo. The website does not publish the season dates or the dinner hours: call beforehand, especially outside the summer. They speak English and French, and have the menu in Spanish. Animals are welcome.