Osteria Tabarchina - A tavola con la tradizione Carlofortina a Cagliari

✅ When migration also means taking the taste of home with you

Migrating does not only mean changing place, language or landscape. It is also bringing with you memories, daily gestures, flavours. And among these, food is one of the most powerful elements for remaining anchored to one's identity. Sitting at the table, enjoying a familiar dish, is like opening a window on the past: it is a ritual that unites, comforts, tells. During every migration, there is a need for something to keep the memory alive.

The kitchen, with its fragrances and recipes, becomes a bridge between different cultures, capable of preserving roots and, at the same time, creating new connections.

✅ From Liguria to Tunisia...to Sardinia

This story begins in 1540, when a group of Genoese from the district of Pegli sailed to the Tunisian coast to fish for coral on the island of Tabarca. It was there that the Tabarca community was born, an interweaving of Ligurian and African influences that survived for centuries.

Then, in 1738, a new migration: to the uninhabited island of San Pietro, in the south-west of Sardinia, where Carloforte was founded. Just over thirty years later, in 1770, part of the community also moved to the island of Sant'Antioco, giving birth to Calasetta.

Today, more than 250 years later, the people of Tabarka proudly preserve their language and traditions. Above all, they continue to hand down a unique cuisine that mixes Liguria, Africa and Sardinia in an extraordinary balance.

✅ A corner of Carloforte in the heart of Cagliari

Since 2016, this legacy has also taken shape in a Cagliari, thanks to the Osteria Tabarchina, a restaurant with typical Carlofortina cuisine located in Via Sardegna, in the heart of the historic Marina district.

A place that is not just a restaurant, but a journey through the flavours and aromas of the Tabarkan identity: Ligurian pesto with the scent of fresh basil, handmade trofie and curzetti, the spices of Tunisian cuisine with the irresistible cascá (Tabarkan couscous), and the highly celebrated red tuna, the so-called ‘sea pig’, the absolute protagonist of the island's gastronomy.

✅ Where is Osteria Tabarchina

Location is one of its strong points: easy to find, convenient to reach by any means.

Located in:

two steps from the Port of Cagliari,

very close to the train and bus station,

a few metres from Via Roma and Largo Carlo Felice.

The pedestrian street Via Sardegna is perfect for a stroll and leads directly to the osteria. Nearby you will also find well-known landmarks such as Palazzo Baccaredda (seat of the City Hall) and La Rinascente (the restaurant is right behind). Parking? No problem: the area is well served by both free and paid parking spaces, as well as a convenient taxi rank.

✅ A cosy ambience with an open kitchen

The air-conditioned and hospitable restaurant offers 65 seats and an open kitchen where dishes are prepared using quality ingredients from Carloforte and the Sardinian territory.

During the warm season, from spring to late autumn, it is also possible to sit outside, thus reaching a total capacity of about 100 seats.

✅ A menu of bluefin tuna and Tabak specialities

The gastronomic proposal of the Osteria Tabarchina revolves around fish - in particular fresh and canned bluefin tuna in olive oil - from the sea around Carloforte and the Gulf of Cagliari.

👉 The tuna used (Thunnus thynnus) comes from the tuna fisheries of Carloforte. Both fresh and canned (ventresca, tarantello and other prized parts of the ‘tuna di corsa’), it is offered in many variations: starters, first and second courses.

✅ Some dishes to try

Starters: Ligurian-style mussels, Caprese alla carlofortina

First course: Pasticcio alla carlofortina

Main course: Tuna fillet in a pistachio or sesame crust

Desserts: Canestrello carlofortino, to accompany a glass of Muscat wine

👉 I vini selezionati provengono dall’isola di San Pietro e da varie zone della Sardegna.

✅ Per chi ha esigenze alimentari particolari

Osteria Tabarchina is also an inclusive place: coeliac customers are welcome. The fish dishes are naturally gluten-free and gluten-free pasta is served on request.

✅ Un luogo che è molto più di un ristorante

👉 L’Osteria Tabarchina non è solo un luogo dove mangiare bene. È uno spazio in cui si respira la storia di un popolo, il viaggio di una comunità, l’identità di una cucina unica al mondo. Se ti trovi a Cagliari e vuoi fare un’esperienza autentica, genuina e ricca di sapore, questo è il posto giusto.

More information on the Osteria Tabarchina in Cagliari