Trieste Restaurants

The area where is this restaurant is small and traditional of the city outskirts which has become part of the even smaller history of Italian breadmaking. In fact it was here, in the last century, that the traditions of the legendary pancogole began, with young and old women alike coming down onto the streets of Trieste to sell large loaves that have been cooked a few hours earlier within their own four walls. Today, of course, the "pancogole" (a dialectal term that might loosely be translated as "bakers" although this is not the exact meaning.) no longer exist, but respecting traditions the restaurant has stood here, in the heart of Servola since 1986. In actual fact this restaurant bakes it own, very healthy, bread in house.

Favorite Dish: The menu, which is displayed in 5 languages, is based on meat dishes, (there is pasta al ragù di puledro =young horse or the excellent pasta squares.) and there is a decent wine list, with mostly Friulian labels. The atmosphere is quiet and peaceful, with a friendly ambiance. There is seating for 50 inside and another forty on the beautiful floral terrace. The restaurant is also featured in the Academy Guide to Italian Cuisine. The best place to try and rediscover the tastes of traditional home cooking with a touch of fantasy which does not spoil it in the least.

Buffet Rudy is a a restaurant where you can have Italian, local and Bavarian dishes. When I went there the portions we had were big and the food very good.

It seems this place to be always full of people, so it is best to book your table.

The only downside of this restaurant is that is quite a noisy place. The reason is because it has only a dining room and part of it is a bar; a popular bar I can say..

Favorite Dish: The first time I went there I had cotoletta alla milanese (Wienerschnitzel) with patate en tecia ( mashed potatoes). The second time I had pasta with vegetables.

Bar Udine is a bar providing also a restaurant service. You can eat a wide range of dishes, including typical recipes of the region and Slav cuisines, such as jota (a soup of Trieste with sausages, I think; I've never eaten it), gulash (the typical Hungarian stew) or Polish-like cabbage (never eaten, either).

The bar re-opened in 2010 after being closed for renovation. I was there in January 2010 for the first time after I left Trieste around January 2009, and it does look better. However, the bad side is that the married couple who used to run the local has retired (they were both over 70 years old), making the bar a bit more "anonymous". The waiter, Sergio, was very nice: he would talk and laugh with everyone. His wife Graziella was the cashier. I felt a bit confused when I went in and didn't see either of them. Anyway, I do still recommend you'd go to Bar Udine!

Favorite Dish: I particularly like some dishes offered in Bar Udine:
1) "rigatoni alla burina": pasta with minced sausage, tomato sauce and a drop of cream. They are very tasty but rather heavy;
2) "fusilli alla mediterranea": cold pasta with little mozzarellas, tomatos, olives: very refreshing;
3) "salsicce friulane con patatine": Friulan sausages with chips;
4) go and taste...

Many dishes (especially pasta) have original names and you are unlikely to guess what they consist of unless you ask the waiter. When I used to have lunch there during my university years, only Erika, the waitress, spoke an acceptable English. I don't know if the new waiters also do, anyway Erika is still there and you will be able to talk to her.

3 more images

Kapuziner is a Bavarian restaurant in the very centre of Trieste. I ate there with two friends in January 2007 and we enjoyed it very much.
Although the outside appearance can make a negative impression, inside you will find a very comfortable and characteristic atmosphere. Menus are written in Italian and German and you can have many Bavarian dishes.
The only con was the price, which proved relatively high compared to the other restaurants where I had eaten previously.

We were there again in February 2008 to have a drink with other people of our University the prices amazed me more than the first time! I paid 3.30 euro for a glass of orangeade (0.5 litre). I had asked for a middle glass (0.3 l) but the waiter may not have heard me since the music was quite loud. I felt quite uncomfortable this time because it was rather hot inside.

I had dinner there again on 1st October 2008. I had a Ljubljanska (the typical Slovenian cutlet with ham and cheese inside) with pommes frites and an orangeade. I warmly recommend you'd try it: it is good and quite easily digestible. On the other hand, it is not a Bavarian dish.

Favorite Dish: I had the following dinner in 2007:
- frankfurters with stuffling of cheese and wrapped in bacon, with pommes frites (EUR 7.20);
- an orangeade (EUR 1.30);
- a typical cake called "frastagliata del Kaiser", in German Kaiserschmarrn, a kind of crêpe suzette with raisins and pine-seeds (EUR 3.80).
The cover cost EUR 1.30, so I paid EUR 14.60.
The prices may have grown.

On 1st October 2008 I spent 11-12 euro for the Ljubljanska and the orangeade.

I know I am going to get shot down in flames for this, but in my humble opinion it is only the italians who make great coffee on a consistent basis. Trieste is extremely interesting in that it has a number of ver historic coffeehouse that stem from it's time as a major pot of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Coffee houses here have more just a whiff of Vienna about them.

This centrally located cafe is one of the best. Originally built in 1830 it has been lovingly restored. Belgian mirror, delicious wood (and cakes to be fair) and original artworks beneath a ceiling that was just Oh so right for this sort of place.

It would be surprising if the coffee did not taste fantastic here - and it lived up to it's surroundings admirably. Great place.

Pastificio Mariabologna is a posh take-away, but the prices here are good.

Here you could buy various kinds of handmade pasta (noddles); ravioli, pasticcio and other Italian first courses. Then you could have fish or meat and vegetables.

Suggestion: after you have ordered you can ask the girls to heat your food, so that when you're home it's ready to eat.

Favorite Dish: I had patate in tecia that is mashed potatoes with meat; stuffed artichockes and meat. This lunch was very good.

Pizzeria Nonna Rosa ("Granny Rose Pizzeria") is a traditional, still elegant pizzeria. They serve a wide range of pizzas, from the most known ones like pizza Margherita to some local pizzas. They also work as a restaurant, but beware that other dishes than pizzas cost more. For example, you can have a pizza for as little as 3.50 euro, while the cheapest pastas cost at least 6 euro.
I had dinner quite often at "Nonna Rosa" from 2007 to 2009, because it lied near the flat where I lived and because it was cheap but nice. It was not so cheap as %Pizzeria Number One (in via del Toro, another side street of the viale: see tip for this pizzeria), but it gave me a better impression of order and cleanliness.

Favorite Dish: The last time I had dinner there, I wanted to taste pizza "Triestina", with pore mushrooms, salami, ham, frankfurter and small artichokes. It was very good, though also rather expensive (7.50 euro).

I ate at this pizzeria on 31st August 2008. It is located in modern premises, which makes it a bit different from other "classical" Neapolitan pizzerias in Trieste.
Beside the usual pizzas, whose range is not so wide as elsewhere, you can have a revolting Nutella pizza, which some people incredibly like, such as my friend Luca who took me there. If you don't want to try the Nutella pizza, you can have other, but as heavy, desserts.

Favorite Dish: Both Luca and I had a pizza margherita for 5 euro (quite expensive; you can have one for 3-3.50 euro in some pizzerias) and a coke for 2.50 euro. The service (coperto) costs 1.50 euro.
In addition, Luca had this awful Nutella pizza. Luckily, he was wise enough as to remove the tons of liquid Nutella that had been put over the pizza, not only inside. The waiters must have wondered why one should have a Nutella pizza and then remove most of the Nutella...