Pisa Restaurants

My husband and I stumbled upon this restaurant after wandering around starving for awhile (the handwritten menu is what attracted us). Even though we didn't have reservations, the staff was extremely friendly and welcoming. The waiter we had spoke very good English and made our dining a pleasurable experience. This is a small, cozy place with a great ambience. Order the house wine and you'll feel right at home. The food was delicious. My husband and I had asssorted appitizers, then pasta/soup, followed by tripe for my husband and chicken for me. We ended with a chocolate dessert topped with pine nuts. A perfect night!

Favorite Dish: I had a chickpea soup which was the best food I have ever eaten and will never forget. I remember savoring every single bite.

In my opinion, a day in Italy without a gelato is a day slightly wasted, so come mid-afternoon in Pisa and I was on the hunt for somewhere likely-looking where we might indulge ourselves. Although in the highly touristy area just off the Piazza dei Miracoloi, the Bar Costa had a tempting array of flavours and several empty tables on its shady terrace. The gelati certainly lived up to our expectation, but having bought our cups (three generous scoops for €3 – not bad for this location) we discovered that we were not permitted to sit and eat them at those tables, as they were reserved for customers who had ordered from the menu. The solution? We ordered two small espressos from that menu to follow our ices, and everyone was happy.

Favorite Dish: All the flavours were good, but I especially liked the pistachio and the passion-fruit ones.

On a very hot day, our main aim was to find somewhere shady for lunch, and the wide parasols of this café just off the Piazza Cavalieri fit the bill perfectly. We weren’t looking for a large meal, so its selection of panini, salads and platters was also perfect. Chris settled on one of the latter, the “Misto Toscano”, with cold meats, pecorino cheese and sundried tomatoes, and I had a panino with ham, tomatoes and cheese. With two freshly squeezed orange juices (spremute di arancia) we paid €17.

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We stumbled across this lovely little restaurant purely by chance, having discovered that one we had seen and earmarked earlier had been taken over by a large group, leaving little room, and no atmosphere, for us. But it proved to be a very happy accident as this was a real find.

The restaurant is tucked away on a traffic-free side street just off busy Borgo Stretto, and has a few tables set outside along one wall, which is where we chose to sit. Although in a bustling city the location felt pleasantly secluded, and colourful Moroccan-style tea-lights added to its charm.

Favorite Dish: The choice of dishes was not extensive as the restaurant prefers to offer a changing seasonal menu, but that’s what I like to see – too many choices in my experience usually results in too few of them being well-executed. I chose a delicious starter of smoked duck served with pears and parmesan shavings and a tangy balsamic vinegar dressing, while Chris had an equally good plate of prosciutto and pecorino cheese with a tomato marmalade. My main course was a simple but very tasty pasta dish – squares of the local hand-made speciality pasta, testaroli, served with peppers and anchovies. Chris enjoyed a roast pork dish flavoured with rosemary and sage. For dessert we shared a deliciously sharp sorbeto di limoncello. With a bottle of red wine and one of sparkling water our bill came to €68 for the two of us, which I think is excellent value for such a high-quality meal in pleasing surroundings, and with good friendly service as well.

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And who thought Florence's Uffizi museum would be the toughest to get in? Not until you try getting a table at arguably one of Pisa's finest - the humbly-named Osteria dei Cavalieri. The first night I came to the restaurant, without any reservations, the queue was astonishingly long for a week night, and was told to come back the following evening - with a reservation. And so reserve I did for the following day's dinner.

The following night, I came back to the restaurant, with high hopes - and I was not disappointed. My pasta dish - spaghetti with clams and mussels - was the best I have in Italy. Clearly, the pasta was handmade, could still taste its freshness. The flavors of fresh mussels and the clams were distinctively fresh as well, which was made lovelier by the subtle hint of pepper and oregano, and the not very subtle presence of vino blanco. My meatier mains - grilled lamb chops - was another star dish. The meat was tender, well-done, albeit a bit charred, but that is how I want my grilled meats. The accompanying grilled red pepers, sweetish and juicy, provided the welcome contrast to the heavy meat flavor.

The only catch was the dessert - chocolate flan - which was clearly overcooked; it hardened. But don't let this put you off from visiting this wonderful restaurant where service is warm, welcoming and attentive despite the heavy flow of customers.

If the food was simple and delicious, the ambiance is very much animated. The crowd, mainly locals, provided a very interesting sidebar to the delicious meal. On one corner, local intellectuals, perhaps university professors, discussing the latest campus politics. On the table beside mine, two lovers, boisterous but fun, clearly had too much to drink with no less than half dozen near-empty wine bottles on the table. On three joined tables, a big family in a celebratory mood. If you have one dinner to do in Pisa, this could be the place to have it.

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Having travelled all day, unbearable hunger pangs "drove" me to this restaurant, which opens for business earlier than Pisa's restaurant (Pisa's restaurants open at around 8 PM!). Yet despite the grumbling tummy, the food remained flat, leaving much to be desired.

It started with the pasta dish - pasta with basil and pistacchio - which, despite the seemingly generous amount of basil didn't taste of any. Strange. The baked stuffed sword fish, was very oily - makes me think it was fried, rather than baked. And to top it all, the Sicillian cassata dessert - sponge cake with fruits and ricotta cheese - was rock hard (aren't sponge cake supposed to be soft?). The good point: service is warm and friendly.

Look for the sign of the ship on Via Borghetto. The restaurant is basic but serves superb Italian food and offers great value. Starters from 3 euro and main courses from 6 euro. We ate there four nights running because there was nothing in the city centre which seemed to offer similar character and value. The wine list is limited to red or white but at 7 or 8 euro who cares, the red is superb and the white is a good local wine. The owner is friendly, helpful and enthusiastic and justfiably proud of his food. He speaks good English and seems to cope with visitors of all nationalities.

Favorite Dish: Everything we had was excellent. The fish is great and the meat is good quality cooked well. My own favourite was the Bresaiola starter, cured beef with cream cheese filling. I want one now.

An unusual Indian restaurant, a cross with fast food - you select, and pay for, your food at the counter, collect the cutlery and then the food arrives at the table. A system that worked well the evening we visited. But the food is what we're really interested in, good well cooked starters and main course for us, and pretty spicy too, as ever in an Indian, plenty of vegetarian choice for Mrs B.
Enjoyed our meal here.