Pisa Restaurants

If you don't know this place, you will hardly ever find it because it is almost hidden from the main flow of tourists. Which might not be such a bad thing after all - the place is busy enough, and for dinner one should definitely make a reservation. The place has adopted its name from the four ancient maritime republics of Venice, Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi, and that also indicates what kind of food you will get there. They sell very nice pizzas, but the place is much more than just a pizzeria, and I would suggest a major menu of at least three dishes.

Favorite Dish: a) For starters, my suggestion is Gnocchi a la Sorrentina, or the pasta (I think Tagliolini) with clams, which is fairly spicy.

b) My suggestions for the main dish are the beefsteak in green pepper sauce, the grilled squid (totani), and the mixed grille of squids and prawns. As a side dish, I'd recommend white beans with the meat, or salad with the fish.

c) As desert, try the crema catalana, a delicious caramet creme.

This is a place one should not miss, particularly if you like pizza. As far as I know, the owner is from the South of Italy, and the place is known for its excellent pizza. They sell "pizza al metro", one metre of pizza for four people, or half a metre for two. Unfortunately, they don't sell single pizzas. But both the dough and what's on top of it are first class - my girlfriend said after these pizzas she won't eat any others for a while, because anything else could only be disappointing... The place is so popular that, if you go there for dinner, you will have to wait for a table if you arrive later than 7:30. And after 8:30, you sometimes see people queue up outside (!) to get a table...

Favorite Dish: Yes, the pizzas are fantastic - but that does not mean that the place is one-dimensional. Quite to the contrary, I would suggest the following order of dishes:

a) Gnocchi with Zuchini and Gorgonzola, and I would advise not to finish the meal unless you can eat very much... Leave some space for the main dish, which is:

b) Polpo a la casseruola, an octopus cooked in a delicious tomato sauce with olives and capers, served with crispy white bread that absorbs the sauce after a while. Yes, it is not the best-looking dish, and at first one might shudder at the sight of these tentacles. But the taste, and the wonderful poultry-like texture of the meat quickly make you forget that the animal is not a beauty... And if you still have some space in your stomach, go for this:

c) Profiterrolles bianchi, sweet dumplings in a white and brown chocolate sauce.

I had really an excellent dinner here.
They have many kind of meat but, in my opinion their speciality is the lardo di colonnata, something soo heavy but sooo tasty.
For an excellent dinner and a very good bottle of wine, we payed about 30 euro, anyway most of restaurants in Pisa have a budget menu.

I really recommend this place if you're in Pisa and want to have a true Neapolitan pizza, the thick and soft one. The restaurant is full of stuff from Naples and you can spend the time you have to wait for your pizza looking at things hung on the walls: pictures, stuff from Naples and even a guitar... And you can play it if you want!!! :)

Favorite Dish: Their mixed starter can be very biiiiig, so be sure at least 4 persons are sharing that dish. But it's very very very yummy!!!
The same for pizza, I have no other word except for FABULOUS!
And, sorry, but I can't forget to mention their dessert... Typical neapolitan desserts, such as sfogliatelle , pastiera , babbà ... Mmmmm... Delicious...

Il Merlo is a nice tiny restaurant in Casciana Terme, a small town with thermal baths
near Pisa. "Merlo" means "blackbird", and the name of the restaurant relates to the legend of the countess Matilde. Once she noticed that a blackbird was putting its broken paw in the water... A few days after the blackbird completely recovered and that's how people found out the benefits of the water of Casciana.

Favorite Dish: I had "I Merlacci", a kind of ravioli with ricotta and spinaches... So yummy!!! You could choose also some Tuscan dishes such as tasty vegetable soups, like ribollita.

This place is quite new and the owner is a nice and young guy. The restaurant is pretty small but this is a good thing as there are only a few tables and not much noise :)
The menu is full of typical tuscan dishes, soups, meat and vegetables...

Favorite Dish: I had testaroli , a specialty of the Lunigiana region, along the border between Tuscany and Liguria. They derive their name from the "testo", a flat or slightly domed cast iron or stone griddle they're cooked on, and are quite ancient: The city of Pontremoli, Lunigiana's capital, levied a tax on testi in 1391 and reaffirmed it in 1564. More recently, some food historians have suggested that testaroli might actually be a forerunner of the pasta.
If you want to be traditional, ask for testaroli with abundant pesto sauce. I just had testaroli with oil and parmigiano cheese. :-)

Even if I'm Italian and have been to Pisa several times, it may happen that I have lunch at touristy places like this one... I have to say it's not that bad!

Favorite Dish: I had a good starter with ham, salami etc and bruschetta and then a good RISOTTO ALLA PESCATORA.
Prices are not too high and a view on the leaning tower is included!!!
CLOSED ON FRIDAYS.

Typical trattoria with low prices and good food! The pasta here was great! The funniest thing about the evening here was that a couple and another guy we saw there were on our flight to Hahn the next day... So you see, Pisa is really small!

Favorite Dish: The penne all´arrabiata were the best I ever had somewhere!!!