The best restaurants Calabria

One of the good restaurants of Castrovillari, located in the historic centre opposite the Aragonese castle. The setting is pleasant and friendly, with a rustic, well-kept room and a terrace facing one of the massive towers of the fortress. The osteria serves simple and very tasty local cuisine, based on meat and fresh products from the mountains. You will have to decipher the menu, which uses dialectal terms, so get advice from the waiter according to your desires! An address much appreciated by the locals.

The restaurant is located on the outskirts, in a district without charm, but this defect is largely offset by the quality of the cuisine inspired by the flavours of the sea. It mixes the simplicity of the preparations, exalting the taste of the raw materials, with some creative touches that stimulate curiosity, such as, for example, with these really excellent spaghetti with swordfish carbonara. The fish and seafood are guaranteed to be fresh. Modern and slightly cold setting. Professional service and good wine selection.

Restaurant nestled in a small 1920's villa, with a very pleasant terrace in the summer, and a slightly kitschy interior room. Typical trattoria atmosphere, family and relaxed, for a classic and simple cuisine that stands out for its seafood specialities such as mussels with tomato, pasta with vongole, tuna with sesame, mixed fish frying and grilled meats. To follow, homemade desserts, ice creams and cakes. Attentive staff and good advice, especially in the choice of wine.

A country restaurant in the middle of the mountains, frequented by locals, especially on Sundays. Sitting on the terrace, with the river below, you will enjoy a traditional, authentic and generous cuisine. On the menu, assortments of antipasti composed of capocollo and soppressata accompanied by vegetables in oil, pasta with goat stew, mushrooms (in season), trout and good grilled meat. A gourmet and invigorating stopover, perfect on the way back from the walk to the Marmarico waterfalls.

This restaurant, which is certainly a tourist attraction, is appreciated for its pleasant location in front of the Pizzo marina and for its good fish-based cuisine, a classic and unpretentious cuisine, but well executed and with fresh products. The house specialities are mixed grilled fish, fried fish and pasta dishes such as paccheri with fresh tuna and cherry tomatoes. Also worth trying: swordfish parmigiana and tuna with red onions from Tropea. In the evening, the restaurant also serves pizzeria.

One of the best tables in Cosenza, ideal for discovering local Calabrian products. Both rustic and elegant, the large room upstairs, with its beautiful exposed beams, welcomes a rather wealthy local clientele. Taste the Calabria Bella antipasto, based on regional cheeses and cold cuts, grilled vegetables and olives, accompanied by a glass of local wine, the Donnici. Charming staff and generous and sincere cuisine, enough to reconcile with the old town of Cosenza which, at first glance, may seem unappealing.

In a street perpendicular to Corso Garibaldi, a sign with a discreet frontage and a long, sober and neat room, with subdued lights. You can enjoy classic and well executed seafood cuisine, all for a good price-quality ratio. On the menu, fish and seafood antipasti served in two courses, cold and hot, spaghetti that disappears under the quantity of mussels and shellfish, paccheri with swordfish and good homemade desserts. An address that combines simplicity, consistency and a friendly welcome.

Away from the main square of Pizzo, Le Petit Jardin welcomes its guests on a pleasant shaded terrace facing the castle. The address, run by a charming couple, is a perfect stop for lunch. The menu favors seafood and offers antipasti (excellent mussel pepata ), pasta dishes and grilled fish. Very generous portions! The restaurant also offers gourmet burgers with swordfish, fried calamari, pulled pork or chopped steak with stracciatella.

Located at the exit of the village, the agriturismo Al Borgo is one of those places on which time seems to have no hold. The welcome, the cooking and even the prices, very cheap, contribute to this feeling of suspended time. Here, all the cold cuts are homemade, like the 'nduja which is served in small traditional terracotta warmers. The gargantuanantipasto misto offers a complete overview of this tasty Calabrian mountain cuisine, and the fresh pasta with lamb, goat or eggplant is a real treat.

A family-run restaurant that honors the Greek culture and its Italian and Greek origins. You can enjoy souvlakia (meat skewers), dolmades (stuffed vine leaves) and lestopitta bread dipped in fresh and creamy tzatziki. But the establishment also offers excellent pizzas with traditional Botte toppings, to be enjoyed on the spot or to take away. For a happy marriage of the two culinary traditions, opt for the pizza with feta cheese, original and very good.

This downtown rotisserie is well known to Reggio Calabria residents who praise the quality of its fried calzoni stuffed with mozzarella and tomato, arancini (rice balls) and the traditional mozzarella in carrozza (mozzarella between two slices of bread, all fried). The prices are low and the service is fast; convenient for a lunch on the go. The house also offers quite good pizzas and some pasta dishes.

Facing the Catanzaro Lido marina, Kesa's is proud of its attachment to the sea with a menu that honors it entirely. On the menu, fish tartars, mussels and oysters, pasta with lobster, swordfish or vongole, grilled meats and fried meats from the sea, all of them impeccably fresh. Also worth trying: morzello di baccalà, a dish inspired by a traditional Catanzaro recipe, but in which the tripe and giblets have been replaced by cod, slowly simmered with tomato and chili. Delicious!

Located on the waterfront, in front of the tourist harbor, this restaurant has an excellent reputation among locals and tourists alike, and even among the neighborhood cats who come here at lunchtime hoping to grab a few fish crumbs! Fried seafood and grilled fish are generously served, as are antipasti of raw and cooked seafood. Everything is fresh daily. A few good wines to accompany the meal, as well as a pleasant white wine of the house, fresh and light.

Just a few steps from the waterfront, in a rather impersonal residential area, this is an address that is popular with locals for the quality of its Neapolitan pizzas cooked over a wood fire, with a soft and elastic edge, to be enjoyed on the spot or to take away. The establishment also offers a very good sea food concocted with the products of the day's catch. If you can't decide, you can always fall back on the Bella Napoli pizza, topped with octopus, prawns and seafood!

You can't miss this café whose terrace occupies the centre of Corso Garibaldi, the pedestrian axis that crosses Reggio Calabria. At aperitivo time, it is here that the locals interrupt the traditional passeggiata to drink a spritz accompanied by appetizers, while distractedly watching the uninterrupted flow of passers-by. The address is appreciated for its old-fashioned service and its lively local atmosphere. You can also have lunch here or enjoy a pastry, a cappuccino or a good bergamot ice cream.