The best restaurants Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Trieste's historic harbour master's office has been beautifully restored and boasts a superb terrace, where a lounge bar-restaurant (Pier The Roof) has been installed. As soon as the sun comes out, it's a real pleasure to spend some time here, with a breathtaking view of the sea. At table, the dishes are refined. On the menu, fish carpaccio, shellfish (scallops, shrimp, prawns), fried calamari with sage sauce - a delight! Ditto for the pure, iodized plate of tempura, fresh seafood pasta or fish of the day with lacquered vegetables.

A classic bistro set up in an old stable. The frames, milk jugs, yokes and other agricultural instruments that line the walls and hang from the ceiling give the place the appearance of a flea market. In the summer, we eat under the arcades. Traditional dishes, strictly Friulian: barley and beans, cjarsons (a mountain speciality of stuffed pasta), gnocchi with bread and smoked ricotta and potato fricot. Friendly and informal atmosphere.

Elegant plates, inventive compositions, fresh fish and an excellent wine list for this restaurant that develops its gastronomic intentions. Its enviable position just a few steps from the sea makes it a very fashionable address among the notables of the Triestine area. On the tasting menu: white fish ceviche, tuna tataki, wasabi and wakame seaweed, smoked octopus, potato and sweet paprika, sea urchin ravioli, lemongrass, cuttlefish and spinach, monkfish with lime, white cabbage and kale, and for dessert a pistachio mousse.

A fish restaurant, awarded by the Italian culinary academy Taste Experiences. We show you the fresh, flawless sea bream before cooking it for you à la plancha. Here, all dishes are made with fresh ingredients from local fishing or farming operations. On the table you will find Slovenian fleur de sel, olive oil, local wine and authentic San Daniele ham. Various fish preparations, home-smoked salmon, mackerel with balsamic vinegar and onions, sea bream carpaccio, etc.

In 1897, founder Pepi S'Ciavo gave his name to this trattoria. Renamed Da Pepi, the historic buffet has renovated its premises while retaining the spirit of the rustic dining room, with wooden tables and stools, the counter with cold meats and prepared dishes, plus terrace service. Here, pork is king, grilled in large quarters, breaded or cured. On the premises or to take away, you can choose from well-stocked sandwiches, plates served with antipasti or sauerkraut, or meat and vegetable platters(bollito misto) to share.

Here no menu, the dishes depend on the fishing of the day. We eat only fresh fish. A real treat.

It is the restaurant of the hotel of the same name and a sure value for its authentic Friulian cuisine. The service is fast and the reception of the owner Maria Cristina is very pleasant. We recommend you try their polenta e frico, the house specialty for 40 years, and perhaps the most famous dish in Friuli. It is a cheese cooked in a frying pan with butter or bacon, served in its classic version with cheese and potatoes, and in a version invented by the owner, made with a soft cream of local mixed cheeses.

In a small street perpendicular to the main pedestrian street of the old Pordenone, you will find this restaurant-pizzeria with a friendly and young atmosphere, with a modern and elegant decoration. On the menu: excellent pizzas, octopus salad to be damned as a starter, fish dishes as specialities, especially delicious and hearty spaghetti or seafood risotto, perfectly mastered. The waiters are efficient and the wine list is judicious, ideal for tasting some regional wines. Good white wine from the house.

A downtown restaurant on a quiet square. Here only seasonal and local products are served. Once a week, the house takes the road to the mountains to go to Claut, a village in the Friulian Dolomites, to stock up on cold meats. The grappa (brandy) comes from Cividale (province of Udine) and in the cellar the walls are lined with regional wines. In the cupboards: the pitina, a slow food delicatessen. Something to comfort lost riders...

In a historic house in the city center, you will find a counter and two warm rooms where you can enjoy a local cuisine based on local products. On the menu, homemade frisco and mountain cold cuts, dishes from Friuli and Veneto such as rabbit in a pot with bunch onions and chanterelles, ravioloni with porcini mushrooms and chanterelles on a cream of mushroom and hazelnut butter, or a whole lasagna with radicchio from Treviso, sausage and leeks Finally, try a honey strudel with vanilla sauce.

The house has been in existence since 2011 and has quickly earned a fine reputation. It is stamped with the Taste Experience label rewarding tables that emphasize terroir and fresh ingredients. You can choose between the terrace on the canal and the room with walls lined with wine bottles. At the large slate, the menu is renewed every 3 weeks. The waitresses in black aprons and the cooks who can be seen working at the stove are visibly happy to be there. And you can feel from the start that the aim of the house is to please you.

More than thirty years of history for this historic bistro offering simple and tasty local cuisine. Grilled meats and game are the most famous pitances. Only inconvenience, as it is a little outside the centre, north of the city, you will need a car to get there.

Since 1961, this small, family-run restaurant has been a meeting place for all lovers of local cuisine. It is a magnet for Triestinians and tourists alike, attracted by the cheerful and friendly atmosphere and the traditional cuisine. On the menu, simple and comforting dishes at low prices: goulash and polenta, tripe, gnocchi with bread and mixed fish fry, all accompanied by Carso wine. Hams are sliced by hand behind the counter. The place is crowded at lunchtime for its panini.

In the heart of the old town, a popular bistro for all generations. The interior decor is reminiscent of a ship's prow. It serves fisherman's cuisine with fresh fish and fine shellfish. Self-service for drinks and cutlery. Hot dishes such as grilled sardines, calamari or prawns with polenta, or fresh pasta with cuttlefish or mussels are brought to you. The dishes are typical of Friuli, from antipasti to strudel. An address with a friendly atmosphere.

On the heights of the city, in the district of San Giovanni, a historic establishment founded in 1865 by Giovanni Suban, an Austrian national. Four generations later, the semi-gastronomic table is still there and strives to perpetuate the culinary tradition of Trieste, characterized by its mixture of cultural and culinary influences: fine cold meats, peasant soup, fresh pasta from Istria, gnocchi, goulash, Dalmatian pastizzada, strudel and other graphic cakes. Nice wine list. Better make a reservation.

This neighborhood trattoria opened in 1975 and became known for its well-trained fish specialties. It has a pleasant summer terrace at the entrance to the old neighborhood and air-conditioned rooms for hot weather. The cuisine is simple and tasty, the seafood pasta dishes are always a success, especially when accompanied by a glass of chilled friulano . Good raw and cooked fish antipasti, excellent mussel and cockle soup. Courteous service.

This gourmet restaurant is probably the most refined in Udine. It is housed in a 19th century house built on the foundations of 13th century walls. Managed by the Sabinot family since 1987, it has made fish specialties its hobbyhorse, but local products and traditional recipes are not forgotten. The well-balanced plates with precise dressings delight the eyes, as does the elegance of the place, both contemporary and warm. A large selection of regional, Italian and foreign wines.

Well-waxed wooden tables, terracotta tiles, an old slicer and an old piano, this is the decor of this excellent address which takes care to evoke the setting of the old convent whose site it occupies. A tasty meat and fish cuisine delights the visitor, always accompanied by a well-stocked wine list. In good weather, the terrace is pleasantly shaded by umbrellas, from which you can admire the rigorous and perfect perspective of the street leading on one side to the cathedral and on the other to the Porta Aquileia.

It didn't take long for this restaurant to earn a good reputation, as much for its friendly atmosphere as for its food. Here, seafood and local produce are served on generous plates. Fish and shellfish soup with grilled toast or grilled eggplant with mozzarella and tomatoes are as simple as they are excellent. For dessert, a pistachio soufflé, financier-style with a runny heart? A revelation! A fine cellar too.

"Prosciutto, vino e... cose buone"! Indeed, the appeal of this osteria is more than just ham and wine! The small room is cozy and intimate, lulled by an old blues tune in the background, and the tables are arranged around five massive 16th century granite columns. The cuisine is from the heart, handed down from mother to daughter: it reveals the authenticity of the Friulian land and is accompanied by carefully selected regional wines. For dessert, gubana is served with a small glass of good grappa.