The best restaurants Friuli-Venezia Giulia

The charcuterie is definitely a matter of the eye… the dishes are typical of the region.

Best table in town. A greedy and friendly address that makes the lovers of good local products and bistro atmosphere come to visit. Typical dishes, always in season, sumptuously prepared by Andrea and Claudia, a passionate couple. On the menu: pasta, meat, such as pork shank with baked potato chips, suckling pig skewers, cold cuts and Friulian cheeses. The desserts are particularly exceptional. Don't forget to book in advance as the address is very popular.

The location could not be more central, since this address is located at the foot of the cathedral bell tower! A small entrance leads to the restaurant which is also a wine cellar. A stop here is a good excuse to discover a lot of wines from small producers. A nice little address dedicated to the god Bacchus and to culinary traditions. The aperitivo is exceptional with its mature and tasty cheeses. Tasty dishes to match your glass like a fabulous guinea fowl with chestnuts and pomegranate (in winter).

Located in a wooden house, between the barn and the period chalet, with a view of the mountains, this warm and friendly gastronomic restaurant revisits traditional dishes with talent and know-how, respecting regional products with a lot of creativity. You dine here in a chalet setting but with white tablecloths and a fireplace. A couple is in charge: Mr. in the dining room and Mrs. in the kitchen. We loved the original guinea fowl with kale, pistachio and black truffle, to be damned!

A cosy and renowned establishment along a tree-lined street linking the historic center to the train station. The chef proposes an inventive and fresh cuisine that makes the gourmets of the region move. Products from the Adriatic sea and Gorizia's vegetable gardens are the basis of the dishes, and local cured meats and cheeses are also on the menu. The atmosphere is refined and friendly at the same time, the success justified. For a very pleasant and friendly moment of tasting. An excellent address and a very good quality-price ratio.

A meeting point of the young Udinois at the time of the Aperitivo but also for the evening meal, the Cappello offers, in a wooded setting with hanging hats on the ceiling, a delicate regional cuisine and fragrant.

Opened in 1921, this restaurant is an institution for the whole of Trieste, which loves nourishing Eastern European cuisine. Siora Rosa (Mother Rosa), who ran the establishment in the 1930s, used to cook ham legs! Even today, people line up to enjoy simple, tasty dishes: soups of all kinds, tripe, pork and cabbage stew, sausages with sauerkraut and steamed or fried potatoes, as well as fried foods, ratatouille and the famous ham and mustard sandwiches (to take away).

Unmissable for patrons of Lignano. The pizze and fish are very well cooked. 

For three generations, the Tarlao family has been at the helm of this restaurant in the historic centre. In recent decades, the fisherman's cuisine has taken on a gastronomic dimension. The traditional specialities of the lagoon inspire innovative recipes, but here the main ingredient is the freshness of the fish, seafood and shellfish. Try for example the plate of raw antipasti (crayfish, langoustines, tuna or swordfish tartars) and the tuna tataki braised with Dijon mustard and its southern vegetables.

The bintars were the seasonal workers who, during the winter, spent in the bistros all the money they had earned during the year. This canteen has existed since 1950. Spared by the 1976 earthquake, it brought food and comfort to the displaced people and the staff of the hospital across the street, serving quick and nutritious bread, cheese, cold cuts and vegetables in oil. The menu has not changed and you can enjoy an exquisite San Daniele ham and other cold cuts accompanied by the best wines.

This downtown restaurant is very popular. The restaurant's romantic setting and high-quality, meticulously-prepared fish dishes contribute to its popularity. Local and traditional recipes are revisited by the chef, who draws his inspiration from Japanese culinary art. Try our turbot carpaccio with orange sauce, shellfish ravioli and sesame-crusted tuna steak. The menu changes daily according to what has been bought from the fishermen in the morning and at the market. Desserts are also highly recommended.

The restaurant of the 4-star hotel La'Di Moret is a gastronomic institution. The area, now modern and commercial, has lost some of its charm, but once the door of the restaurant is closed, it is a pure delight, both in terms of service and the dishes made from local products. The tasting menu is a sensory journey through the region, from the Adriatic coast to the mountains, the associations are complex and daring. A great moment.

An inn with a few rooms and a gourmet restaurant with a Michelin star. Since 1875, the Canton family has been in charge of the kitchen. The atmosphere is hushed but not overly so, the tables are set apart from each other, beautifully laid out and the menu offers original dishes, where the sea and the mountains are delicately combined in the hollow of the plate. For example, this trompe-l'oeil, a round heart of pumpkin and its corolla of white purée, which looks like an egg, or these green quenelles. A flawless performance until the dessert, seasonal fruit in sorbet and crispy crumble.

If there was only one, it's this one! This unpretentious pizza-bar has a renovated wooden and stone frame. Nothing fancy or kitschy, but a pleasant room, just like the terrace in the heart of the village. People come here especially for its pizzas, delicious, gargantuan, perfectly cooked over a wood fire with a crispy and fine dough (Neapolitan style), among the best and cheapest in the village. Some of them have interesting mountain compositions such as the one with turnip cream, smoked provola, sausage km0 and pane grattugiato.

In this traditional Friulian restaurant - both in the setting and on the plate - recipes are passed down from grandmother to granddaughter: it is the new generation that is active in the kitchen. The menu is limited to seasonal products. Hearty dishes that are very tasty in the mountains in winter (game meat, frico, goulash...), lighter and full of crudités in summer. We also appreciate the cold meats and cheeses of altitude. Grappa with homemade herbs offered as a digestive.

Deer are everywhere in this mountain trattoria: on the walls, antlers decorate the room, and on a kitschy tapestry painting on canvas a herd of deer. And indeed, they can also be found on the plate: deer, fallow deer and other game are cooked with brio. The cooking is far from being so rustic, on the contrary the plates are of a rare finesse. The happiness of a mountain cuisine that tastes good products, but with a delicate execution.

Not far from dinosaur footprints and hiking trailheads, this mountain gîte is a recommended stopover for its authenticity, its setting with goats and cows in the background. The mixed platter of cold meats and cheeses is incredible, as are the smoked ricotta ricotta gnocchi, or the balacia fried cheese... a marvel! You can also buy fresh cheeses of the day at the dairy. The welcome is sincerely warm, and you can take pleasure in sitting on the terrace under the parasols. As a bonus the prices are reasonable.