ZAÏA Sardinia: unapologetically contemporary cuisine, with traditional roots

Starters set the tone: grilled octopus on chickpea hummus with candied tomatoes and olives; shrimp spheres cut with buffalo mozzarella, citrus and red berries. A slow-cooked egg folds into Parmigiano fondue and Sardinian truffle, while beetroot veils hide ricotta mustia and toasted hazelnuts. Each dish is local but never provincial.

Pasta shows how traditions evolve. Beetroot buttons filled with blue sheep’s cheese and finished with beurre noisette and porcini. Ancient grains spaghetti cooked as an octopus amatriciana. Fregola treated like risotto, rich with seafood. These are classics, reworked for today, stripped of cliché.

More than a postcard

Mains keep the same energy. Turbot with wok vegetables and champagne sauce. Ombrina glazed with soy, balanced by broccoli and purple potato. Picanha with pumpkin, leek and truffle. Rack of lamb and porcetto remind you this is still Sardinia. Even the cauliflower steak with onion and black garlic proves vegetables can hold their own.

Desserts lean into contrast. Seadas with vanilla ice cream sit next to a sharp lemon pie with burnt meringue, and a dark chocolate mousse cut open by strawberry and ginger. Nothing is ornamental. Everything earns its place.

ZAÏA doesn’t frame Sardinia as a postcard. It shows an island alive, layered, restless. Food that speaks of tradition but refuses to stand still.