Cagliari was the final leg of our ten days in Sardegna, 2019. The four nights in the metropolis were presumably going to be the highlight, alas, we found ourselves to be there – out of season. Too many bars were closed for the summer, June until early September is not the time to visit if one is on a Bier trip. Our four nights in Sassari therefore remain the highlight. Despite there being less to see and do in Sassari, two days trips to nearby Alghero made this a much more fulfilling experience. Cagliari wasn’t bad, it just could have been better.
Things did get off to a good start, however, with a very fine Aloo Gobi served at Namaste Indian Tandoori Food which we visited twice. The architecture of the city felt so Italian. The buildings along the front with their covered walkways could have been in Milano.
The steep hill up to the the Castello and Bastione Saint Remy was well worth the climb. The views from the top both gave us our bearings and motivated us to head out to the nature reserves at a later time.
Heading out for our first Bier, we found Hop Corner closed. This was the eve of Robin’s birthday. Hop Conno – would have appreciated the gesture. The next port of call was Papagyo Pub Birreria who only had a Peroni lager variant. Hector was after more hops.
Those we had talked about Bier matters in Sassari had all recommended Old Square, that it turned out be a pseudo Irish Bar came as an unwelcome surprise. The Bier range was decidedly – Mainstream – Paulaner Weizen became the Bier of choice. This was not the house of – IPA – that had been promised. I did note the day of our first visit – July 12th. Old Square became a starting point each evening, that the last days of Wimbledon were being shown was also an attraction.
Birrificio Gattarancio is one of three Brewpubs in Cagliari, the other two are out of the city centre and according to Google, do not open until the evening. Google were proving to be totally unreliable in the naming and timings for Bier venues. We were not heading out of town of an evening to find nothing open.
Our first night in Birrificio Gattarancio was a very pleasant experience, good food, good Bier. Ironically, the Hoppola IPA at 6.6% was brewed by a rival Sardinian brewery – Birrificio Artignale Domusnovas – Spantu. Whilst this had the taste of US hops, it was not a world beater, but was a good start to the four nights in Cagliairi.
It looked as if Birrificio Gattarancio could become our local, the next night we sat at the bar having eaten already, there seemed no point in going upstairs. The house Rose Saison at 6.5% was suitably – sour. Marg had asked for a glass of white wine. On being told that they only had red, Marg declined this. The barman simply ignored us for the remainder of our visit. No alternative, drink was forthcoming. Whoever the people were sat beside us at the bar were, they clearly had the attention of the barman to the exclusion of all others. This was one of the most ignorant displays we have ever encountered.
Even more annoying was that we had already established that the nearby – il Bierkeller – aka – Bierkeller da Hans – was closed until September. On subsequent nights we went to Il Bartigiano and Beer Garden, again no sign of life. The – Underground Pub – must have been well and truly buried, at least we did find the Tripla B Pub, closed, of course!
The pursuit of other activities in daytime proved to be more fruitful. Curry was had on three of the four lunchtimes.
The only non-Curry lunch was Seafood Pasta at Antica Cagliari which turned out to be a wonderful discovery. Our guide who took us to the excavations at Nora, had described the locus where people lunch. This was a random selection thereafter, what a venue.
Grannie – was near to our hotel, we had passed it a few times. Coffee and cake of an afternoon is how to keep Marg amused, and payback for tolerating Hector’s insistence on visiting Curry Houses.
Our second day covered the Botanic Gardens – Orto Botanico – and the Roman Amphitheatre – Anfiteatro Romano di Cagliari. Near to the Botanic Gardens is a cafe where Marg had to pose under the canopy, an old story. The gardens were fine, the amphitheatre had restricted access. We saw it, little more.
Thereafter we took the Metro out to the nature reserve but still found ourselves too far away to see the flamingos. The trip to Nora again passed other wildlife locations but even with our driver slowing down, no decent photos.
We tried a new pub every night, Spillaus, Bierbaum 1599 beer&burger, Francis Drake & One Time, however, one venue stood out. Birroteca al Merlo Parlante may have been quiet on most of our visits, but the staff were always welcoming and a decent IPA was guaranteed.
Gaina IPA (Birrificio Lambrate, Milano, Italia) at 6.0% with 60 IBU has been enjoyed firstly in Berlin, then at Source and this year at BNO in Sassari. This proved to be the most consumed Bier over our ten nights in Sardinia.
The Brewpub, bars and restaurants and cafes visited:
Birrificio Gattarancio – Viale Trieste, 86, 09123 Cagliari CA
Birroteca al Merlo Parlante – Via Porto Scalas, 69, 09123 Cagliari CA
Old Square – Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 44, 09124 Cagliari CA
Bierbaum 1599 beer&burger – Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 144, 09124 Cagliari
Spillaus – Vico Vittorio Emanuele II, 09124 Cagliari CA
Papagyo Pub Birreria – Via Savoia, 1, 09124 Cagliari CA
Francis Drake & One Time – Via Oristano, 8/10, 09127 Cagliari CA
Grannie – Via Francesco Crispi, 21, 09124 Cagliari CA
Il Vulcano Buono – Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 226, 09123 Cagliari CA
Antica Cagliari – Via Sardegna, 49, 09124 Cagliari CA
Namaste Indian Tandoori Food – 63, Via Barcellona, 09124 Cagliari CA
Tandoori (Angioy) – Via Giovanni Maria Angioy, 25, 09124 Cagliari CA
Bars located and closed for the summer
Hop Corner Birreria – Via Principe Amedeo, 14, 09124 Cagliari CA
Bierkeller da Hans – Viale Trieste, 14, 09124 Cagliari CA
Il Bartigiano – Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 337, 09127 Cagliari CA
Beer Garden – Via Giovanni Maria Angioy, 49, 09124 Cagliari CA
Tripla B Pub – Via Goffredo Mameli, 92, 09127 Cagliari CA