Where to stay and dine in Cala Gonone

Practicalites for the Golfo di Orosei in Sardinia

Cala Gonone, a former fishing village turned low-key resort town and base for exploring the Gulf of Orosei, is packed with restaurants and hotels.

Where to stay in Cala Gonone

My bland but comfy modern quarters in the sixteen-room Hotel Nuovo Gabbiano had modular furnishings on tile floors and a nice breakfast spread each morning (which I shamelessly raided for picnic supplies to lunch on later).

But the hotel's real attractions were that it offered some of the cheapest rooms in town, and it overlooked the tiny harborfront, where a cluster of kiosks sold a variety of coastal excursions.

The 21-room Hotel San Francisco—recommended as a restaurant below—rents out ncie, modern double rooms right in the center of town with glimpses of the sea between the surrounding buildings.

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Where to eat in Cala Gonone

The night before, I had settled into a table on the a bamboo-shaded patio of Road House Blues, overlooking the town beach along Lungomare Palmasera, and washed down a platter-sized pizza with mozzarella, sausage, and taedda (Sardegnan cheese) with a bottle of the island's Ichnusa beer.

  • Road House Blues, Lungomare Palmasera 28, Cala Gonone. tel. +39-0784-93-187. Meals from $35.

After my day at the beaches, I was ready to dig into the hearty specialties of the Nuoro province on the upstairs deck of the Ristorante San Francisco in the center of town: gullurgiones (giant ravioli stuffed with potatoes and cheese under a garlicky beef-and-pork ragù), spigola alla vernaccia (sea bass braised in white wine), and a savada (a sinful dessert of crisp-fried pastry puffed around a layer of melted cheese, served hot and drizzled with honey).

After a day of hiking in the interior, I grabbed a breeze-kissed table and dug into succulent seafood on the deck of Il Pescatore along the sea wall just up the street from the main harbor. The food was superb, the prices acceptable, if a tad high (though I'd really call it moderate, for seafood), the service a bit lazy.
  • Il Pescatore, Via Acqua Dolce 7, Cala Gonone. tel. +39-0784-93-174. Meals from €45.

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