Ristorante Vecchio Semaforo — Restaurant in Figari/Golfo Aranci

"A Memorable Evening with Enjoyable Food"

Rating: ★★★★☆+ (4.5 stars)

Review: A charming restaurant with a maritime design. Outstanding service team; the owner is very friendly. Enjoyable pasta. Total cost: 85€ for two, including 2 pasta dishes, 2 salads, 3 desserts, water, a soft drink, a glass of wine, and a digestif.

Location: We had a wonderful last evening of our trip to Sardinia at this restaurant. We were captivated by the maritime-themed design and the subtle decorations. The service team was exceptionally polite, and the restaurant was conveniently located within walking distance of our hotel.

Food: Most importantly, the food was enjoyable. We ordered tagliolini with lamb ragu and the black (octopus ink) pasta with a plain pomodoro sauce. The pasta, which was homemade as our waiter informed us, was really good. It’s among the best we’ve had around Olbia region (including Golfo Aranci). Just be aware that the lamb ragu may contain some tougher pieces of meat and bits of fat, which is quite traditional, I suppose. After enjoying our pasta dishes, we indulged in three desserts: a homemade tiramisu (good but not extraordinary in my opinion), a delightful semi-frozen pistachio cream (though the portion size was relatively small, as is typical in mid-range and upscale restaurants. It's not on the menu, so you should ask for it), and a traditional dessert consisting of fried dough with honey (while it's a local specialty, I personally didn't find it particularly special, this one you probably won't miss not trying).

Specials / Unexpected Services: After our meal, we were pleasantly surprised to be offered a complimentary local digestif, which was quite enjoyable. Since I had a cold, I mentioned that I should probably have another one. Marco, the restaurant owner, then generously offered me a selection of different grappas, and we sampled two of them together.

Conclusion: This restaurant is an excellent choice for a delightful dinner with friends in a charming atmosphere, complemented...

We discovered this superb restaurant on our second evening in Golfo Aranci and dined here all but 2 of our 11 nights in Sardinia. The food is excellent with a great menu offering fish, pasta, steak and chicken all cooked to perfection. They also have a wood fired pizza at the far end and the kitchen is partially open to view. There is an outdoor terrace for dining alfresco and the glazed doors slide back providing a bright and airy ambience. There is something for everyone including homemade pasta and desserts by the shy yet talented chef. There is also a great choice of draught beer from both Italy and Belgium together with a good wine list. Great service was provided by Andrea and Nadia and we were looked after well by Marco the owner. We generally ate early as the restaurant opened and saw a lot of regular holiday diners who returned again and again who enjoyed the place as much as us. A must if you visit...

Overall we had very poor experience. It was a storm and the restaurant is very poorly protected from rain, even cooking area. Restaurant was flooded. We were given pizza menu, but they couldn’t serve pizza due to rain. I had fregola with shrimp tartar: it was the most okay dish. However they served it in the boiling oil: it has not only cooked my mouth, also the tartar. Still, it was tasty. My partner had extremely salty tuna tataki. As a side dish he ordered sautéed vegetables: it was a tiny portion of steamed leaves for 7€ that they forgot to bring together with the main course. In general stuff was not attentive. When we tried to share our experience, stuff...