Simplicity, the core of Sardinian cooking, is embraced with gusto at glamorously rustic Pilloni. It’s there in the culurgiones – traditional pasta stuffed with a comforting mix of potato, mint and pecorino – and two-bite chickpea flour tarts filled with zucchini alla scapece or red-prawn sashimi. Wood-grilled wagyu beef-tongue skewers teamed with a thrillingly vibrant salsa verde keep it simple, too, while the kitchen’s skill is particularly apparent in aged snapper hung above the kitchen’s hearth, bringing wondrous texture and depth of flavour. The wine list, meanwhile, is a draw unto itself. An exciting collection highlighting the island’s Indigenous varieties at prices that encourage experimentation, it further emphasises the overall sense of hospitality and attention to detail here, from the main dining room with its flickering open kitchen to the tiled, glassed-in terrace and charming, semi-open front bar. Consider a pre- or post-meal cocktail at that marble-topped bar obligatory – and toast to the joy of the simple things.
