Il Nuraghe - PISA

I was staying just across the street, and noticed Il Nuraghe, mainly because of its strange name, which, I think, refers to stone mounds in Sardinia. The first night I walked past, it was just as most other reviewers have said EMPTY! This is rarely an encouraging sign! The next night I walked past, and it was similarly empty, but I thought, what the heck, and went in. The owner/host/chef met me exactly as others described, and started to feel off all that was available, which tended to suggest a lot of it was frozen, because with the apparent absence of trade, loss would be severe. I wasn 't overly hungry, but went for a hearty Tuscan vegetable soup to start with. This came, and was excellent, piping hot, and a generous helping. I then ordered a 'bifsteak ', or something like that, which soon arrived, it had more fat than I like, but was easy to trim off. It was simply offered on a plate, with one rather dried out lettuce leaf, and a slice of lemon. I chose only to have some 'Rosemary ' potatoes to accompany this, but I have have brought over the exact same in a packet from any M&S Foodhall in the UK! I thought I wouldn 't go wrong with some ice cream to finish, so I asked the boss what flavours he had. Vanilla, only, was the only option this was Italy ', remember! The ice cream was scooped from out of a box that had clearly been in there since the Roman Empire, as it had an old, cardboard taste, and strange texture. The fact that it was full of ice would again suggest how often it 's been opened, or not, recently. No one came the whole time, and the host/chef/owner was obviously prepared for this, as was clearly watching his TV on the other side of the kitchen partition. There was a very pleasant co helper, but she spoke no English at all! I found this really strange until, in a brief conversation with the aid of Google Translate, it transpired that she wasn 't Italian, but Romanian, where English wouldn 't have been perhaps compulsory. It was the most bizarre dining experience I 've ever had. I 'm sure it had all been great in the 80s, but was now well by its sell by date. The bill included things like the bread I hadnt ordered, and was hand written on a square piece of paper from one of those tear off pads. The owner popped back out to play restaurants with the positioning of a couple of tables, but no one came. I really felt quite sad for them both, as it must be running at a phenomenal loss. Also there is no AC, just large fans strategically placed. They were both really nice and tried hard, but frankly it 's not hard to see why it seems a failing concern!

Considering that the worst mistake a person can do it is to step into an empty restaurant, but we wanted anyway to give it a chance. Let’s start with a positive note, the owner and his waitress are very welcoming and smiling, the location is quite traditional, as pisa itself is a medieval town. But unfortunately what we didn’t really like was the food! I wanted to make sure, i kinda asked 20 times if the fish was fresh, and if the owner which is also the chef tells me so i may trust him! Well, everything that was served was just recycled because unfortunately the problem is that in a town like that is impossible for a restaurant business to do well. I don’t feel like i want to crucify the owner, but i would like just to suggest something, maybe try to wake up early and go for shopping every single day!

What can we say other than had it not been for the rain we would have missed out on some of the best food we have eaten on our little visit to tuscany, the host and his daughter were absolutely amazing, there suggestions in broken English were top notch and did not disappoint at all..... Highly reccomend..

This is an Italian restaurant nicely frozen in the 80's with some intriguing paintings at the walls, apparently by the same painter. When we went out we had the feeling that a time machine was waiting to bring us to the present. Following the suggestions of an extremely kind host, we tried seafood rice, spaghetti with bottarga and a mixed fish dish. Everything was delicious, the house wine too. The prices were reasonable. Recommended.

We have eaten here several times on different visits to Pisa, and have never been disappointed. The owner is the chef, and makes you welcome. The food is Sardinian, and you will miss a treat if you opt for the very reasonably priced tourist menu. I went for spaghetti alla botarga, followed by beautiful roast lamb. I asked for a Sardinian dessert, and the chef made a pastry filled with cheese smothered in honey. The complimentary Sardinian grappa was also excellent. The restaurant doesn't get the support it deserves, so don't be put off if it seems empty. It is so good, I am thinking of a weekend in Pisa just to eat there.