11/08/2025: A typical 1970s trattoria. They use fresh ingredients, so the selection is limited. Simple dishes, but very well cooked according to local tradition. The burrida is truly top-notch, with generous portions and a reasonable price.
07/08/2025: There are places that change, evolve, renew themselves, bend to trends like reeds in the wind, and then there's La Balena, a trattoria in the heart of one of Cagliari's historic, working-class neighborhoods where every alley has a nickname, every doorway an ancient quarrel, and every stone a grandmother who tripped over it. If there's an antidote to Instagram-worthy gastronomy, to tasting menus served by waiters in livery with the dead eyes of those condemned to death, it's here. In this stubbornly self-contained lair, where you still eat as if the '90s had never ended—and let's be clear: that's a compliment. Gigi, who isn't a waiter but an institution, is at the helm, a mix between the guide of fritto misto and the noisy, affectionate humanity that starred restaurants have eliminated with air conditioning. Always cheerful, the kind of person who makes you feel welcome even if you arrive late, with a crooked tie, and someone else's mother-in-law in tow. With him, you don't order: you negotiate, you discuss, you laugh. And you eat, oh, you eat. In the kitchen is Cristiana, who probably made a pact with the devil because she's managed to maintain the same level of quality since I had skinned knees and a Walkman in my backpack. She doesn't need to reinvent Sardinian cuisine, because she does it better than anyone without the need for hashtags. Simple, honest dishes, fragrant with good olive oil and true passion. Honorable mention for the fried food, which they also make gluten-free if time and schedule allow: crispy, golden, and without that "food compromise" face they give you in certain restaurants where the only inclusive thing is the bill.
The atmosphere is the same as it was forty years ago, thank goodness. The place has seen more toasts than a gypsy wedding, and it's always had the unmistakable feeling of being in the right place. No performance anxiety, no neon lights to ruin your digestion. Just good food, loud voices, laughter, and bottles that empty without you even noticing. I've always been going there, and always will, because La Balena isn't just a restaurant: it's a refuge for those who understand that love for cooking isn't measured in Michelin stars, but in loyalty, humanity, and burrida. Well done Gigi, well done Cristiana. Never change. Even though I already know you won't. And thank goodness for that.
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