My husband and I had dinner at Al Bagatto when we were in Trieste for a day on a road trip from Zagreb to Ljubljana earlier this summer. It was one of the best meals of our trip! Al Bagatto has been around for almost 50 years, and it was easy to see why. The food was outstanding. The service was wonderful. The ambiance was great - comfortable, traditional without being old-fashioned...just a restaurant where you're happy to sit and enjoy good food. We shared: breaded white asparagus with grilled green asparagus, green asparagus sauce beurre blanc, and grated egg yolk; stuffed squid with potatoes, green beans, calamari ragout, pistachio pesto, spring caponata, calamari sauce, and pistachio crumble; paccheri with shrimp ragout, seared shrimp, fava beans, and pea sauce; lasagna with rabbit ragout, pepper sauce, jalapeno sauce, yellow bell peppers, and Parmesan bechamel; and apricot tiramisu. We enjoyed a great bottle of wine and a couple of espressos with dessert as well. Every dish was great, but that stuffed squid is one I'm going to be thinking about for a long time. A truly outstanding meal! If I'm ever in Trieste again, I'd be happy to repeat the experience! read more

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Great tasting menu, excellent seafood! Neither the exterior nor the interior is impressive, but I promise the food will make up for it - they probably pay attention to that way more than they do to design and decor. The tasting menu consists of 5 seafood courses and 5 glasses of wine. I am NOT a fan of seafood and I still loved every single course (dorade fish carpaccio, scallops, spaghetti with scampi, sea bass and dessert). read more

We read an article in Travel and Leisure from August 2011 that we saved. Admittedly, we visited 2 years after publication. The article describes the restaurant in glowing terms as "the best meal I have in Trieste." The author raved about the fritto misto. We ate here recently and were disappointed. First of all, our meal cost $190 for two of us. We had 2 courses. First was amberjack tuna that my wife enjoyed. I had octopus that was just ok, pretty chewy, although the one really interesting part was the tomato ice cream accompaniment. We both had fritto misto and both felt it was mediocre. Wines were far more enjoyable than the food and apparently drove up the price. If cost is no object, you will find the restaurant charming and the service attentive. Silence in this place is akin to a church service. There are only 6 tables. It is a 5 minute walk from the piazza. read more

This place is a hidden gem. My husband and I did the tasting menu which was amazing. Our server Georgia could not have been more attentive and knowledgeable about not only the various dishes but also the olive oils and wine. They give you 6 different olive oils from different regions to try accompanied by 5 different homemade breads. The tasting menu was 5 seafood courses which were all fresh and delicious. The wine was poured very generously and paired perfectly with the dishes. The main sea bream dish at the end was incredible. Our experience from start to finish could not have been better! read more

Although the exterior would not make you believe it, this is the best seafood restaurant in Trieste - and that really means something. I ate excellent braised brasino, and fondly remember the best baby scallops I ever had. Simply choose your fish or shellfish from the showwindow: everything is ultra-fresh. And the friuli white wines are of course among the best read more