Rating: 88/100 pts…read more
Fate brought me to Alla Voliga when I was in search of good local food, and the meal certainly did not disappoint.
I walked in just as they were opening for lunch, and being the only customer in what looked more like the deck of a ship than a restaurant, I actually wasn't sure if I was in the right spot until a few minutes of waiting when the owner popped out of the kitchen and led me to a table.
"We have the best fish soup in Trieste, and the second best in Italy," he tells me proudly. I peruse the Italian-only menu and understand almost none of it. While not confident in his own English skills, the owner patiently gave me a few other non-soup recommendations.
I ended up settling on the "little of this, little of that" seafood combo. Out came a fantastic platter of sardine, barley-mixed octopus, olive-mixed squid, oysters, and about 5 other things that he didn't know the English for and that I couldn't identify. Everything tasted like it had been freshly caught that morning. It also came with bread, and a huge slice of polenta, which to this day is the best polenta I've ever had.
Prices were very reasonable, and I'd definitely go back next time I find myself in Trieste...even if it's just to try that seafood soup that hindsight tells me I probably should have ordered.
