Osteria Ai 2 Ladroni - TRIESTE

Small, cozy restaurant with some very artistic touches. Starter fennel salad with orange, fennel and fish was exceptional like the paccheri pasta with bottarga. Both dishes where very gutsy, flavorsome, original and top class. Seconds where both a step behind. Grilled squid with mint and zucchini was very plain. The backed sea bass in the bag with tomato, capers and baby olives could have been another great dish but the fish had a fishy taste and all the sweet notes of really fresh fish are almost gone. I guess that is the price of eating fish on Monday. Included in the meal where wine and water.

The host of our b&b suggested us to have a dinner here. The restaurant is very small, but the nice waitress set all necessary to place our stroller and our baby. We ate 2 menù, with 2 entrees, 2 main courses, 2 dessert and they opened a bottle of wine just for me, because my wife cannot drink, and I payed only for the glasses drunk. At the end, cute place, very gentle staff, fresh fish and good price......if you are in Trieste you must try!

Since we 've discovered this little gem in the very downtown of Trieste, we don 't bother searching for an alternative. The owners are taking care for fresh ingredients. They offer seafood in a different way with some experiments, but they don 't let them take too far, so you allways know and taste what you 're eating. Usually it 's best to be counseled by the owner and we 've never been disappointed. Last time I had the best octopus salad ever... They offer a wide variety of wines, including the biological ones from Slovene producers in Italian side of Carso and Collio regions. Among them orange (coloured wines, as well. Superb olive oil from Croatia (northern Istria and the famous salt from Piran nicely conclude the spirit of Trieste that has allways been a multi-cultural city with mainly italian-slovene-croatian-austrian notes with a touch of cosmopolitans (Byron, J. Joyce etc. who stopped there for a while. Service is also very good and the owner eager to explain and consult. Definitely worth the money you spend there.

We were in Trieste for 3 days and ate here twice. I wish we'd eaten here 3 times. Very clever, stylish and truly delicious food. In particular a small dish, a variation on vongole made with small scallops and clams with tuna roe. Very friendly and welcoming people and a chef who know his way around seafood. I can't recommend this restaurant highly enough.

Just perfect! Creative recipies, very testy and fancy. Good atmosphere and nice people. The best in Trieste!