My sister who has visited Trieste twice before is visiting for a 3rd time and we are diving a little deeper to see  and do things we haven’t already done before. Already this trip has taken us to visit some wineries in Collio, we visited Tomadin in Cormons to stock up on Osvaldo small batch prosciutto and Jolanda del Col’s amazing duck prosciutto.  The other day  we drove out to Prepotto to check out some other wineries and take in the beautiful Spring flowers; cascading lavender wisteria, pink and white flowering fruit trees, yellow broom, dark purple lilacs, lobster-red quince and pink and white magnolia trees. And because it was a beautiful day,  we decided to go down to Portopiccolo to check out the scene on the sea. Despite it being mid April, Maxi’s beach restaurant was still closed and the hotel restaurant (while good) requires dropping some major coin. I had already taken her to the usual “go-to” restaurants in town and it was such a beautiful day to be outside that we went in search of an al fresco restaurant.

Just as we were leaving of Portopiccolo, near the “beach resort” Castelreggio, we found  a series of food shacks or as they call them here, baracche, open for business. This was not originally part of  our plan, but the scent of fried calamari in the air enticed us to stop and check it out. The one that seemed to be the source of the delicious aroma was  LA BARACCA DEL PESCE (The Seafood Shack) and so we plopped ourselves into a booth facing the sparkling sea and began to peruse the ample menu.

This is an unmistakably biker-friendly eatery, paying homage to American biker culture with pictures of the Route 66 sign, the Statue of Liberty and biker brands. Painted blue and white it has plenty of prime outdoor seating – this place reminded me a little of the City Island eateries along the water front – kind of a dive but really good eats!

Around us were several parties; a large family of German tourists and 2 biker couples. The food kept coming, large plates piled high with mussels, french fries, fried fish, calamari and shrimp, personal sized pizzas, whole fish, grilled clams and more (the portions are quite generous!).

We ordered (to share) a Peppata di Cozze and a Fritto Misto and a couple of beers. Our order of mussels arrived and they were delicious, sweet, tender and cooked perfectly in a delicious tomato based sauce which we devoured, sopping it all up with the soft toasted bread, we did not to leave a drop!

Then our fried fish plate came and we ate as much as we could until we finally had to give up (we unabashedly asked for a doggie bag to go!).

It was so lovely just sitting there, in the Springtime sun, relaxed, eating delicious food (and not spending a small fortune) enjoying the view of the water.

I highly recommend a visit before the Summer crush arrives as there is only one small windy road leading down to the sea and the general entrance to Portopiccolo, in the summer is becomes heavily congested with traffic, so beat the crowds and go now!

LA BARACCA DEL PESCE
34011 Duino-Aurisina Province of Trieste
Tel. 348 344 7586