Ristorante Karalis

These guys treated us like family!! We were lucky enough to share a cooking experience with Federico and Valerio. The meal we made was fresh pasta, the best pesto I ever tasted, fish ravioli, campidanese, tiramisu, and they were sweet enough to add on strawberry Prosecco tiramisu because I’m not a coffee drinker. After learning how to cook these wonderful recipes, (Federico even shared some family secrets on how to make the dish even richer with me🤫) we all sat down and shared the meal together. Valerio opened many bottles of lovely wines. It was wonderful getting to know each of them and learning about the region from which they came from, Sardinia.They truly made our time in Santa Margarita Ligure a memorable one something our family will treasure for a lifetime!
The food was so delicious, we had to go back our last night and have dinner there. We sat outside and met their wonderful staff who took care of us. All of our dishes from start to finish were delicious! So grateful Federico, Valerio and Ristorante Karalis was apart of our family’s trip of a lifetime💙The Wheatley Family

Came here for dinner during our stay in this lovely town. Made a reservation the day before. Surely a good thing to do, since the place was fully booked on that weekend.

Staff/owner are all very friendly and very helpful. Besides the items on the menu there are some daily specials.

The setting is very nice, very classy. A nice place to dine. Our Bulldog was welcome here as well.

Ordered a plate of Crudo di Mare (raw seafood) and octopus stew for starters. Both very nice items. Fresh seafood and the octopus cooked perfectly.
For mains we went for the Rosa Di Mare - a nice pasta dish, filled with nice fish. And a plate of seafood pasta, which we ordered off the menu, but the chef was so friendly to prepare it for us. Everything really nicely prepared with fresh ingredients. And the Rosa di Mare is also a feast for your eyes. Very nicely presented.

With that we had a nice bottle of Pigato, a delicious local white wine.

Didn't have room for dessert. But had to glasses of Japanese Whisky for "dessert". Nice, smooth, flowery.

All in all a very good and and a very good meal. Prices are fair as well. Surely a place to come back to next time in town.

Edit - Revisited after a year:

After having a wonderful dinner last year we came back this spring. And this time we came for dinner twice. And it's still as great as the first time!

Federico made us feel very welcome and at home right away. Even remembered us from last year. A really wonderful host.

We made reservations a few weeks before, because the place can be booked pretty quick. And you don't want to miss out on the excellent food here.

We had once the Fritto Misto and the Veal Carpaccio for starters. Next time again the Carpaccio and also the fried ravioli. All excellent dishes. Fritto Misto has real quality fish and seafood. Fresh, hot and crispy. Fantastic. And the Carpaccio was the best carpaccio I've ever had. Smooth and tender. And topped with truffle/pecorino foam. What a great combination!

For mains we had once the Fritto Misto and also the Pasta with Bottarga. The other time the Pasta with Lobster and the Fregola Sarda. Pasta in this restaurant is always cooked to perfection. A fantastic cook. Really knows what he's doing. Bottarga (fish roe/eggs) is a wonderful item, if you've never had it: try it! I personally love it. Lobster was cooked perfectly, fresh and tender. The Fregola is a specialty from Sardinia, a real nice twist with the freshest of seafood. Another dish surely you should try.

Both time we've had the Laura Aschero Rossese. A light red wine from Liguria, went well with both pasta and seafood. Excellent.

They also got a nice selection of Whisky here. From different countries. We chose that as a dessert, since there was no more room for food. Great stuff!

We really had some great dinners here. A nice, cosy restaurant. And our Bulldog was always welcome as well. We will definitely be back next spring!

I’ve eaten pasta all over Italy from the North to Sicily and this is some of the best I’ve had. I’m personally not the biggest seafood fan but tried their fish prepared in the Ligurian tradition (see photo) and couldn’t stop talking about it. A mix of authentic Ligurian cuisine and Sardinian options based on the owner’s background. Friendly staff, willing to discuss their history and it has a local vibe. It’s quaint and the food speaks loudly for itself. Grazie mille, Federico! Hope you enjoy Australia when you visit!

Found this place online and given the good reviews decided to make the trek there (was raining heavily). Was not disappointed. Waiter was very knowledgeable and patient, spoke to us in french first (not sure why given our oriental features :D) but ended up with english just fine. Suggested a great wine to pair with the food we ordered and was never over or under attentive.

An absolute gem!!! The food is gourmet quality, some of the best dishes I've tasted in Italy. If you're in Santa Margherita Ligure, GO HERE!!

Everything we ate were delicious and fresh. The raw seafood platter, fish, fried squids, oysters, lemon sorbet (must have!) and the wine. The staff were very friendly and helpful. I strongly recommend you to book ahead!

This place lives up to the google reviews. Do yourself a favour and make the short walk. It has a quiet outdoor area and the wait staff are excellent. We watched them debone a the whole fish special with precision just a few tables over.

The stuffed pesto gnocchi is phenomenal. Never had anything like it. The Malloreddus alla “campidanese” was also pretty delicious.

Amazing local food, we had the soup (zuppa ?), the potato croquettes as antipasti, then squid ink black risotto (huge portion !!) then the fish of the day (which was sea bass at that time). It was so tasty, the fish in particular was presented to us as a whole once cooked, then filleted (super quickly) jn front of us and served on separate plate with grilled vegetables. Very good portions and prices reasonable for that region !!

We very much enjoy our dinner here, we arrived 15 mins before opening hours, owner gladly let us in. We were really impressed by their appetizers, clams and mussels soup and scallop on purple potato puree, highly recommend. And the seafood are all very fresh, including ghe red snapper Ligurian style, it was substantial and they fillet it for you on the spot, very delicious

Excellent local restaurant with delicious pasta and seafood. Very reasonable prices (22 eur for great lobster pasta) and kind genuine service. Highly recommended!

Wonderful, elegant food, Warm, friendly service. Great wine list. The seafood soup starter, to die for. The sardinian cheese desert, surprisingly good...it was such a treat to eat here!

Highly recommend this restaurant. Food is delicious and service is great. I ordered the mussels and clams soup and it was incredible! Just beware there aren't many non-seafood options.

Wonderful restaurant! Fresh and delicious seafood. The owner and waitress were so friendly and answered all of our questions. Must go for an authentic Ligurian meal!

Wonderful food quality and really professional service, they have generously sized portions and anazing tasting food and drinks, they are very on top on everything but aren't intrusive, i felt very welcome with my family and the environment was warm and bubbley

The food was delicious. The service was excellent. Definitely recommend this place for dinner

Incredible lobster pasta, fantastic warm service. Overall wonderful evening. Definitely coming back! Grazie!

One of the top places! Extremely nice stuff, nice terrace and AMAAAAAZING FOOD!!!

Excellent restaurant. Sardinian chef with an Italian touch. Try their fabulous risotto Passiu…!

Very very good food and service, friendly staff, our 3rd time here, still happy 👍🏻

Great service! Fresh food, so good! Even the Frito misto was light. And the wine pairings were spot on. I should also say I was alone and the server did a great job of taking care of me, yet giving me privacy. Highly recommend! PS The photo is of lemon cream. Wonderful dessert!