Seafood on Via Giulia
Langoustines, clams, sardines and salt cod: Adriatic seafood cooked the Trieste way, in generous portions and with no fuss.
Seafood at the osteria
An osteria is a traditional Italian neighbourhood eatery: good food, a fair bill and no need to dress up. At La De Jure, seafood is one half of the kitchen; Trieste’s own dishes are the other.
The menu has cold seafood starters, pasta with shellfish, fried fish and the classics that have always been at home in Trieste: creamed salt cod and sardines in savor from Venice, spaghetti alla buzara from Istria. Some dishes change from day to day, so ask on the phone or at the table what’s on today.
The osteria has been under new management since 5 September 2026. The first reviews mention generous portions and an honest bill – exactly what we care about most.
Seafood dishes
The photos are of our own dishes, taken at the osteria. Dish names are in Italian, as on the menu.
The right way to start: a divided plate with creamed salt cod, sweet-and-sour anchovies and prawns, eaten with toasted bread. These are the cold seafood starters of the Venetian and Triestine tradition, shared in the middle of the table while you decide on the rest.
Whole langoustines, a shellfish sauce and fresh parsley. You peel the langoustines with your fingers and mop up the sauce with bread: at an osteria, nobody minds.
Two seafood pastas you’ll always find in Trieste. Clams need no introduction; buzara is the Istrian way of cooking shellfish in the pan, with a sauce you’ll want to finish to the last drop.
A review from September 2026 calls our spaghetti with clams “simply outstanding”. We’ll leave it at that.
Squid and small oily fish, fried to order and served on paper with a little salad. Crisp outside, dry, plentiful: order it as a main, or put it in the middle for everyone.
Baked under golden breadcrumbs: the crust on top, the sea underneath. A warm starter to share, or a light main for anyone who already had seconds of pasta.
Before you order
They keep coming up on seafood menus in Trieste. Here’s what they mean.
Istria and Kvarner
A way of cooking langoustines and shellfish in the pan with garlic, white wine and breadcrumbs; many families add a little tomato. It comes from the Istrian and Dalmatian coast and has been part of Trieste’s cooking for generations.
From the lagoon
The Venetian saor: fried fish left to rest with slow-cooked onions and vinegar, sweet and sour. Born as a way to keep fish on ships, today it’s a starter. In Trieste it’s made with sardoni, the large Adriatic anchovies.
Venice and Trieste
Here “baccalà” means stockfish, air-dried cod. It’s soaked, poached and whipped with olive oil into a cream. It goes on bread or polenta, and disappears fast.
“The spaghetti with clams was simply outstanding: a very generous portion, and very fresh fish.”
Before you come
For dinner it’s best to book: just give us a call. There are also a few tables outside, under the awning. Street parking is free, but not always easy to find.
Book a table
To book, just give us a call: we’ll also tell you what’s good today.
