The last restaurant I visited during my stay in Pisa in June 2007 was La Clessidra. It seems to be relatively new restaurant, but it must have been running at least for 7 years, as it was there when I was still living in Pisa.
Although it is situated in the central part of Pisa, as it is not on any obvious touristic route, you don't see many tourists here. The main patrons are locals and university professors. A professor friend of mine said that she never came here precisely for this reason.
This is bread basket: there were 3 or 4 types bread. All fresh and tasty. Many Italian restaurants charges for bread and cover, but here we were not charged for these.
This is my starter: carpaccio di manzo con fragola, parmiggiano e balsamico (beef carpaccio with strawberry, parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar). You can see beef only as a dark red background. Parmesan cheese was plenty. I think it was €7.5, but not sure. It was abandant for a starter.
The combination of beef and strawberries was interesting, but not a marriage made in heaven. I would say it is ok only during the strawberry season, a way to introduce seasonality into the dish. The beef itself was quite good.
This is my brother-in-law's starter, insalata di gamberetti e melone con la salsa di asparagi (prawns and melon salad with asparagus sauce). €6 I think.
I don't know how it tasted like, but looks very light. Colours are beautiful, though.
This is his first (primo) dish, ravioli with walnuts and pecorino cheese in Borlotti cream; €6.
No comment on this as I don't like ravioli.
This is my primo, tagliolini with porcini, €7.
Tagliolini are egg pasta similar to tagliatelle, but thinner. There was a decent quantity of porcini, but did not have much perfume. it was ok for this price.
This is insalata mista (mixed salad) we ordered together with the first course. In the authentic way of eating, you have to order salad with the second course (meat or fish), but I don't have such a strong stomach to eat from the starter to the pudding, I ordered it with the primo.
If you order a salad as contorno (side dish), you are often disappointed to find a few leaves of lettuce and a few slices of tomato on a small plate, but at I got this gorgeous salad only for €2. Only problem was that the waiter forgat to bring us condiments, and even after I called his attention, it took quite a quite to correct this mistake.
So we did not order the second course and wend directly into the pudd. This is semifreddo a croccantino, €3.50. I ate this once many years ago and I remembered it was good. Semifreddo is a cold and creamy dessert, but not as cold as ice cream, as the name tells us (semifreddo means half-cold). Croccantino is caramelised sugar with nuts that give the cold cream a crunchy texture. Next to it is custard and choccholate sauce. Sooooo delicious.
To finish is this espresso, €1.50. After the dinner the Italians drink espresso and never cappicino.
All of these plus 1 bottle of water and 10% service charge came to very reasonable €43.45. Evidently they resisted the recent rise in restaurant pices in increasingly touristic Pisa. I would like to return when I will be in Pisa.
Open Monday to Saturday, 19:00-22:30 (Closed Sundays). Lunch on arrangement.
Address; Via S. Cecilia 34, Pisa
Telephone 050 540160
Back to Page Top
