Lido Beach
Dragging yourself away from the sand isn’t easy, but it’s worth it for the small, freshly baked pizzette (pictured) at ‘Lido Beach’. I love how they can mass-produce tiny pizzette with just a smear of tomato and a hint of cheese in non-stick trays of 24, without them tasting junky or fried. Wrapped in a sheet of paper and eaten, folded in half, in the hands, it’s the perfect beachside lunch with a cold beer. Closed in winter.
Lungomare G Matteotti 118, Pescara Tel: +39 085 4217077

Il Cortile
Most restaurants in Pescara are old, dark, cosy and traditional. Il Cortile is brand spanking new, light, minimalist and modern. There are pots of fresh herbs at the end of every table, shelves of local Valentini olive oil, six pasta varieties hand-made in the kitchen every day, and eight local wines. The menu showcases the best of Abruzzo, from fine salumi and caciotta cheese to arrosticini, skewers of the famous local lamb, grilled and wrapped in a cone of paper (€10 for 10). Unusually for this fish-or-meat town, Il Cortile is also a right treat for vegetable-lovers.
Via delle Caserme 95, Pescara. Tel: +39 085 9151626

La Polena
One of the best fish restaurants in town, awkwardly placed close to the Pescara river. The draped and candled décor is 1970s tragic, but the pasta and fish dishes are terrific. You absolutely have to start with pesce crudi, a selection of 15 different variations on raw fish featuring a whole lobster, scampi, prawns, and more that will blow you out of the water. Share one between two for €40, then skimp on the rest of the meal. Service is exceptionally good.
Piazza della Marina 2, Pescara Tel: +39 085 66007

Cantina di Jozz
More of a banquet than a meal, this is ‘slow food’ done with much care and expertise in a series of arched, white-washed dining rooms; the oldest restaurant in town, apparently. Choose a Montepulciano from the shelf and give yourself up to Fabrizio Cichella’s multi-course extravaganza - a little antipasti, a thick soup (lentils, chickpeas, peas, barley, beans), a risotto, a lasagne, and then a main course of roast mountain lamb and sweet, young porchetta, with everything served, carved or dished up from a tableside trolley. Go hungry.
Via delle Caserme 61, Pescara Tel: +39 085 690383

Caffe Venezia
Sometimes it seems the entire town is here, scooping up colourful gelati, sipping Illy coffee, or kissing over girly papaya cocktails. I was sitting there one day when a dark-haired bride came in, all in white, knocked back a quick espresso and left again, to loud cheers. With its Venetian chandeliers, perfect little cakes and pastries, great wines by the glass, and indoor-outdoor seating, it’s irresistible. A stuzzichini platter famously comes free with every cocktail, piled high with little tramezzini sandwiches, local prosciutto, pizzette, frittata and arancini rice balls. It’s very tempting to just order another cocktail and cancel the dinner reservation elsewhere.
Viale Regina Margherita 16, Pescara Tel: +39 085 2058661

Taverna 58
The first thing that hits your table at Pescara’s most famous traditional taverna is a huge antipasti platter that includes prosciutto from Torano, salami from Vasto, coppa from Teramo, raw milk cheese from Rivisondoli, pecorino Marcetto and a house-made duck pate. Follow up with stuffed rolled veal, braised Majella mutton or wild boar, poacher’s style, for a very typical and very good Abruzzese experience in the heart of the old town.
Corso Manthone 46, Pescara. Tel: +39 085 690724

Bar Camplone
Camplone is a pasticceria, café, American bar, lunch restaurant, and a significant gelato stop, famous for its fresh fruit flavours. Stop in for your breakfast cornetto (croissant) and coffee, and your afternoon gelato, especially the melone, fragola (strawberry) and limone (limone) flavours.
Corso Umberto I, 133, Pescara  Tel: +39 085 389148

Pescara Market
Pick up local cherries, peaches, and a few porchetta rolls for lunch. La signora will carve the still-warm roast pork to order, stuff it into panini and top it with crisp crackling for around €3 a roll. Yet another Pescara bargain.
Via Orazio, (near Piazza Garibaldi in the old town)

La Paranza
La Paranza is the most serious of the fish restaurants along the seaside. Only the blue-suited local business leaders get the prized outdoor tables, but all tables have sea views, and the kitchen does simple, straightforward things with very fresh local fish. Marinated octopus, linguine alle vongole, and freshly grilled fish Pescarese style (very lightly crumbed), all go swimmingly with Sabatino di Properzio’s delicious La Valentina Trebbiano.
Lungomare Matteotti 62, Pescara. Tel: +39 085 27914

Locanda Manthone
Fiercely Abruzzese, this popular ‘land’ restaurant (as opposed to seafood) in the old town combines the very best of local produce and locally produced wines. It’s professional, well-run, and takes its wines as seriously as its food. Other specialties include local snails, grilled lamb from the nearby national park, and burrata-stuffed ravioli with truffles.
Corso Manthone 58, Pescara. Tel: +39 085 4549034