Charcuterie board
Prisuttu, coppa, lonzu and country saucisson. The classic, with a Corsican red.
The Journal · Food guide
What to eat in a Corsican restaurant
Mountain charcuterie, maquis cheeses, sharing boards, figatellu grills, island wines and brocciu sweets: the complete guide to what to order, in what order, and how to read a real Corsican menu.
The essentials in 30 seconds
In a Corsican restaurant, you eat to share. Start with a mountain charcuterie board — prisuttu, coppa, lonzu, saucisson — alongside maquis cheeses, brocciu above all. Add a few tapas, then a hearty grill: figatellu, rib steak, pulled lamb. Drink an island wine served on the table, and finish on a brocciu sweet or fresh fruit. In L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Via Notte brings it all together on its esplanade.
The spirit
A cuisine of sharing
Corsican food is built in the middle of the table, in boards and platters everyone digs into. Born of shepherds and mountains, it rests on three pillars: charcuterie, cheeses and wines.
Around them turn the island's products — olive oil, honey, chestnut, maquis herbs, coastal fish — and honest, fuss-free grills. Nothing complicated, everything generous.
The pillar
Charcuterie, heart of the table
If you order one thing, order a charcuterie board — the island's signature. Corsican pigs, raised on chestnuts and maquis, give a deep, almost woody flavour.
Four names to know: prisuttu (dry ham), coppa (from the chine), lonzu (from the fillet) and the country saucisson. Serve at room temperature, at the start of the meal.
aller plus loin sur la charcuterie — notre guide dédié aux spécialités corses détaille comment reconnaître et choisir chaque pièce.
From the maquis
Cheeses and the essential brocciu
Corsican cheese is mostly sheep or goat: brebis tomme, tomme with maquis herbs, sharp goat. But the name to know is brocciu.
Brocciu is a fresh whey curd, creamy and mild, the island's emblem — eaten plain, in savoury dishes and in the greatest sweets. With fig jam, it pairs perfectly with charcuterie.
The art of sharing
How to build your board
The board is the centrepiece of a Corsican meal. Three ways to think about it:
Cheese board
Brebis and maquis tommes, goat, brocciu and passu brocciu, with fig jam. The gentler version.
Mixed board
Charcuterie and cheeses together — the obvious choice when discovering the menu.
To open
Tapas and sea starters
Corsica is a mountain on the sea. Beside charcuterie, look for octopus in persillade, fried squid or crispy prawns to share.
The anchoïade — anchovies whipped with olive oil and garlic — served with crunchy vegetables and aïoli, brings freshness. Homemade is what sets a real Corsican table apart.
On the fire
Grills and figatellu
The star is figatellu: a smoked pork-liver sausage, grilled and served on bread — one of the most intense, identity-defining tastes of the island.
Alongside: grilled rib steak with homemade chips, pulled-lamb mini-burgers with lonzu and maquis tomme, or a coastal fish. One honest product, well cooked, generously served.
To finish
Corsican sweets
Brocciu returns for dessert: fiadone, a moist brocciu-and-lemon cake, is the island's emblem. Also canistrelli biscuits and chestnut preparations.
For something lighter, a plate of seasonal fruit, and a myrte digestif — a maquis-berry liqueur — closes the meal.
What to drink
Corsican wines
Wine is part of the meal, served on the table. Look for island grapes: niellucciu and sciaccarellu for reds and rosés, vermentinu for whites, and appellations like Calvi, Sartène or Patrimonio.
A crisp rosé suits charcuterie; a structured red stands up to the grills and figatellu; a vermentinu white lifts sea starters and fresh cheeses. On a mixed board, a supple red is the safe choice.
Always ask for advice — and enjoy in moderation.
Wild flavours
Products of the maquis
The maquis — the island's fragrant scrubland — is everywhere in the plate: in the herbs on tommes and grills, in maquis honey, in myrte and rosemary.
Chestnut deserves its own place: flour, biscuits, beer, and the feed of the pigs behind the great charcuterie. Olive oil binds it all, southern and generous.
Composing the meal
Where to start: the ideal order
The order that works, from first plate to last:
- Open with a sharing board — charcuterie, cheese or mixed — in the centre.
- Add a few tapas and a vegetable anchoïade for freshness.
- Move to a hearty grill: figatellu, rib steak or pulled lamb.
- Pair a Corsican wine along the way: rosé to start, red on the grills.
- Finish on a brocciu sweet or fresh fruit, perhaps a myrte.
- Take your time: a Corsican table is savoured, never rushed.
The address
Where to taste Corsica in the Vaucluse
No need to cross the sea. In L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, on esplanade Robert Vasse, Via Notte brings together everything in this guide: boards, tapas, figatellu grills, island wines and sweets, in a music-bar atmosphere. Most of the menu rests on Corsican products, and homemade is a stance.
The place suits a shared dinner as much as a night that runs on — a live band or DJ takes over, the terrace stays open until 11 pm. Not to be confused with the Porto-Vecchio club of the same name: this is the local Corsican table.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
What should I order first in a Corsican restaurant?
A sharing board, almost always: country charcuterie (prisuttu, coppa, lonzu, saucisson), maquis cheeses with brocciu, or a mixed board. It's the best way to discover the island's flavours.
What is brocciu and should I try it?
A fresh sheep or goat whey curd, creamy and mild, Corsica's absolute emblem — eaten plain, in savoury dishes and in desserts like fiadone. Yes, it's a must.
What is figatellu?
A Corsican smoked pork-liver sausage, grilled and served hot on bread. One of the island's most intense, identity-defining tastes — the dish to try.
Can I eat Corsican without meat?
Yes. The anchoïade with crunchy vegetables and aïoli, tommes and brocciu, a burrata or pesto salad, and a fruit plate make a fine experience. Just ask.
Which Corsican wine goes with which dish?
A crisp rosé with charcuterie and starters; a structured red with grills and figatellu; a vermentinu white with fish and fresh cheeses. On a mixed board, a supple red is safe.
How do I finish a Corsican meal?
On a brocciu sweet — fiadone above all —, canistrelli, a chestnut preparation or fresh fruit. A myrte digestif rounds it off nicely.
Explore
Keep tasting
Going further
Want to carry the evening on after dinner? Find all our idées de sorties nocturnes dans le Vaucluse.
Tonight?
Book your Corsican table at Via Notte
Sharing boards, country charcuterie and cheeses, figatellu grills and Corsican wines, on the esplanade of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Book online or give us a call.
L'abus d'alcool est dangereux pour la santé. À consommer avec modération.