An unfortunately dissapointing experience. This restaurant is absolutely stunning. Situated in a…read morecave in Monopoli, it truly is a site to see. Unfortunately the food really falls flat in comparison. The food is extremely expensive, at about 200 euro minimum per person. They're also incredibly strict about their reservation policy so make sure you read up on that. The service was okay and the host was rude. I am solely giving this place three stars for the beauty of the restaurant.

You go for the bucket list fine dining experience and forget about the cost. Its menu is limited to…read moreprix fixe choices or ala carte, which we did. The menu consists of fish, veal, spinach, some vegan options, desserts. The wine list is impressive representing many Italian regions. I enjoyed the spaghetti and veal, but this isn't the place for Michelin star food. I loved the large wine glasses, the meticulous service, and only hope we could have been blessed with a sunset. The sax player crooning us was a nice touch. Note: you need to walk down many steps to get there and there's no elevator.

Super friendly staff, delicious food. We ordered the antipasti and asked for vegetarian ones, plus…read moreFave e Cicoria. All the food was amazing. Highly recommended.

Please go here. If you have any interest in traditional Pugliese cuisine in a very nice setting,…read morethis is the place you want to be. Place yourself in the chef's hands for the endless parade of phenomenal antipasti. Get a nice bottle of local wine to go with it. (Not everything in Puglia is sugar-sweet, particularly on this wine list.) Because you're a crazy person and you'll want an endless run of food, get a main course, too. It won't be quite as good as the antipasti - because nothing is - but I'm not sure you've really eaten a meal in Puglia unless you feel obnoxiously full at the end of it. Reservations are a good idea! I think we were walk-ins, but it was early in the evening. Finding the place can be tricky - know that the restaurant is located about a block or two into a small, pedestrian-only street. You'll need to park on the road outside. There are also some stairs in the restaurant. Accessibility could be tricky if you're dealing with mobility problems.

Delicious food! Seafood is great! Wonderful view…read more This was my second trip to Italy. The first time I went to Italy, it was a long time ago and it was a quick trip just to see the tourist attractions. This time I stayed a bit longer, went to Milan, and southern Italy. It was on this trip and in particular the Southern Italy part of the trip that I developed a true appreciation for pasta. Fresh pasta with freshly made sauces. Mmmmmh!

Wonderful seafood, wonderful views! This delightful restaurant/pizzeria sits at the edge of the…read moreAdriatic in Capitolo, just south of Monopoli. It has a diverse menu focused primarily on seafood. Bread is served when you sit down along with local olives and two kinds of local "snacks". The pasta with lobster sauce (12 euros), a house specialty, is literally one of the best things I've ever tasted! Reasonable prices, excellent service, and the proprietor graciously allowed me to sit undisturbed for hours after I finished my meal as I planned my travels and watched the turquoise sea crash against the rocks.

Seemed like the nicest restaurant for people waiting for their tour in the caves (at least, that's…read morewhat we were doing and I'm not sure what else there is to do here). Had a caffe shakerato, lasagna, caprese, macedonia fruit salad, and gelato and it was all pretty good. Pleasant and relaxing ambience.

Fine dining without small portions and pretentiousness…read more Amazing dish they called seafood and wheat. Local wines available. An appetizer of local salamis etc. had fresh mozzarella filled w fresh ricotta cheese.

What a beautiful town built on Truli houses in Alberobello! Such a dream to be able to see this…read morepart of Italy! L'aratro is tucked inside the streets, we decided on this restaurants as they are recognized by Michelin. We are glad to be trying this authentic local restaurant. Flavors that are so different from other parts of Italy! We tried the different anti pasta, which is served on multiple plates, small bite sized tasting. I can't tell you what each dish was, but can say they each had its own flavor. Several different cheeses, a bacon wrapped cheese, a polenta-like biscuit. For entrees, we tried a mixed grill meats (arrosto misto, with bombette - all local pork, seafood with wheat (grano con frutti di mare), and a cavetellucci. For dessert, also tried a very local dish with fried figs and a tart made of wine. The flavors are all so different. Certainly a must try if you get to come to Alberobello!

Very good pasta, lovely restaurant. The bread was excellent, lovely local wine. Would definitely go…read moreback.

You know how you get into a routine when you are at home of going to the same places over and over…read moreagain. We are like that a little bit when we travel, and Bari is no different. We have found one place in particular that we've been to for lunch or dinner six times in the 11 days we've been here. Not last night, and boy are we glad we went to La Cecchina, it was possibly the best meal we have had here in Italy. We heard it was a busy place so we got there a couple of minutes prior to them opening, and we were already third in the queue. By 8:30 the place was jammed. After finishing our dinner and leaving at 10:20 we knew why the place is busy. Our opening dish is one we've had before, Orecchiette al ragu con bracioletta which is the famous local pasta with braised meat in a ragu sauce which was outstanding. The chew of the pasta coupled with the rich sauce and the braised beef was outstanding. They did bring us the wrong first, initially they set down Misto Frito which looked outstanding and has us planning another trip to try that. No easy task to get the lovely K to try fish, especially away from home, so dinner was already a win in my mind. The Secondi we chose was Filetto de Maialino con fiche secchi, vincotto e gelato al parmigiana. Pretty wordy stuff for pork tenderloin with figs and a parmigiana gelato. The combination of all the contents of the dish was absolutely amazing. It's something we will try to copy when we get home, but I doubt we'll do it justice. The figsthemselves along with the Demi glacé, sage and the gelato were unbelievably good together along with perfectly cooked pork. Good thing we didn't discover the place the first night we got here, we would have missed out on so many other outstanding places. One of my workmates said the food on this side of Italy wasn't up to snuff compared to the west coast. I'd have to respectfully disagree, the food in Bari and Lecce have been amazingly fantastic.

We happened upon this wonderful restaurant while strolling through Alberobello. It was rather…read morecrowded but the friendly wait staff quickly found us a table. The restaurant is actually in one of the characteristic Trulli buildings and is very authentic. The wait staff is friendly and the food is delicious. We were worried that with all the tourists the quality of food would suffer, but we were pleasantly surprised. We had the grilled meat plate as a main course and it was sublime. Excellent selection of local wines that I found as good as if not better that more famous wines. We chose the Five Roses rosé wine. Excellent restaurant. Will be back.

This place is right smack in the middle of a tourist destination, so it's full of tourists and…read moretherefore my expectations were not very high. You get to dine in a Trullo, so you have the experience factor. The food was good, the mozzarella in the Caprese Salad is better than you can get in most places in the US, but pretty standard for Italy. The pasta was cooked al dente, and the sauce was good, but not anything I would classify as amazing. The service was friendly and quick, and if you need a bit of a break while touring around, it's as good of a place as any to stop in.

I went here because I have heard terrible things about the Grotta Palazzese food and price. This…read moreplace is toward the east of there and is quite understated from the front. I had a seat upstairs where there was plenty of seating area, plus 2 other floors below. There were fantastic views from the upstairs balcony, but a little windy. Unfortunately the food isn't as good as the views. While not bad, I would rate the food as about average. Service was below average. I was eating my appetizer and had to remind him that I ordered wine. Very unlike an Italian restaurant not to serve you the wine first! I think he was upset that I didn't order water. The only size they had was .75L and it was in a glass bottle, meaning I couldn't take it with me if I didn't finish it. No thank you. Anyway, the calamita was ok and the rest of the experience was about average.

This was a lovely find when looking for a place with a view not far from the masseria we stayed at…read morein Monopoli. It seems nondescript and in an average neighborhood - i.e. not a tourist in site- except for the fact that you have a front row seat on the balcony to the Adriatic. Very low key, all locals, perfect. Great seafood, loved the orecchiette in squid ink with mussels, clams, and squid, and the zucchini flan appetizer was so good we had it twice. Serene evening on the water, great to also watch the sunset in the summer.