This is an interesting type of restaurant that is popular in this area. It is a butcher shop, which…read moremakes ready to grill, rolled meats and skewers. The name means the king of the arm and it's because the little rolls look like little arms. We enjoyed three types of rolls of beef, pork, and a sausage stuffed. They were all delicious and perfectly cooked. It's a little intimidating if you don't understand the concept because you're supposed to get your table first, the server then comes and asks you if you want anything to drink and puts a number down on your table and then you go inside, order your brace at the meat case and then, when they are cooked, they bring them out to you. The courtyard/patio is the only place you can sit and it has lights strung over the top and a center area with small trees and other bushes. It is a very nice ambience.

Avoid at All Costs: A Masterclass in Rudeness and Incompetence…read more Dining at El Cohiba 59 in Marina di Pulsano was, without exaggeration, the worst restaurant experience we've had in years. From the start, our waiter was astonishingly rude -- curt, dismissive, and seemed irritated by our mere presence. When we politely corrected him after he brought the wrong drinks (beer we hadn't ordered), it appeared to trigger some bizarre vendetta on his part. The rest of the evening felt like deliberate sabotage. At one point, he served us food that had already been placed at -- and eaten from -- another table. That is absolutely inexcusable and raises serious health and hygiene concerns. We were stunned. No apology, no acknowledgment -- just plopped it down like nothing happened. As for our food? Two members of our party ordered risotto. We were repeatedly told "it will be just a few more minutes." After being strung along for more than an hour, we were finally told it wasn't coming at all. No explanation. They were simply left without dinner while the rest of us picked at mediocre, lukewarm dishes. And that's the kicker -- even the food that did arrive was aggressively average. Bland, uninspired, and nowhere near worth the price. Not a single dish stood out. El Cohiba 59 could be a cautionary tale in a restaurant management seminar: how to take a nice location and completely ruin it with poor service, mismanagement, and utter disregard for customers. If you're in Marina di Pulsano, do yourself a favor -- walk past this place and don't look back.

We spent an hour wandering the streets of the historic center when we stumbled upon this local gem…read more We have no idea how this compares to the other seafood restaurants in Taranto but we enjoyed ourselves and by the looks on the other faces in the crowded dining room it looked like were were not alone. During out entire 1-2 hours here we heard not a word of English. It looked like a local joint with families and singles on dates well represented in the crowd. We were greeted at the door like we were long lost relatives and hustled right away to a table. We were presented with menus but before we could open them we were beckoned into the next room where all manner of fresh caught seafood was lying on ice. I assume they were telling us to pick out what we wanted to eat (some of the choices were still moving around) but as they spoke no English and I even less Italian they could have been telling us anything and I would not have had a clue. We picked out swordfish, calamari, bream and something else that looked adventurous. At each selection the animal was ceremoniously plucked off the ice and placed on a large silver platter. Once we were done we were led back to our table which had been adorned with bread and cutlery in our absence. We still had not opened a menu. We looked around and noticed nobody had menus and they simply told the waiters what they wanted and a few minutes later it magically appeared from the next room on silver platters for the diners to inspect. Once approved the sea creatures were then off to the kitchen and their fate. Needless to say it was delicious and as fresh a fish as I have ever eaten. And I have lived on the beach where seafood was there for the taking. Not only did we have our fill but it was the perfect fuel for our mile walk through the February night back to the hotel. Our entire bill including wine was $46.00 We would definitely come back.