Sweet, beautiful Matera. A place that seems made by a careless god, but which actually has more…read moreplanning and thought than you might think, all it takes is a visit to the ungrounded cisterns to understand that. We discovered areaotto our first evening in Matera, after dropping our bags off at our hotel in the sassi, we wanted a place to stop and have a drink and ended up staying here much longer than we imagined. Jutting off the side of a wall, during the day it is a communications agency, and night it turns into a bar and sort of disco. A dj plays cool tunes from the back of an ape vehicle, vintage and mis-matches chairs pepper the terrace. We settled into some old cinema chairs and ordered a moscow mule and a negroni sbagliato infused with ginger. Hot damn, these drinks were spot on, and for the cheap price 6€. My moscow mule was made with true ginger beer and in a copper mug. While they off an evening aperitivo buffet, we ordered off the a la carte menu, fava and chicory purée, a few bruschetta, and a mixed cheese platter. All were well-presented and tasted fabulous. We ordered tiramisu for dessert, which was made in a deconstructed style complete with your very own 'mezza-tazza' moka mug, so cool! The interior of areaotto is like a dream, a shabby-chic design one at that. The owner clearly put a lot of effort and love into this place and it shows. Mikaela the owner even took us to visit the secret back room, made in a speakeasy style complete with a James Bond mechanical pop-up bar. I could not love this place more if I tried, well-done! A very prime example of just how far this once-abandoned town considered the 'shame of Italy' has come.

On the first hot, sunny day our entire trip, we were thrilled we were able to snag an outdoor spot…read moreat this place overlooking the harbor. After walking a very long distance from the new town and getting fully lost in the winding streets of the old town, we just wanted a simple, light lunch with some booze. Ordered a sparkling rose, a beer, bar olives and two different tapas style appetizer samplers typical of the Puglia region. My platter had: crostini with bruschetta, mystery cheese (I never learned what this was!) that tastes like queso fresco with a pickled beet jawn on top, mini eggplant lasagna, a pizza fritta pocket, grilled cheese, meatballs, and buffalo mozzarella. BF's platter had: caprese tomato/mozzarella combo with seasoned olive oil and side of pesto, meatballs, grilled cheese and a quinoa salad. Both platters were fresh and tasty. Perfect portion for a light lunch and a true taste of the region. Perhaps a tad overpriced since it was a bit touristy here, however, I think I preferred this app sampler to that of La Uascezze and I loved that place, so it was worth it. Plus, it was a great way to kill a few hours and look out at the sea.

Wonderful staff, stunning view, inexpensive and great food and drinks. Highly recommended.read more

Oh my God!!!! We had so much fun here!!! We partied and danced until the DJ stopped playing…read moremusic. Bartender service was amazing!

Peak over-priced-but-pretty Euro tourist cocktail spot…read more Quality: 4 Value: 2 Service: 1 Ambience: 5 The interior of Riccardo Caffe - and particularly the bathroom inside of a massive cave - is really the most impressive thing here. They also have a vast selection of very cool and very strong cocktails. Skip the wine and the beer. Your servers are clearly over-worked and under-paid, and very stressed; this is not a place for good service. This is a place to look fancy, look at other people, and be looked at. ---- Picco di cocktail turistico Euro troppo caro ma carino Qualità: 4 Valore: 2 Servizio: 1 Ambiente: 5 L'interno di Riccardo Caffe - e in particolare il bagno all'interno di un'enorme grotta - è davvero la cosa più impressionante qui. Hanno anche una vasta selezione di cocktail molto cool e molto forti. Salta il vino e la birra. I tuoi server sono chiaramente sovraccarichi e sottopagati e molto stressati; questo non è un posto per un buon servizio. Questo è un posto dove apparire eleganti, guardare le altre persone ed essere guardati.

Excellent bar in the tiny but cute square in the hilltop town of Cisternino. Great coffee, great…read morecocktails, family owned and operated since 1951.

An almost legendary bar in Cisternino serving superb cocktails, snack and gelato. Haven't tried the…read morelatter, but the cocktails are approved. They do taste absolutely fine - and priced very friendly as well. Having said that, they are extremely strong in alcohol. No, not only strong. They are really, really strong. Couldn't finish my Negroni, which is very rare. I would gladly come back though, because the place is cozily located - and cocktails absolutely okay.