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.

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.

Great location. Walking distance from downtown hotels and shopping. Food was great and service was…read morefriendly and fast.

Very slow and poor service. I waited for over 40 mins for a simple dish while the restaurant was…read moreempty. All the workers took turns to smoke very close to the entrance. Some were annoying and customers run away. Last nail in the coffin, I got a bill of 24,5 while I only ate a dish of 15. Bad experience, poor service, below average cuisine. I recommend not to go

Great place for a yummy cocktail and to people watch! Seating inside and outside. Relaxing…read moreestablishment.

Came here every night with my boyfriend when we visited Polignano a Mare last summer. Can't wait to…read morecome back everyone who works here is so sweet. and they play the best music!!!