I went to Bari with my Frenchman and another couple. This was enthusiastically our best and most…read morefavorite meal. We arrived without reservation and were quoted a 40 minute wait. No problem as we amiably moved to the bar and ordered drinks while we waited. We were seated after 20 minutes. We all chose the 20 euro tasting menu which was a steal. It was incredibly delicious and we ended up sharing 9 dishes family style which was a mix of hot and cold dishes. We were so stuffed by the 6th dish but kept eating because the food was so delicious. An excellent choice to dine while your walking through the old town. The wine selection was good and my glass of rosé was only 4 euro. Total bill for 4 adults was 104 euro which included alcohol. Much much cheaper than the San Francisco prices we are unfortunately used to. You must visit! A few reviewers make note of a prolonged wait time upon being seated. This seems to be the norm in Puglia and shouldn't detract from a restaurant rating.

The Ambience was a quaint Italian side street outside the restaurant with a little neighborhood dog…read moregoing table to table. The food was mediocre. The service and host were very lacking. Especially noted lack of service if you are not native Italian. Openly discriminatory to English, French, Netherlands. I'm not certain why so many people recommend this place. I would recommend so many other incredible places. Our party of four adults felt let down after hearing others reviews. The only foods that were above average was the brasciole sauce, NOT the meat itself, and the spiced potato skins. I give it 2 stars just for being IN Italy.

This is tough. The food was excellent. The service not so good. We ordered the fresh fish, which…read moretotaled half our bill, and they did not know how to properly debone it.

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

Fresh tasty seafood. Good size portions. There is a minimum number of dishes they expect customers…read moreto order, but nothing crazy if you have 3 people at your table. The place is not very big, coming when they just opened makes it easier to get a table without waiting.

I visited this restaurant for dinner on a Saturday night around 22:00, as it was recommended by a…read morelocal person to try some nice octopus pasta. The place was fully packed, but luckily I had to wait for a free table only for 5 minutes. The restaurant is definitely outdated and generally felt "not fresh." Its design is very simple, including very basic tables and uncomfortable chairs. Even the dishware they use to serve food is just basic-looking and boring. So aesthetically, this place did not catch my sympathy, except for a giant octopus figure hanging in the middle of the restaurant. Also, because the restaurant is small, it was very noisy inside. My waiter was fast and brought me a menu right away; luckily, there is a menu in English available. Unfortunately, the waiter spoke very poor English, so it was hard to communicate with him. Plus, I have to be honest, I did not like his attitude - he was not very friendly and seemed like he really hated doing his job. At the end, it was very hard to catch his attention and ask him to bring the bill; he literally passed by many times and never even looked at me or checked on me once. I spent almost 10 minutes just trying to catch his attention and ask for the bill. The restaurant's menu is big enough and has a good selection of classic Italian dishes - most of them are seafood. As I mentioned earlier, I was recommended to order octopus pasta, and Spaghetti all'assassina di polpo (Spaghetti all'Assassina with octopus) seemed like a perfect choice for me. Plus, for an extra €2 it was possible to add stracciatella cheese, which of course I did. For a drink, I ordered my favorite Italian iced tea brand - Estathé. Also, right away the waiter brought me a basket of bread (included as coperto - table service), and this bread tasted fresh and nice. I got my spaghetti within 15 minutes. Besides the unattractive white plate the food was served on, the dish itself looked quite messy. The cook definitely did not take care of its presentation. But the smell from the dish was very nice, which convinced me to try it immediately. Luckily, I was not disappointed in the flavors, but I also did not love them. Spaghetti all'Assassina (spicy, partly dry and partly soft, slightly charred Bari-style pasta) was cooked very well; I maybe wish it were a little less spicy and less charred, because I could taste some burnt flavor. The octopus seemed slightly overcooked too - some of its parts were burned and very dark. This burnt taste definitely lowered my overall impression of the dish, but I still liked it and moderately enjoyed eating it. By the way, stracciatella cheese on this dish is definitely a plus - it brings a nice fresh flavor, so I recommend adding this cheese to Spaghetti all'Assassina, as suggested on the menu. The size of the portion was big and filling, and I appreciated that they were not cheap with the amount of octopus. Price-wise, this restaurant seemed somewhat reasonable - half of the appetizers, for example, were around €20, which is quite a high price for an appetizer; and many main dishes started from €20 and higher. My Spaghetti all'Assassina with stracciatella cheese was €20, €3 for the iced tea, and €2.50 for table service (bread). In total, I ended up paying €25.50, and I find it slightly overpriced for my overall just satisfactory experience at this place. The business accepts all major credit cards and Apple Pay, by the way. Can I recommend this restaurant? Honestly, I do not. Nothing about this place left a great or exciting impression on me. But the Spaghetti all'Assassina with octopus is still worth trying at least once, so if you specifically want to try this dish, you can give the restaurant a try. Maybe you will have better luck with the food quality and taste than I did.

One of my favorite meals in Italy! Excellent service, delicious food (octopus appetizer, seafood…read morepasta, and tiramisu) finished with a selection of chocolates. Loved seeing the fresh fish options, and they have several olive oils to choose from to go with the amazing bread basket (they also sell the olive oils) . I felt so welcomed there, like they were really glad to have me as a patron that evening. I chatted with the manager and the server, and was delighted to be gifted bottle of oil at the end of the meal. Thank you for a wonderful evening!

What an absolute gem of a place! Phenomenal service, amazing food, fantastic wine! Truly, this…read moreplace is impeccable!

Beautiful restaurant with stone arches and ceilings…read more We did the tasting menu. Which was excellent. The tuna tartare was so fresh. The rice and mussels were tasty, however the mussels were tiny. We shared 3 pasta dishes, I really liked the pasta and prawns. We all had the fish special which is cooked with olive oil, zucchini and potatoes and olives. Yumm We were so full that we took dessert home. The service is very good. I highly recommend this restaurant.

We are staying at the Grotta Palazzese, which is the highest end hotel of the region with two…read morereputedly fabulous restaurants. However, other than our breakfasts at the hotel, which we paid to have included with our rooms, we are not likely having dinners here. While their menus will astound many, as well as the views of the caves, which is why many come to dine and visit, we have been seeking less extravagant dinners while here, given our suite is over $1,500 a night at the present Euro conversion. So we consulted YELP for the best rated restaurants in town and that led us here. It was all 4 and 5 ratings, save for a single rating of 1, which was based on a disgruntled patron who never even ate here. They just were declined at the door - due to no reservations, which are recommended - in a manner they deemed obnoxious. It's easy to see why so many though rated this a 5. However, we felt it fell just short in some respects that brought it down to a 4. That said, we are sure many will enjoy a 5 experience. We had a few glasses of local primovito by the glass, which like most places we've dined in Puglia was absurdly reasonable by our local NYC metro area standards. These were poured after complimentary glasses of Prosecco and a lovely small potato soup. We ordered the house special antipasto, which were 5 different small seafood dishes (baked scallops, fried cod, mussels with rice, potatoes, and tomatoes, octopus salad, and yellowfin tuna tartare). This is a must have introduction to any meal. My wife then had one of the catches of the day offerings and I the half lobster with tagliatelle. It's an all seafood restaurant, so if you are looking for something other than that, you'll need to look elsewhere. However, if seafood is your thing, of which there is quite a lot in this town, this restaurant deserves your patronage.

The hosts are fantastic, Brazilian and Italian mix- it is mostly vegetarian, with some fish... Was…read moreamazing. I made up my own coffee drink and it's fantastic! Rice milk with Tumerick, cocoa and a shot of espresso :-). If you go, ask for Dee's coffee!!! Our favorite-Tonna sandwich and carrot soup- so much we had to come back the next evening again! Prosecco and mint spritz! Contro bottle of wine at only €18. The decorations are amazing. And WOW! Don't miss dessert- we had both meringues- pistachio and citrus- and seriously the best EVER!

A true gem among a lot of touristic mediocracy. We had lunch here during a walking tour of the…read morecity. There are relatively few tables so expect a more intimate experience. The menu offers several vegetarian and vegan items, as well as some fish but no meat. The service is well-paced and careful. The food is excellent, both fresh and flavorful. The vegan items were a refreshing change from the cheese-heavy meals we were having elsewhere.

The orecchiette with braciola ragu was really good, definitely a hearty dish, but I much prefer…read morethis sauce to the more known cime di rapa sauce. We also ordered a mixed seafood grill and the grilled capocollo (pork).

Food: no Service: ok…read moreDecor: tourist trap serviceable Don't come. Fly away. Don't be seduced by the seasoning vapours from next door or elsewhere . It's not health department advisory terrible/ however, definitely regrettable. The bathroom was the first sign. There was a pool but no swimming. If you know your late night crowds hit and miss the pee spot, please please mop and sanitize during the dinner shift. I ordered swordfish. It arrived dry, a hard, white slab of something I could use to slap someone. It was accompanied by oil drenched melanzane and zucchini pan fried within an inch of life. I covered everything with fresh pepper because there was zero seasoning. For why? This is the Mediterranean. God gave you so much and you gave me so little? Bye!

We only had a quick stop here on a food tour to try a local Puglia panzerotti and am sad to say we…read moredidn't find this place much earlier. It's a chain but grew from local love around the area and is considered a fast food spot but holds all the local and unique Puglian dishes! Everything looked enticing as we walked in the door and the panzerotti was absolutley mouth watering. I could've easily ordered everything on the menu here and plan to on my next visit to Puglia! Service was fast and friendly (good for those who aren't used to the lengthy Italian dinners and need a bite quick!)

If you like fried dough served quickly in a fast food franchise atmosphere this is the place for…read moreyou. Maybe i just don't get the concept of it but most menu items were strange even though I speak Italian, they did not appeal to me.