Puglia Restaurants
 

I will be in Puglia in June. I've read all the trip reports and planning threads. A lot of restaurant recommendations are for places outside of cities, but I won't have a car, so I'm looking for suggestions of places in the center of these towns. Not looking for Michelin-type restaurants, although I don't mind an occasional splurge. I just want good local food. Probably will be eating a lot of seafood, which I love! I have a good amount for Lecce, but that doesn't mean I would be adverse to more suggestions. Mainly need ideas for:

Brindisi
Polignano a Mare
Bari

Thanks!

Following along as I am heading to the region myself. Susan, do you mind sharing your Lecce restaurant suggestions?

Here's my list for Lecce, mostly from trip reports from studenttobe and zebec:

Trattatoria Nonna Tetti, Piazzetta Regina Maria 17 – simple, rustic, wonderful - [email protected]

La Putea Osteria e Ristoro, Via Principi di Savoia 4/6 - simple, rustic, and wonderful – Mon-Sat noon-midnight, Sun 4-midnight

Pescheria con Cottura, Via dei Mocenigo 23 - little more upscale – M-F 7:30-11:30, S/S/Hol 12:30-3, 7:30-11:30 – [email protected]

Caffe’ Alvino (or Pasticceria Naatale) was where I got my pasticciotto and rustico fix.

All Ombra del barocco (breakfast, live music and more)

La Cucina Di Mamma Elvira, Via Ludovico Maremonti 33 – vino/specialties from Martina Franca – Sun 12-1, M, W-Sat 6-1, closed Tues

La Prelibatezza and also L’Angolo della Puccia (perfectly acceptable budget sandwich/puccia take outs)

Doble Zero (doubles as a deli)

La Veccia Osteria, Viale Francesco Lo Re 9 - longstanding local family favorite for Calabrian dishes- Tues-Sun 12:30-2:30, 7:30-11:30

Gelato: Martinucci Pasticceri, Via Giacomo Arditi 11 -(Lecce & Gallipoli) plus: both are stylish and very good.

Thanks, Susan!

Polignano a Mare

Meraviglioso
Covo dei Saraceno
Casa Mia
and the most famous place of all is Super Mago del Gelo!!

You're welcome, Travel_Nerd.
Thanks, HappyTrvlr. I do have Super Mago del Gelo for gelato on my list! 😀

In Bari, I really enjoyed Al Sorso Preferito, a traditional, nice restaurant where for the first time I tried spaghetti all'assassina and sporcamuss (dessert), and also had some excellent mussels. Read about it on the Puglia Guys blog/website (found a number of excellent restaurants throughout Puglia from their site, plus used Hungry Onion and the Slow Food Osterie d'Italia app). I think there are buckets of great places to eat in Bari--not to mention the focaccia!--but unfortunately I only had one night there.

https://www.pugliaguys.com/2023/03/04/assassina/

re: Lecce, I think you must mean Doppiozero, right?

Keep in mind La Cucina Di Mamma Elvira, where I had an excellent lunch, also has an enoteca that serves light fare--different location in Lecce. Reservations for La Cucina probably advisable but I dropped by for a drink/aperitivo at the enoteca a couple times and was seated right away. Mamma Elvira also has an oyster house if that's of interest.

In Lecce, I also liked 63 Osteria Contemporanea. Tranquil dining room, family establishment, the wife is the chef. Husband runs front of house. Just outside the center, this was in the Slow Food guide.

Thanks. I love mussels and always want to try new things, and I will definitely check out that website.

Thank you, I did know about the enoteca in a different location.
You're probably right about that spelling!

Going through travel notes from our Oct 23 visit to Puglia :
Bari : We gorged on focaccia here - Santa Rita, El Focaccerio, Magda - all very good. Btw, theres a L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele outlet in Bari, not sure if as good as Naples, but certainly less busy. Gentile for gelato.
Polignano : Great casual fare at Frume. Save space for Super Mago (their special coffee is a must try) and Gusto Caruso (incredible gelato, and unique flavours)
Lecce : Terrific pizza by the slice at Pizza & Co., just around the corner from the cathedral. Baldo for gelato, and Natale for pastry.

As ANUJ wrote, above, SUPER MAGO DEL GELO is renowned throughout Pugla for their gelato, and especially, their granite and their "special coffee". The place itself oozes an old fashioned charm.
This place, at the entrance to thee historic Centro, has been family owned since the 1930s and it's a "do not miss" in Polignano.

Also take a look at OSTERIA CHICHIBIBO in Polignano. Fish and seafood. Not inexpensive, but good seafood never is.


I'm sorry I don't have more; most of the places we ate, except for in Lecce, required a car.

Thanks, ANUJ, I love focaccia. I have a feeling I'll be having that for lunch every day!

And I'll be eating plenty of gelato!

Thank you, too, ek, I will check out the seafood place. Of course, I have read your threads and knew most of your restaurants needed a car.

I hope you have a great trip! What itinerary did you decide on? I'm guessing you have elected to use public transportation only?

You can probably pick up a guided day-trip here and there semi-on-the-fly while in Puglia if you want to go places not easily served by public transport. I had a car, but it seemed as if there were quite a few options, especially if you're basing in touristy places like PaM and Lecce and/or big hub cities like Bari and Brindisi.

I move more slowly that most! My itinerary changed a few times, but now I am doing:
Fly into Brindisi, 4 nights there (jet lag seems to bother me more as I get older, so I like 4 nights in my first place)
5 nights Lecce with day trip with driver, still working on this, probably to Otranto & Gallipoli & possibly a third place
5 nights Polignano a Mare with day trip to Alberobello and day trip to Monopoli
3 nights Bari
5 nights Rome

Sounds wonderful. If jet lag doesn't hit you too hard, you could probably take a bus from Brindisi to Ostuni for a day/half-day. I seem to remember it's only about 30 minutes and not as dicey of a schedule as other lines in Puglia.

As with Sicily, I found the TA Puglia forum quite useful, as so many locals and frequent visitors to Puglia seem to "hang out" there. This thread about trips from Brindisi via public transit may be helpful should you find yourself with itchy feet and more energy than expected:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...si_Puglia.html

Thanks, Leely, I appreciate the info and will check it all out!

I'm not at all sure bout 4 nights in Brindisi city. You could fly into Bari and spend 4 nights there...OR arrive and take a driver or taxi (or bus??) to a town not too far from the airport and skip your time in Brindisi. See if there are buses from Brindisi airport to nearby towns,, or from Bari airport. Also, it's only an hour from Bari to Matera and there is public transport to Matera, not sure if from city or airport.

ek, I already have my flight into Brindisi and have the time in Bari at the end of my Puglia time, so I don't want to change that. All hotels are booked. In my research, I actually found a number of things in Brindisi that look interesting, but I will consider the idea of going someplace close to Brindisi at the start. Thanks for the input!

Trenitalia runs a "Trulli Link" bus from Bari, possibly seasonal?

https://www.trenitalia.com/it/treni_...ulli-link.html

If you get to Ceglie Messapica, I highly recommend Cibus for lunch.

I think CM is known for having numerous excellent restaurants and it is an interesting and charming town. But Cisternino and Martina Franca are both lovely as well. Alberobello was just okay to me, though I understand wanting to see it.

Sorry to bombard you with info--I would like to revisit Basilicata and Puglia in the next couple of years so I'm keeping my eye on transit options.

Leely, oh sure, give me more to consider! 😀 I'm kidding, additional information is always good. However, Bari is the place where I only have three nights, so I won't want a day trip from there.
Actually, I'm not great at day trips in general. I get to a city, like it and am having a good time, and I don't get around to doing them, even if I have all the information for them. So, I have more planned for this trip than usual.
Thanks!

I’m sure I’ll get some hate from the purists but when we were in Puglia in 2022 some of the best pastries we had were from Martinucci, the chain, especially their pasticciotto, filled with a variety of creams. In Lecce we ate at La Cucina di Mamma Elvira and we just walked in without reservations and they made room because they’d had a cancellation. Every single meal in Puglia was optimal and fresh. Burrata on salads etc and we never eat salad at home.

No hate from this direction! 😁
Thanks.

One of my regrets regarding earlier trips to Puglia was that I never got to Ceglie. I will make it. point of staying near there if I'm fortunate enough to go again in the future.

Another eating hotspot in Puglia (besides Ceglie) is the area in and around Minervino Murge. Last September we had a marvelous dinner at ANTICHI SAPORI in Montegrosso, not far from Minervino. It was just as wonderful as I had remembered from about 10 years (or more) ago, and Chef Pietro Zito is still very much on the scene. But Montegrosso is a tiny hamlet so I doubt that there are easy options for public transport.

I bet there are some superb places to eat in Bari; I regretted that we did not spend a few days there last fall, but Vieste in the Gargano won out for that trip.



SusanP:I'll be eager to read your opinions of Brindisi; I've flown into the airport several times but never entered the city. I can't wait to read about your upcoming trip!!

ek, I think I read about Anticha Sapori in your report. I wouldn't mind going there from Bari for a meal, but it takes either a bus or train plus taxi to get there. Not sure I would want to do all that.
At the beginning, I think I'm going to stick with Brindisi. If I find I want a day trip from there, Ceglie Messapica is only 1-1/4 hour by bus.
Thanks! I will definitely do a report after the trip.

Bari itself seemed hip and happening on a Friday [? maybe Thursday or Saturday, can't recall] evening in May 2023. I think Bari is well, well past its days of rough reputation and I would bet the same is true of Brindisi.

In Bari, I stayed in Murat near Teatro Petruzzelli and liked it a lot--very walkable to the old historic core but felt lively and now. I would happily return for a longer stay, especially because the train connections seem so easy. While in Bari I met some Leccesi who were visiting/dining/clubbing for the weekend. A lot of fun.

A beautiful day in Bari.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a3a145281.jpeg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c0017eb97.jpeg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a28e50929.jpeg

Leely, sounds good! Thanks for the pictures.

Leely. How was the Assassina pasta? I need to try to make at home. It was shown on the Tucci CNN segment on Puglia. Probably will become trendy in the US if it hasn’t already.

I have the same question. Just how spicy/hot is it? I like spicy food, but not necessarily burn-your-mouth hot dishes!

For me, it was an acquired taste. First bite: "Kinda weird, tastes burnt." Second bite: "Mmm, not bad. It's growing on me." Third bite: "Delicious. Addictive. This portion is too small."

SusanP, I didn't find it spicy at all, but I love spicy food so may have a jaded palate. Anyway, definitely worth trying when in Bari along with focaccia Barese. And sporcamuss. Not all at the same time. :D

I'm ready!! Thank you for that delicious, spicy bite!!

I'll definitely be trying it all!

Susan, I'm researching a lot of the same places for our upcoming trip. I haven't seen anyone mention Eating With Ziggy. I enjoy reading his humorous commentary and there are loads of good suggestions.

Italy | Eating With Ziggy