This trip, our fifth to Puglia but the first in about ten years, will include BARI, CEGLIE MESSAPICA, NARDO, and SAVELLETRI DI FASANO.
I'm currently writing a food commentary on WWW.HUNGRYONION.ORG, so there will be more food detail there:

https://www.hungryonion.org/t/bari-puglia-four-nights-10-25/45297

We flew from JFK (ITA uses the Lufthansa lounge at that airport=not among the best of the lounges, for certain) to FCO on ITA, and then on to Bari on the same airline. Flight was fine, although I would rank ITA's business class lower than that of other European airlines I've flown on. But flights were almost on time; with the connecttion to Bari leaving a half-hour late, which got us into our Bari hotel about 4pm, unusually late for an arrival in Europe.



We had an 80 minute connection in FCO and I was a tad nervous but we made the flight with plenty of tine to spare. My partner ordered a wheelchair and I'm convinced now,, after several experiences, that wheelchair users are almost guaranteed to make their connection. (discussed this with a few ground attendants in several and they agreed). Do not abuse this tip!!!

Arrived in Bari on a very windy and cool day, with temps usually low, in the high 50s-low60s during the day. That weather continued until today, our third day here, and it's now sunny with no wind, so I can finally wear a short-sleeved t-shirt without a jacket during the day.

There's a long line of taxis outside arrivals and the drive to our hotel took about 20 minutes or so, with the conversation during the ride focusing one food and where to eat the best focaccia in Bari. (His answer was SANTA RITA, at the edge of Bari Vecchia (the old city). (I don't know fi this is the best, but it WAS great--more later about this). Airport to HOTEL BRA cost 28 euro on the meter. The driver asked if we could pay cash and we obliged.


HOTEL BRA is a 10-room "boutique" hotel and it's an experience!!!! Housed in a handsome old building, the interior is totally sheathed in marble--black and white, even the door to the rooms and, inside the room (#203) marble-clad doors to the bathroom, and then more doors to the shower and toilet rooms. Copious gold accents everywhere. Lots of tech, screen on diining room ceiling showing the starry night sky, tablets in the rooms to close the shades, illuminate the various lights. Electric fireplace set into the wall. We took a superior room, the second-lowest category; it has a small balcony facing the side street which is undergoing construction, but only on the first morning did this wake us early (the workers have moved further along the street, away from the hotel but I can hear them drilling now, at 2:45pm, with the windows open). Nevertheless, it's totally quiet at nights quiet that only the distant clatter of the trains break the nighttime silence, and the sound is muted by the good windows. We sleep with the windows open.

Offered spritzes in the cozy bar area, where we completed our check in (I mentioned one another thread that we were asked to pay the bill for the entire stay three days prior to arrival, a practice I've seen a few times in various hotels during the past year. The mostly female staff are eager to please, even if their directions need to be double-checked. Perfect location, a few blocks to the entrance to Bari Vecchia and to Mola San Nicola, where vendors sell crudi on the pier on most days, except not this morning, when I visited..more. on this later.

A stay here includes a complimentary dinner so we took advantage of this on our night of arrival. Very nice meal of cold seafood salad; paccheri in tomato/seafood sauce (excellent sauce!!); terrific beef cheeks, cooked to the falling apart stage, so tender; and dessert of mulberry sorbet (gelso is mulberry in Italian and I recommend, if its in season) and little cones stuffed with gelato and dipped in chocolate. (Breakfast, included in our room rate, are served in the same room and are a groaning board of delights, from excellent pastries from the various regions of Puglia (yes, the pastries of Bisceglie are different from those of Lecce). Imagine if (using New York as an example) Hempstead turned out cakes very different from those of Montauk! And yes, the buffet offers the famous pasticuitto of Lecce..dream on!!! Besides the little tweets, there are about 8 kinds of pies (crostati) stuffed with everything from ricotta to peach, to chocolate. And even a "Sacher torte!" A basket of croissants and breads are brought to the table, in case you cannot lift yourself out of your chair to stumble to the long buffet tables. And on those tables: hams, regional cheeses, cereals, dried sugared fruits, cereals---there is so much that I can't even remember half of it. Of course, you an also order egg dishes cooked to order for no supplement. And there are delicious round, filled (with coconut or liqueur) -chocolate candies at reception!!!!

Having said all that, the price for the hotel (Superior room) is a lot higher than we were used to paying in Puglia. And everyone we spoke to commented on the influx of tourists flooding the city, most noticeable in Bari Vecchia. Right now, a the hotel, I've spotted guests from the US, from Mexico, and from Russia.

https://www.brahotel.com

Hi EKS!
We are here now in Trani, a first visit for us. It seems we are crossing paths again like we did in Termoli!
I am so excited to read your trip report and will be following along!!

Looking forward to more. I'm particularly interested to see what you think of Spaghetti Assasina! 😁

SusanP and Tcint: Hi!!! Thanks for reading. Look at the www.HungryOnion.org site for some photos and details about the food, but I will try to get to it here as well. I don't know why my links do not print as clickable.....how can I fix that?

I. thought is was I more of a curiosity than a delicious dish, but I did like it. I did not find it spicy in the least, but my partner thought it was' way too hot for me!!"
We ate this at AL SORSO PREFERITO.

Waiting to go for dinner, so here are some notes:; don't expect too much because we have not done much!!!

Our first morning, weather was very windy and unusually cold, but sunny when we set out for the oldest part of Bari.

My partner, who still shuns anything stronger than aspirin, and so only very rarely will pop ONE Tylenol, cannot walk more than two blocks before wanting to sit down, so going around with him means moving very slowly. Very slowly. Thankfully, the hotel is very close to the oldest part of Bari (but very close, a ten minute walk, is far for him!!). We covered those few blocks and, after a few wrong turns and having given up on Google maps on the phone for the moment (truly, I like paper maps much of the time and the hotel gave me one) we found STRADA ARCOBELLO, better known as the stride of the orecchiette ladies. It's hard to believe that this area was considered a no-go zone by tourists up until, I think, about ten years ago. Because now it's filled with tourists from many countries and Arco Bello was jammed with people--many buying bags of the pasta and many more taking photos. (This morning I met a woman from Amsterdam who told me that she had a chance to buy a house in that district for 60,000 euros and now that would cost in the hundreds of thousands.).

Honestly, there's not much to see on the street although you could snap some good photos if you can avoid the clutches of lookers. I'd read about the to-do last year when the ladies were fined for buying industrial pasta, re-bagging it and selling as homemade. And the last thing I need is a bag of orecchiette, since I have about ten bags in my pantry from earlier visits to Itlaly AND we can buy great Italian pasta at home. (which is not to say that I will not go food shopping).

The highlight came later when I took a ticket and waited on line in front of PANIFICIO SANTA RITA. This is the bakery that our taxi driver told me makes the best focaccia in all of Bari.
It's quite a procedure now that Bari has been "discovered." My ticket was #16 and there was a long linen in front of me. BUT: Only the tourists like me send on line. After all, we all have tickets and there is RINO out front calling the numbers. I waited no more than 15 minutes and that wait was well worth it. Goto to the counter of the minuscule shop and was confronted by several varieties of focaccia--white ones, ones with olives, and the traditional, which I chose. Slices are 1.5 euro each (a whole round costs 5 euro) and I bought two. Handed over a 2 euro coin and guess what?? The guy behind the counter (the owner, I guess) had no change. Lots of supplicant gestures...garnered a response from me something like: "it's ok this first time, but next time, no! So if you are picky about this kind of stuff, bring exact change!!

We took the two "traditional" slices to a sunny bench and boy--I never thought much about focaccia before, as it's not so wonderful in New York, or else I've eaten it at the wrong places. But this was revelatory----just the right amount of oil (you need only a small paper napkin!) goes into0 the dough and it's studded with delicious tomatoes and oozy mozzarella.....what a great lunch, or snack. Locals were rushing in and out to pick up big pre-ordered paper bags.

After that, my partner went back to the hotel and I walked a good length of the main, pedestrian shopping street, Via Sporano. Same old H&M, Sephora, Gucci,,Prada, Tod's, etc. I popped into my beloved Zara but, shockingly, came out empty handed (t-shirts I liked in my size were absent from the racks. (Partner later bought some cotton shirts in H&M--6.99 euro each. The more interesting shops are on the side streets, where there are some of those "outlet" shops with nice clothing and sneakers (partner bought a pair in one of these later on..)
and many of those Olde-English-type men's clothing stores that they have in Italy, with the odd names. But in general, I'd skip the shopping in Bari except for the necessaries. But it's possible that I missed a lot; there is a nice ceramic shop at the entrance to Bari Vecchia that had very cute ceramic fichi d'India.


Jet lag eventually set in and I made it back to the hotel for a relax before dinner.

Since the Focaccia Barese had been mentally checked off, spaghetti all'assessina was the next dish to try and for that, we had booked AL SORSO PREFERITO. The short walk to the restaurant turned out to be a schlep due to: 1. Inaccurate directions from reception (most of the staff do not come from Bari but from nearby towns, and there are also a Moroccan and a Russian female manning the front desk. 2. Totally confusion on my part that had me stopping into various establishments to ask for directions. 3. My inability to use the iPhone Google maps.

Finally, with much grumbling from the partner here, we made it to this plain-looking but bustling trattoria that was the home of the famous Barese pasta dish. All'Assassinata is made by putting raw spaghetti into a pan of tomato sauce, along with dried peperoncini and garlic, and cooking at a high heat until the some of the spaghetti stands are almost at the point of burning. It has a reputation of being very spicy but I found barely any spice at all. My partner took one bit and pushed away the plate: "OOOH..it's too spicy for me!!" No surprise there!!

Did I like it? I'm still not sure. it's a curiosity (look at videos online to see how it's made). It was very tasty and I would order it again, but honestly, it's not a "must" like the focaccia.
My partner had an excellent (he said) spaghetti in tomato sauce. I had a half-order of the assassina (I love that restaurants here let you order half portions of pasta.) The pastas were preceded by a mixed antipasti. I, alone, ate one of the little, cold shrimp and one of the stuffed mussels (I say this now because of what happened later that evening, back at home base). The antipasti also had some little square chickpea fritters (I have to look up the name) and knots of fried dough (also must look up that name--both typical of Bari); little meatballs (very good); fried green peppers; anchovies; mozzarella balls (Puglia being one of the two mozzarella meccas in Italy)---and more, shown in the photos, below. (I was full before the pasta course--pace yourself with those Pugliese "antipasti mixti" orders!!!

With water only, our dinner cost 44 euro. It's a solid place but I think there must be better in Bari, although they reputedly do the best assassina. So go there for that, and forget the other stuff. But remember. ,that based only non three dishes. The place became packed by 8:45pm, with the large majority of diners peaking Italian.


Our walk home was shorter than the walk to the restaurant and that's a good thing, because a few minutes after I entered our hotel room, the dinner ended up in my sink.


Next day, our second in Bari, was pretty much a wash because I got a little sick again after breakfast (more sink cleaning!) and spent most of the day in the room.

I did manage to rouse myself for dinner (I do hate to miss a meal in italy.). And this dinner, small as it was, was terrific. The restaurant is TERRANIMA and I highly recommend it, and will write the details later on....










Poster showing the most famous of the \"ladies"

Bari Vecchia scene

Not a \"nonna" but an orechiette lady, just the same

The \"little ears," drying in the sun

Entrance to the street: Strada Arco Bello

Bari Vecchia apartment houses

PANIFICIO SANTA RITA, at the entrance to Bari Vecchia




SANTA RITA on the left; line to enter on the right

Rino announces the numbers to those who have taken tickets (pre-ordering seems to be ok)

There's Rino, with the instructions;; note #3

PANIFICIO SANTA RITA

Finally at the counter

Our prize!!!! Wow!!!

Try to make time for Lab 57. It's really a pasta shop away from the waterfront, but we had an incredible dinner there. We were the only ones there, so perhaps it's better for lunch if you need some bustle. We liked having our own private chef and waiter.

Yay Eks! Looking forward to traveling vicariously with you!

Ok but can we talk about that marble-clad hotel room?? Was it luxury or more like sleeping inside an iPhone case?

Following along eks, interesting mix of locations in Puglia!

Thanks, all!!

Like an iPhone case!! Yes, I think so....even staircase (there is an elevator) is marble, with no handrails! Toilet room entirely encased in black marble, but lighting is great once you figure out the tablet that you need to use to turn on the lights, close the curtains, watch the tv, etc et... But easy to get used to. Forgot to mention that ceiling in restaurant has a screen on the ceiling that shows various views of planets and skies...it's pretty wild! Form over function rules here but it's a very good hotel with exceptional service..very warm and kind and helpful.
Only ten rooms. Lots of candy to snack on in the lobby. The tv (CNN available in English) is set into the wall in some kind of glossy case and yesterday, two mechanics had to lift the glass case off the walll to fix the tv..its was quite an ordeal for them--two men and they had to call the doorman to come up and assist them!!!

Anuj: Yes, I wanted to see Bari, where I had never been, and to visit new places since we'd been here, I think,, four times before. But the one repeat will be the last hotel near Savelletri.

We leave Bari today. I asked the front desk about getting a taxi to the airport, where we collect our rental car. She said that there were NO TAXIS this morning at rush hour!!!!! But she will call for us to get one and hopes he will come at noon. I hope so, too!!

I'll continue this at the next stop, outside Ceglie Messapica.

Thank you for that PJTravels! We have lunch reservations there today!

I will write about the three restaurants we ate in in Bari later, but while I remember details, here are a few things:

There is a flat rate from the airport to the Bari center and vice versa. It's 28 euro. The driver stopped while still in Bari and his son became the new driver. You MUST reserve your taxi the day before, as it was VERY difficult to get one to answer the phone. VERY FEW taxis in Bari.

I had a rental booked with SIXT at the airport, but when we got there (45 minutes after pick-up time) we had a wait until they readied the car, and they did not know how long its would take for the car to be washed and ready for us. So the lovely manager, Emmanuela, offered us a BMW 3 series---for a 50euro PER DAY upcharge. Are you kidding??? So I told her we would wait for the Audi that I had booked.

She then saw my Amex card and brought the extra charge down to 20 euro per day. Still too high for me. I suggested 15 euro extra a day and we had a deal. The slightly larger car allows us to put all of our stuff in the trunk; otherwise some would have to go on the back seat. So this was very good. The manager came to the parking lot with us, pushing my cart, and waited while the guy at the parking showed us how to put the GPS to English and all the little things you need to know before driving an unfamiliar car.

I had such a great time with those ladies, we were laughing all over the place while we filled out the forms, etc (you can do this in advance online)

The drive from the airport to our next lodging, 5 minutes outside Ceglie Messapica, took about 2 hours; there were a few construction zones that slowed us down.
I was SO HAPPY when we passed signs of place names that I recognized from earlier trips: Poiignano, Monopoli, Martina, and then the "white city" of Ostuni loomed above us and I was so very, very happy!!!! Oh, there is a lot more development than there was when we were here last! The route took us gthrought he new part of Ostuni, otherwise it was all good highway driving.

We made it to "our" masseria just before 4pm. Weather is partly cloudy and cool...long sleeves are good now in the daytime.

I did not know that the owner of MASSERIA CAMARDA is a famous former race car driver and was the manager of the Ferrari team, as was his father, still alive, now 87, with the same name:
Alex Fiorio. Apparently, many Italian visitors stay here because of these two legends. Alex met us once we rolled through the gate, and showe us our room in a trulli. He told us that so many people want to stay in trulli these days that people are putting ups square houses and just popping the cone on top, but there is a way to tell which trulli are original and which are new builds. (Has to do with the way the stones of the roof slope down to allow water to drain.

Our room looks great--quite a contrast to the marble-clad HOTEL BRA in Bari!!!! Large airy room, small tv, frig and stove,, pots and pans, sofa, large bed....etc. So great to be here again!!!

Alex is super warm and welcoming; my partner immediately fell asleep and he took me on a tour of the property that his father bought fifteen years ago and renovated (it had been abandoned. Alex comes from Torino, of course, the car capital of the country. The breakfast room has many, many trophies and also the chassis of the Ferrari that won some famous competition while his father was the manager; it was driven by Nastro Azzuro. His father still holds the record he took from Richard Branson for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Oceann competition--58 hours. So there are a lot of clips of ocean racing on the walls as well. I will investigate all that tomorrow.


I joked with Alex that he has to set aside a few hours to give me much-needed driving lessons! What kind of car does he drive now?? A JEEP!!! Next week the place is booked full by a group of American tourists. No surprise there.

Did you all know that in 2026, United will fly a few times a week direct from JFK to Bari?? So Puglia will become even more popular among the American contingent.

The property has chickens and pigs and also trees of so many fruits--cherries, persimmon, pomegranate, pear, both black and white figs--and of course the many, many olive trees. They will begin pressing and the new oil should be ready by Monday evening. (SO sorry we depart Monday morning!!). But I hope I can find some new oil further into the trip.



I am going to take a small relax and try to come back after dinner, which will be at CIBUS, which has a reputation as among the best in Puglia and where I tried, and failed, to get a table during three different trips to the region. It's going to be a long, dark drive along the rutted road through he olive fields before we get to the main road into town so I have to steel myself.

HOTEL BRA, Bari, room 203--there was some wallpaper on these walls but the floor and all other walls are marble; note the fireplace at left. Hotel also has rooftop bar and long pool. Sorry about the reflection in the door--that's me!!

Front door--no doorknob..open with card

Exterior of this ten-room hotel

Spidermen in Bari

Breakfast buffet

Closeup of one small portion of the breakfast buffet; plus you can get eggs made at your table!

Really enjoying your trip report ekscrunchy! Wait til I tell my car crazy husband about the masseria.
Enjoy your dinner at Cibus! We had dinner there in 2014 with a German couple we befriended at our masseria, they had eaten there many times before and invited us, so they did the crazy driving back in the dark.
One time my husband and I were driving back after dinner and the GPS took us on the craziest route which took forever and through every farm and olive grove I swear. Always an adventure in the dark in Puglia.

I *hope* Cibus is as good for you on the day you visit as it was for me a couple years ago. There are so many contributing factors in a restaurant meal! I loved the mixed antipasto there, in particular. Plus, I'm a dessert person and the semifreddo (I think...) was delicious.

Leely, We did have a great dinner at CIBUS and I booked for lunch tomorrow! And we LOVED the mixed antipasti!

I have to get busy on this report cause I'm lagging behind...more soon.


About the cars, I made a mistake. Then driver of the Ferrari was NIGEL MANSELL, not Nastro Azzuro, which means "blue ribbon."

Rainycity: I asked Alex about the Audi track near Nardo and if we could visit (I figured he must know someone there.). He laughed and told me that you need about 5 degrees of security clearance to even take a peek inside the area around the track! (Maybe you could ask your husband why). And then I asked him how fast the cars went--I guessed about 200 kph and he laughed again and told me that they go more than 300 kph. I know zero about all this stuff but I will read up and ask questions--always good to learn new things! And ditto about driving through the olive groves trying to find your masseria!! You can't always rely no the GPS. By Puglian standards, this one was pretty easy to find, although it requires driving along a VERY narrow road, lined with low stone walls, for what seemed like a long time.

Tell you what though: I feel good about the driving considering that I only began to drive in Europe about 6 years ago because I was too afraid before that. I almost enjoy the driving here, now that we have the car with GPS. But those Italian drivers really ride your tail when you go too slow for them!! So I try to pull over and let them pass when I find a spot.

We were up last night--could not sleep, so partner put on the baseball game last night and we were seeing play-by-play at 4am..apparently the Detroit game went to extra innings.
I think today we will relax around the masseria and go into a town later for an early meal. Any recommendations in Ostuni where I would not need to book ahead? Unusual for me, I did not book anything and today is Saturday. This masseria is about 10 minutes drive to Ceglie (longer for me!) and not too far from Ostuni, the next-closest town.

BARI RESTAURANTS:

We ate in three different restaurants during our four nights in Bari; the first night we were gifted a dinner at the hotel which was very good; the best dish was the beef cheeks. Pastires here were exceptional, and we had wonderful mulberry sorbet and gelato cones dipped in chocolate for dessert.



The firs dish I wanted to sample, after the focaccia, was the famous SPAGHETTI ALL' ASSISSINATA of Bari, a reportedly fiery pasta dish. Whoever reported that this dish was spicy obviously has a very low tolerance for spice (my partner belongs to that category)

I already commented on the restaurant, AL SORSO PREFERITO, but here are some photos. I would recommend going for the spaghetti, but if you do not dare to try it, there are probably better trattorie in the city, but I should probably not say that, as wee tried so few dishes and the place was bustling with locals.

The interior...by 8:45pm the place was full.

Mixed antipasti including a pill of anchovies, marvelous onion calzone; little cold shrimp; mozzarella; olives; good meatballs....

.....and stuffed mussels, shown with the mozzarella knots

Panzerotte, fried peppers...there were also wonderful squares of fried polenta. (I thought it was a chickpea fritter at first)

Here it is: The legendary spaghetti all'assassinata..this is a HALF order and I could barely finish it, after the antipasti. You need to have this at least once while in Bari. I liked it!!

My partner liked very much his tomato/seafood spaghetti


Another interior pic of AL SORSO PREFERITO, where spaghetti all' assassinata was born; do try it!!!
.

It's a very good place, maybe not outstanding, but again, we sampled such a tiny fraction off the menu; I would return. Book ahead. Some English spoken. Our dinner cost 44 euro. We do not usually tip in Italy.


https://www.alsorsopreferito.it

TERRANIMA

Absolutely excellent, tiny restaurant in the Murat section of Bari, the main shopping district and the location of our hotel.
I was armed not only with directions from the hotel, but also with a paper map and an iPhone.

We still got lost!!! It's probably a ten minute walk from Hotel Bra but I had to stop three people on the street to find it.
The last set of directions went something like this: Go straight up the street and turn right at the big tree.

Guess what?? Big trees line all of the streets in Murat! Which one is bigger than the others????? It was up to us to find out.

((I really need help with using Google maps on the iPhone. I get turned around over and over again and end up lost so many times)

TERRANIMA is a cozy place with two dining rooms outfitted like the proverbial "grandma's house" decor, if your nonna was a Puglian matron. A piano with sheet music spread out, many old photos of Puglia and famous Puglians; an exhibit on the famous tarantella (pizzica) dance of Salento (and parts of Campania and Calabria). It was charming. As was the owner, who took our order and checked back with us during dinner.

Food is so obviously freshly made, and the epitome of "comfort" food. Prices are fair and the restaurant is quiet, even though diners (all seemingly locals,) streamed in--several single males, a (very) elderly couple, a few large parties. I liked this place very much and would recommend. Be sure to book ahead, as the wait can be up to half an hour for walk ins (this was a Wednesday night).

Prices are correct; our meal cost 44 euro with one glass wine and a bottle of water (Panna, which seems to be the go-to water in Barese restaurants.)

It's difficult to recommend based on only two dishes, but I would certainly keep this on your list.
I was still feeling a little shaky after the past evening (and all day spent in the room) but my appetite returned when the dishes arrived our table. The food was terrific!!!!!




The front (of two) dining areas, with the kind owner in the center.

The menu

Menu at TERRANIMA, Bari

Wonderful foccacia

My eggplant parmegiana, served in a terra-cotta cazuela---just perfect
tomato, mozzarella, and small meatballs---THIS is comfort food!! I wish we had had room for dessert, one of the highlights of any meal in Puglia" class="post_inline_image" loading="lazy" />
Partner loved his terra cotta dish with Khorsan wheat (similar to what we know as wheat berries; tomato, mozzarella, and small meatballs---THIS is comfort food!!

I wish we had had room for dessert, one of the highlights of any meal in Puglia

Note that this is #115 on the TripAdvisor Bari restaurant list. That's why I do not depend on that site for restaurants for, surely, Terranima is ozone of the better eating places in the city, and deservedly popular with locals.


https://www.terranima.com

AI 2 GHIOTTINI

This is considered by many to be the finest fish restaurant in Bari. It's more upscale (but not much more expensive than the other places we tried) and a touch more dressy, but I saw many people in jeans and sneakers and I myself wore blue jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt and fit right in.

Again, the location is in Murat, which is the district where I would recommend booking your hotel.

We had another excellent meal here but again, we ordered only. few dishes. I would recommend highly if you are a fish or seafood eater.
The fish display and the lobster tank in the entryway speak of good things within.

All diners seemed to be Italian, with the exception of a Russian couple. Many businessmen, in suits and sneakers, which seem to be the default footwear of men and women in Puglia.


As soon as I entered, I spied a platter of Ricci di mare (sea urchin) one of the joys of eating in Puglia. I had failed to find them on the pier, since the vendors had been chased away by the police, so II was really happy that I could have these little "hedgehogs" here.

I began with 5 Ricci, which I stopped up with torn bits of bread......heavenly.
They would not, however, agree to make me spaghetti with Ricci and breadcrumbs, which must be among the best pasta dishes in all of Southern Italy; try this dish along the Torre Canne strip, among the hotspots for ricci in the region. Don Camilo in Siracusa also specializes in this pasta/seafood combo. (I recommend)

Instead off the pasta, I asked for a small fish, baked in salt and was offered a choice of either spigot (sea bass) or ombre (a sort of bream). Both are among my favorite fish in southern Europe and I chose the ombra. The waiter showed me a small fish and I quickly agreed. It was out-of-this world, eaten after a drizzle oil and some salt. WOW!!! Perfection!!!!
I likek to order fish "alle sale;" it's a great method of preparation that ensures the perfect degree of doneness and texture. This is one dish that I would not try at home; although maybe I would in future. (You need so much salt to cover the fish; it just seems daunting but probably easy to master after a couple of tries)

My partner, as usual, took the spaghetti with fresh small tomatoes. This is a person who likes to stick with what he knows and never gets tired of. Okay!! Quite the opposite of yours truly.

I'd recommend this restaurant and think the price/quality ratio is good for this city; we paid 78 euro, our most expensive dinner by far.



The dessert table was extremely tempting and they had so many choices but we were just too full.

One section of the fish/shellfish display; the red critters piled high are scampi

terrific panzarotti (stuffed with cheese) and focaccia

My beloved ricci di mare

Interior scene; this pair was Russian but almost all other diners were Italian as far as I could guess

Exquisitely plan and exquisitely delicious orata alle sale--look at this gorgeous fish

Spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce..standingn order for J

Beautiful local olives

Glad you enjoyed Cibus!
I will ask my husband about the track and the security. He may or may not know, he knows a lot about F1 racing, his father was CEO of a huge international company which sponsored motor racing, motorcycle racing, polo, golf among other things. I'm pretty sure my husband has a signed photo of Nigel Mansell here somewhere, he has a collection of signed race car driver photos. I told him about the masseria and Alex, he says he knows him as a manager not a driver and also said this: wow I'd like to have a talk over a glass of wine with him. So a trip to the masseria may be in our future!