27 Best Restaurants in Puglia, Basilicata, and Calabria, Italy

There are actually two eateries here, but superior is the well-regarded Poeta Contadino, which specializes in regional cooking with a creative twist and offers a refined dining experience amid candlelight that casts shadows on ancient stone walls. If you're on a budget, though, the more affordable Osteria del Poeta also serves bite-size traditional dishes.

Dine on exquisite Gargano fare at this atmospheric eatery set in a natural grotto just next to the cathedral in the heart of the old center. The menu is dominated by locally caught fish, and although dishes draw on traditional recipes, you can expect the occasional innovation. The wine cellar, visible through a glass window in the restaurant floor, contains an exhaustive selection of great Pugliese producers. There's a smaller, more intimate room downstairs that serves as restaurant and piano bar. Dimora del Dragone offers five modern rooms and a lovely suite, all with fab views.

The cuisine served in the elegant dining room of this restaurant, complete with a verdant garden and run by couple Antonella and Vinod—both creative chefs—marries exotic influences with tradition. It's a great place to splurge on a tasting menu; note, though, that hours can be erratic, especially during winter months, so call ahead.

Run by genial Giuseppe, this family-run trattoria serves classic seafood dishes in a relaxed, modern dining room. Freshly netted catches are heaped on hearty plates, like insalata di mare (seafood salad), seafood cavatelli pasta, and grilled gamberoni (prawns).

Grand stone rooms and a pretty terrazza sprouting olive trees make this a flexible and fab venue to breakfast, brunch, and lunch—and to socialize with evening drinks. As well as a constant stream of excellent coffee, they do a selection of pastries, great-value daily specials (pasta for just €7), and various snacks.

Amid the stone vaults and vine-leafy, light-dappled courtyard of this highly acclaimed old-town osteria turned Slow Food destination, the freshest Pugliese meat and produce are transformed into exquisite tapas-like dishes. Be sure to ask the amiable owner to show you his wine cellar and equally impressive cheese larder, where he personally controls the maturing process.

Renowned for its simply crafted dishes made with the freshest seasonal catch, Cosenza's best seafood restaurant has (appropriately enough) a minimalist, blue-and-white, nautical-theme interior. Guided by a waiter, you might start with a selection of antipasti to share, followed by a classic pasta allo scoglio (spaghetti with mixed seafood) and a main fritto misto di mare (medley of fried seafood).

Welcoming and rustic, this eatery set inside adjoining trulli is run by the ever nattily dressed and playful host Domenico alongside son Luca and a wonderful family team who deliver fabulous Slow Food-certified Pugliese dishes. Local ingredients figure prominently in the traditional, seasonal dishes: share the multi-dish feast-in-itself antipasto dell'Aratro, then the orrecchiete with anchovies and cime di rapa (broccoli rabe), and the hearty tiella di agnello (lamb casserole with, tomatoes, potatoes and wild onions).

Down a side street with relaxed seating inside and outside a handsome palazzo, this spot delivers hearty and tasty traditional Leccese food with the occasional international twist. Meaty mainstays include the chunky orrecchiettoni pasta with Scottona (heifer) ragù and various beef, lamb, and offal dishes.

International food magazines have lauded this restaurant, where the wine cellar is well stocked and renowned chef-owner Gaetano Alia incorporates local produce and imaginative twists into the Calabrese dishes on the changing menu. La Locanda also has guest rooms in its adjoining Alia Jazz Hotel, which is surrounded by a lush garden and has a swimming pool.

An open kitchen and contemporary table lamps heighten the culinary theater of Matera's fanciest restaurant, set in a cool, minimalist Rione Sassi grotto. The chef's innovative 5-, 7-, or 10-course tasting menus feature vibrant seasonal creations served on artsy ceramics and in wooden bowls.

One of Diamante's most popular restaurants, in the old town center just off the seafront promenade, has atmospheric stone interiors. In the summer, sidewalk tables are the perfect relaxed place to watch the evening passeggiata while savoring inventive fish dishes.

Set in a handsome Stile Liberty palazzo, with outdoor seating and a smart, minimalist dining room, the well-regarded "Red Cat" has been serving elegant seafood since 1952. The third-generation owner and head chef Agostino Bartoli is renowned for his innovative dishes using the freshest fish and seasonal vegetables.

Renowned local culinary experts run this cove-ceilinged trattoria, where traditional Salentine cuisine is treated with both respect and originality. The white-walled interior is stark, but there's plenty of character in the simple, tasty fare and the gregarious chatter of local families. Menu mainstays include ciciri a tria (homemade pasta partly boiled and partly fried, with chickpeas), rice with potatoes and mussels, and crispy deep-fried squid.

This historic caffè-gelateria is in the heart of Lecce, with handsome interiors and seating out on Piazza Sant'Oronzo. From early morning to late at night this is a buzzy place where Leccesi come to meet and refuel on classic Salentino pastries like pasticciotti (ricotta- or egg-filled pastry) and zeppole. Those after savory can feast on local cheeses like burrata and hot aperitivi snacks like arancini and croquettes.

With an open kitchen and a veranda—so you can keep an eye on both the chef and the azure waters of the Golfo di Policastro—there's always something to see at this family-run seafood restaurant. Even better: it serves some of the freshest catches in town, with specialties like linguine con nero di seppia (with cuttlefish ink sauce), grilled squid, and grigliata mista (mixed grilled fish and seafood).

As befitting the "artisan gelato laboratory" moniker, this whitewashed parlor with vibrant colors has an array of vegan-friendly and alchemical ice-cream combos. Among the more unusual "angels' vices" flavors served in coppe (tubs) and freshly made coni (cones) are hibiscus, pineapple and ginger, lavender and licorice.

The dining area is carved out of a cliff, and the terrace overlooks the famous Sassi ravine. From both you can enjoy such rustic specialties as foglie d'ulivo (stuffed olive leaves), zuppa di grano e ceci (cheese and chickpea soup), and pignata (lamb stew with seasonal vegetables).

Away from the central hubbub, engaging couple Giampiero and Maria Pia's charming restaurant serves hearty, traditional Martina Franca classics and grilled seafood amid a begulling rustic-walled room and panoramic terrace. Build up an appetite before ordering a bountiful primo and secondo, such as the homemade orecchiette pasta with five-hour-cooked Podolica-beef ragù followed by sausages and bombette (pork filled with cheese). 

This cheerful family-run hostelry a few miles outside Cosenza, in the hamlet of Castiglione Cosentino, offers an authentic Calabrian experience, with dishes highlighting maialino nero (local black pork), Podolica beef, truffles, pistachios, and wild mushrooms. In the homey dining room, locals feast enthusiastically—perhaps starting with a wooden board piled with salumi and formaggi—at tables adorned with brightly checked tablecloths.

Within shell-like earshot of the sea, this professionally run trattoria with sleek white interiors and a panoramic terrace serves some of the finest seafood in the Salento. Expect classic Pugliese salty preparations like crudi, grigliate, and fritture (raw, grilled, and fried) beautifully cooked and elegantly presented.

Built on wooden piles in the shadow of Aragonese Castle, this restaurant—in business for more than a century—seems to float like a ship in the bay by the bridge connecting new town with the island that contains the borgo antico. Its flower-filled terrace has outdoor tables in summer; in winter, eat inside and enjoy the view through panoramic windows.

With intimate tables around the interior courtyard and mezzanine of the 18th-century Palazzo Teotino, this osteria is a truly atmospheric place to dine. The menu is a mix of traditional local dishes and classic southern Italian pasta combinations—with subtle Tropeana twists here and there.

Gentle front-of-house Roberto welcomes and chef wife Marilea creates exquisite, delicately flavored dishes amid a whitewashed room filled with antique mirrors, oddities, and assorted bottles. You could start with smoked eggplant and ricotta flan or dive into adventurous territory with the risotto of foie gras and sea-urchin ice cream, but it's best to concentrate on the mains that feature lamb, amberjack, and baccalà cod.     

In the lively heart of the old town, opposite the castle, stands one of Bari's best seafood restaurants with tables packed together. The interior is rather sparse, with whitewashed walls and a vaulted ceiling, and the dining room can be crowded and noisy, but during the summer you can sit on the quieter outdoor veranda. Try the house specialty, crudo di mare (a platter of mixed local seafood), accompanied by a crisp salad and a carafe of uplifting Pugliese wine. Reservations are essential in July and August. Note that the restaurant also has six contemporary bed-and-breakfast rooms.

Don't be put off by its nondescript modernist street location, as Opera delivers a well-crafted menu of superb-value seafood dishes, from sushi-style crudi to beautifully grilled seabass. The always innovative food is served on arty tableware in the smart yet welcoming contemporary space or on the street-side terrace outside.

Waves lap at the shore just inches from your table at this elegant but unpretentious trattoria, which often has a cozy fireplace ablaze in winter. You must follow a narrow twisting lane to get here, but it's worth the effort for specialties like the raw seafood antipasto, which features shellfish you might not find anywhere else. Cozze pelose (local mussels), hiding inside their spiked-hair shells, are briny and buttery, and big local oysters are all about rich texture.