we stepped into a long line for this local food in blind, Everything was wonderful, we enjoyed…read moreevery bite of the foods we ordered here.

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!)

Ai 2 Ghiottoni is a well known Italian restaurant in the Bari City Center. It's known for fresh…read morehigh quality seafood and classic Italian food. Before we even ordered a big bowl of fresh olives, a basket of bread, and a plate of focaccia was brought to the table. Bavetta ai frutti di mare- fresh homemade pasta with clams, shrimp, and calamari. Excellent! Carpaccio - thin slices of beef topped with Parmigiana Reggiano. The restaurant has a nice warm, welcoming atmosphere and the service was friendly and attentive.

We had a fabulous lunch at this restaurant. We started off with some raw shrimp followed by the…read morefamous spaghetti all'assassina. We shared one pasta dish and it was a lot of food, almost like having two dishes. The sauce was spicy of course and the heat was enhanced by the temperature of the the pasta as it finished cooking. It was a really delicious dish. We finished off our meal with the grilled fresh catch of the day which was a large fish and probably more food than we really needed. The service at this restaurant was also on point, everyone was very attentive.

Hidden Gem, Great…read morefood fresh authentic Italian home cooking. The food was so good we came back here three nights in a row to try various plates. Staff is friendly and you know the food is great when the locals line up to come to this place. The catch of the day is prepared to your liking. Would definitely come back next time we are in Bari.

Nice neighborhood restaurant. Fresh fish cooked to order. Nice octopus salad and house wines.read more

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.

We did the tasting menu. It was fun to experience authentic cuisine!…read moreLoved sitting outside. The service was excellent.

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

You know how you get into a routine when you are at home of going to the same places over and over…read moreagain. We are like that a little bit when we travel, and Bari is no different. We have found one place in particular that we've been to for lunch or dinner six times in the 11 days we've been here. Not last night, and boy are we glad we went to La Cecchina, it was possibly the best meal we have had here in Italy. We heard it was a busy place so we got there a couple of minutes prior to them opening, and we were already third in the queue. By 8:30 the place was jammed. After finishing our dinner and leaving at 10:20 we knew why the place is busy. Our opening dish is one we've had before, Orecchiette al ragu con bracioletta which is the famous local pasta with braised meat in a ragu sauce which was outstanding. The chew of the pasta coupled with the rich sauce and the braised beef was outstanding. They did bring us the wrong first, initially they set down Misto Frito which looked outstanding and has us planning another trip to try that. No easy task to get the lovely K to try fish, especially away from home, so dinner was already a win in my mind. The Secondi we chose was Filetto de Maialino con fiche secchi, vincotto e gelato al parmigiana. Pretty wordy stuff for pork tenderloin with figs and a parmigiana gelato. The combination of all the contents of the dish was absolutely amazing. It's something we will try to copy when we get home, but I doubt we'll do it justice. The figsthemselves along with the Demi glacé, sage and the gelato were unbelievably good together along with perfectly cooked pork. Good thing we didn't discover the place the first night we got here, we would have missed out on so many other outstanding places. One of my workmates said the food on this side of Italy wasn't up to snuff compared to the west coast. I'd have to respectfully disagree, the food in Bari and Lecce have been amazingly fantastic.

Excellent food and service. We had fresh catch of the day with spaghetti. Everything was good. They…read moreeven brought a plate of fresh carrots and cucumbers and great great with olive oil.

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!

The service was very good, they were very accommodating to the party of 9. The food was absolutely…read moredelicious for all 9 of us! Would highly recommend this ristorante!

Perhaps we are in Italy which offers a different vibe. Everything we ate was amazing. I would be…read morehappy to be their repeat customers, sadly I live too far. If you're in the area, be sure to order the spaghetti with their fish or shrimp tartars. Pasta cooked perfectly then when the pasta cooled down, they place the the tartar on top, then at the table, we drizzled spicy olive oil. What a great experience over two simple ingredients.

We visited during the busy season st. Nicolas festival. Wow! It's was PACKED! We waited about…read more30minutes got sat and never was rushed to hurry up. We had salad and an antipasti with prosciutto, soppresata and burrataini. Then a had the octopus . Delicious!!! Ana kept the wine flowing and after our espresso we had complimentary limoncello! Anna and Mario were the best! I highly recommend

We waited in a bit of a queue (in the heat) to sit outside and eat here! It's a popular spot! The…read morestaff was kind and the food was great. It's a great place to people watch! I ordered bruschetta to start as well as a traditional Apulian dish: orecchiette con cime di rapa (orecchiette pasta with turnips and anchovies. The limoncello spritz were divine! Definitely a great place to grab a bite while exploring the old city of Bari!

On the first hot, sunny day our entire trip, we were thrilled we were able to snag an outdoor spot…read moreat this place overlooking the harbor. After walking a very long distance from the new town and getting fully lost in the winding streets of the old town, we just wanted a simple, light lunch with some booze. Ordered a sparkling rose, a beer, bar olives and two different tapas style appetizer samplers typical of the Puglia region. My platter had: crostini with bruschetta, mystery cheese (I never learned what this was!) that tastes like queso fresco with a pickled beet jawn on top, mini eggplant lasagna, a pizza fritta pocket, grilled cheese, meatballs, and buffalo mozzarella. BF's platter had: caprese tomato/mozzarella combo with seasoned olive oil and side of pesto, meatballs, grilled cheese and a quinoa salad. Both platters were fresh and tasty. Perfect portion for a light lunch and a true taste of the region. Perhaps a tad overpriced since it was a bit touristy here, however, I think I preferred this app sampler to that of La Uascezze and I loved that place, so it was worth it. Plus, it was a great way to kill a few hours and look out at the sea.

Wonderful staff, stunning view, inexpensive and great food and drinks. Highly recommended.read more