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.

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.

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.

One of the most amazing restaurants I've been to globally! Food, drinks and ambience were…read moreincredible. I only wish we had this restaurant in the US.

Lost in translation - good presentation, but…read more.. When seeking a seafood restaurant, we failed to realize a "raw" seafood restaurant was recommended: "the best Apulian dishes in a new, innovative version" - raw.... We walked just beyond the center of Polignano a Mare's main square to Jamanté, based on the enthusiastic recommendation of our host. It turns out the restaurant is a part of the same hotel group where we stayed. By the way the hotel was wonderful. Sitting on the outside patio during the sunset was nice. The cocktails were good. The complimentary appetizer was flavorful; the bread was great. We shared the Calamaro Scottato, but were disappointed in the next rounds. Not a fan of raw fish, I opted for the pasta ragu. My wife had pasta and shrimp. Others had the steamed lobster and eggplant parmigiana. While the presentations were nice, the food lacked flavor and tasted old. The pasta was served at room temperature. The eggplant was bland. We didn't look for another seafood restaurant; we opted for pizza and steaks for the remainder of the trip.

Upscale restaurant located outside the touristy center in Polignano a Mare. We parked at the beach…read morejust to the west (free and convenient) and had a peaceful walk over. The restaurant's decor outside and particularly inside is really beautiful and tasteful, like a high-class boutique hotel. The staff was friendly and attentive without being overly stuffy either -- our main attendant (who I liked a lot) almost had more of an academic vibe to him. We opted for the chef's tasting menu and everything was good, but the main standouts for me were the onion dish and the desserts. Creative and vibrant plating was absolutely top-notch, and the flavors were above average too. Only small complaint is that it took a while for some of the dishes to come out. The restaurant doesn't overcharge for drinks and water, so the total cost wasn't much more than the €85 / person sticker price on the tasting menu. A very nice night overall, we didn't have time but you could also walk along the water to the east to get to the bustling area around Via Roma if you wanted, about another 1km.

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

We had a great lunch time here with perfectly prepared pasta and vegetable soup…read more The place had a good choice of fresh sea food which I suggest to eat "crudo". Was also impressed with old good italian service. Very fast and accurate. Mind the open hours!

We were fortunate enough to have this restaurant across from our hotel. The inside entrance is…read morenarrow with some fresh fish displays but becomes more elegant once seated in the dining area. Service was good as was the good. Appetizers Parma ham with melon Marinated fresh salmon fillet Mussels au gratin Spaghetti with clams and botargo Tagliolini pasta with swordfish and eggplants, tomato & breadcrumbs Risotto w mushrooms A nice dinner in the heart of Bari.

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.

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.

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!