Sweet, beautiful Matera. A place that seems made by a careless god, but which actually has more…read moreplanning and thought than you might think, all it takes is a visit to the ungrounded cisterns to understand that. We discovered areaotto our first evening in Matera, after dropping our bags off at our hotel in the sassi, we wanted a place to stop and have a drink and ended up staying here much longer than we imagined. Jutting off the side of a wall, during the day it is a communications agency, and night it turns into a bar and sort of disco. A dj plays cool tunes from the back of an ape vehicle, vintage and mis-matches chairs pepper the terrace. We settled into some old cinema chairs and ordered a moscow mule and a negroni sbagliato infused with ginger. Hot damn, these drinks were spot on, and for the cheap price 6€. My moscow mule was made with true ginger beer and in a copper mug. While they off an evening aperitivo buffet, we ordered off the a la carte menu, fava and chicory purée, a few bruschetta, and a mixed cheese platter. All were well-presented and tasted fabulous. We ordered tiramisu for dessert, which was made in a deconstructed style complete with your very own 'mezza-tazza' moka mug, so cool! The interior of areaotto is like a dream, a shabby-chic design one at that. The owner clearly put a lot of effort and love into this place and it shows. Mikaela the owner even took us to visit the secret back room, made in a speakeasy style complete with a James Bond mechanical pop-up bar. I could not love this place more if I tried, well-done! A very prime example of just how far this once-abandoned town considered the 'shame of Italy' has come.

Great bar! Cool African decor and live music. Definitely chill for those who chill. Go here! Take a…read moreload off and enjoy the friendly staff and cold brews!

Cool bar right in the middle of a piazza. Had some great live music, belgian beers, and we weren't…read moreoverpowered by the smell of cigarettes like we were at other bars in the area. Staff is great and is ready to make whatever cocktail you desired. The bar is actually called Matiti Brown but it's listed incorrectly on Yelp.

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

this place is the bomb. cool atmosphere, yummy drinks. i got the coconut mojito and it was very…read morerefreshing on a summer day. a bunch of lime and mint muddled. there were ladies outside who were picking the mint of the branches, the aroma led me in here.

Turco is king of the ice cream parlours and is simply one of the best gelaterias I've sampled in…read moreItaly. They have around 30 delicious, fresh flavour to choose from and every week or so the flavours cange and rotate. Turco is so well established people come from all over to sample it's ice creamy delights. My favourite all time flavour is Nociotella. A hazelnut ice cream with generous swirls of Nutella. It just unbelievably good. Turco often try out some quirky and experimental flavours. Last time I was there they had a "Welcome to the South" flavour which was fig and pistachio and it was delicious. The "Smurf" flavour was a bit of a mystery however, although, it was Smurf blue I suppose, but I had no idea what it was meant to taste like. Turco also functions as a bar and so you can sip a wee cocktail or espresso if you don't fancy an ice cream. It seems to be open all night so you can get your ice cream fix what ever the time!