We took a fabulous trip down to Puglia the first week of September. It was our first real vacation since the lockdown in March. While we could have gone earlier, we decided to wait until September for a couple of reasons. The weather was still warm enough to enjoy the beach, but just cool enough that it was both comfortable and there were no other tourists. Heaven.
We rented a villa not far from Monopoli. It was fabulous, with a view out over the sea but not too close. We were also near enough to some of the most charming small towns of Puglia: Cisternino, Monopoli, Locorotondo and Martina Franca.
Don’t ask me to share the link to the villa (we found it through Airbnb) since it was too perfect and I want to make sure it’s available for the future (sorry!) . But there are literally tons of villas for rent in that area, at all price ranges. Just search the area around Impalata
As far as beaches go, we just headed out every day and drove along the stretch of road between Capitolo and Torre Canne. Sophie knows this stretch of the coast very well, and so each day we would drive along the water and just pick a cove that looked good. There are both organized beach clubs (stablilimenti ) or else just random free coves. For the most part all of them are rocky, but you can get in and out pretty easily with beach shoes.
We ate SO MUCH!! And so well. Here’s the list of places we ate at, in case you make it there:
Sale Blu – Monopoli
Our first dinner was fancy! We ate at SaleBlu, which is located right on the water and is definitely upscale. Sophie had heard about it, and since it was her birthday dinner, she got to choose. She chose right! The most amazing seafood!! Also: the restaurant is part of a hotel that looked incredible. Right on the water.
Panificio Fiore: We stopped by here in Bari for our favorite Focaccia
Str. Palazzo di Città , 38, 70122 Bari BA
Osteria del Caroseno, Castellana Grotte We had the most delicious dinner here. Sophie had stayed here earlier in the summer and wanted to bring us back. I’m so glad she did! It’s an incredible restaurant, and well worth making the effort to go here. It is family run, so very warm and cozy and welcoming. But the food is not your typical simple trattoria fare. Everything is home made, but of such high quality and sophistication that it’s hard to believe you are in a small town in Puglia. I particularly loved the gnocchetti made by the nonna of spinach. The father (the chef) coats them in a fonduta of local cheese and toasted almonds. It was perfection!
La Locanda del Riccio The coast along this stretch of sea is full of small places to eat. Some are fancier than others, but all of them are located right on the water and you can wear your swim suit and flip flops. And ALL of them are about seafood. We actually had tried to go to a much simpler one down the road, but since it was Sunday it was full. We stumbled onto La Locanda del Riccio and they had a table for us right on the water, which was perfect!!
Pavi: After a rest at home we headed out to nearby Locorotondo for a walk and aperitivo one evening. Locorotondo is beyond cute. Like a movie set kind of cute, but also a very real town with real people living there. Since it was September and also because of the virus, it was pretty empty, which was fantastic The town of Locorotondo is located up on a hill, and the ring road that circles is it known by locals as the Lungo Mare, even though it’s not by the sea. But it feels like it is! We chose a cute little bar for our drink, which was about a half gallon of Gin & Tonic with perfect little appetizers.
Ottolire Restaurant We left Locorotondo for dinner in the countryside at Ottolire Resort. A gorgeously restored country hotel that also has an amazing restaurant. It was hard to photograph all of the truly excellent dishes prepared by chef Vincenzo DiGiuseppe but we had what were some of the best tortellini I’ve ever had. They were stuffed with beef involtini, and floated in a puddle of heavenly parmigiana reggiano.
Ricciolandia Since it was a week day there was no one around and we were easily able to grab a table at one of Sophie’s favorite places Ricciolandia. this place couldn’t be simpler, just a shack on the water with plastic tables and chairs. And piles of fresh seafood. Mountains of freshly opened sea urchins (so good!!!) and sliced squid, raw, which is another speciality that is called tagliatelle. I also loved the mussels, which were battered with some cheese and other herbs and spices, put back in the shell and then the whole thing deep fried. Also, what is better than a mess of spaghetti with clams and mussels by the sea?
La Cantina Alberobello
We met up with Domenico’s brother in Alberbello to eat at Ristorante La Cantina Alberobello. A teeny tiny place with an open kitchen. We had the mixed house antipasto which was a series of fabulous small dishes, including these sautéed peppers with green olives and breadcrumbs. It was never ending and every dish better than the next, including lots of vegetables.
Ristorante Gatto Rosso Taranto is a seaside town with a complicated history. But the reason we were going was two-fold. We wanted to visit the archeological museum (one of the best in Italy) as well as the amazing restaurant Ristorante Gatto Rosso where Agostino Bartoli creates some of the best food in Puglia. The shrimp risotto with burrata which was just one of the extraordinary dishes we had.
Zio Pietro Once evening we visited Cisternino which as got to be one of the most charming towns in Puglia. We ate at a fornello, a type of place that is typical of Cisternino. A butcher in the mornings, in the evenings it opens as a restaurant. You come in, choose your meat, then it is cooked for you in the wood burning oven. We chose to eat at Zio Pietro, one of the oldest in town,
You can read all about this tradition in my book Eating My Way Through Italy The tables are located all along the small alleys.
A few days we just picked up supplies to have picnics at the beach, or dinner at hour villa.
Panificio L’Assunta Contrada S. Antonio D’Ascula, 169, 70043 Monopoli BA
Spiga d’oro pane & sfizi Contrada Stonazzeli, 56, 70043 Monopoli BA
Shopping:
Grottaglie is known for ceramics. We stopped by our friends at Fasano Ceramiche CNF to say hi and pick up a few things. Who can resist?
We also discovered a new ceramic place we’d never been to before: Antonio Fasano. He is located at Via Caravaggio 7, Grottaglie. His phone number is:+39.099 566 1871 you can try sending an email here: e-mail: [email protected]
I hope you enjoyed this virtual tour of eating in Puglia. If you’d like to join us in real life, we’ll be visiting many of these places during our Week in Puglia Tours in 2021 and 2022. I hope you can join us!!
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