Best Restaurants in Puglia, Apulia

At You - Food and Pleasure, you will find what best represents the concept of modernity and evolution. A few steps from the historic centre of Gallipoli, You evolve, grow, study and move forward with the times, building a concept that enhances its qualities and tends to distinguish it from the others. It is a menu that mainly sees fish at the centre of everything but also broadens its horizons to other elements, especially land. Seafood appetizers and more lead the way to a truly varied menu, which leaves no room for the undecided. The hand of the chef is evident; a touch is enough to revolutionize a flavour or a spice.

Set in the evocative setting of the city of Gallipoli, within the elegant walls of Palazzo Grumesi, Il Pettolino Gallipoli awaits you to offer you an experience of great cuisine and tradition. The emerging star of the Italian gastronomic scene, Executive Chef Vito Gaballo specializes in the haute cuisine of Maestro Gualtiero Marchesi. Since 2018 at the helm of the Il Pettolino Gallipoli restaurant, he invents and perfects unique multisensory experiences every day. Modern and tied to traditions. Innovative cuisine is always attentive to the flavours of the Salento area. Il Pettolino Gallipoli stands out for its quality traditional dishes, gourmet cuisine and the freshness of the raw materials. Quality always comes first.

An explosion of taste is enclosed in refined sandwiches, tartare, fries and much more. A fish bar to be discovered in the heart of Gallipoli. A few steps from the sea, at Scafùd, you will find what the ocean gives to this glorious land, savouring the freshness of the Mediterranean and the unmistakable taste of its fruits. Crudo, tartare and much more to fully enjoy the joy of food.

Bulwark on the Ionian Sea, the Il Bastione restaurant stands sentinel over infinity. A timeless place, it opens up to the visitor as a glimmer of the millennial history of the city of Gallipoli, thanks to a skilful recovery of medieval architecture. The golden stone, the colour of the sun, opens up to large and welcoming rooms, embraced by a large window, a natural fresco in which there is no dividing line between sky and sea. On the table are the highest gastronomic delicacies, dominated by the flavours of the sea and the culinary tradition of a land rich in history and culture.

The name of the restaurant is inspired by the yellow of the lampante oil and the scapes, two typically Gallipoli peculiarities that the co-owner, Roberto Podo, wanted to enhance with his Yellow Scapece. The restaurant is located on the first floor of a building facing the sea, above the historic Martinucci ice cream parlour and pastry shop, and from its large windows, you can admire both the sea and the Angevin castle. The menu plays a lot with flavour combinations and seasonality. Among the appetizers, therefore, we can find the cod in squid ink tempura served with a rocket cream, the Ionian squid fried in semolina flour and accompanied by Acquaviva red onion jam or the anchovy millefeuille with chicory and buffalo mozzarella crispy in the oven.

Just a stone's throw from the new area, you can discover the authenticity of the Al Pescatore restaurant with seafood specialities based on the best fresh fish. The hosts are Luciano Corciulo and his wife, Mina Stefanì, who know how to conquer the hearts of their guests with kindness, professionalism and attention to detail. “We work with quality and for quality,” they say. The entire menu was born from the inventiveness of Luciano, a whimsical and self-taught chef, a great connoisseur of the marine world, which he studies and respects. On the table, always and only the catch of the day declined in tasty variations, given that the chef faithfully follows the seasonality of the fish caught to protect the natural cyclical nature of the sea. Delicate dishes, exclusive flavours and refined combinations. These are just some of the qualities of chef Luciano Corciulo and his staff.

Osteria Casa Noscia tells the uncontaminated story of Salento and Puglia cuisine through the love and passion with which each dish is created. The rediscovery of sought-after raw materials such as spelt, barley, burnt wheat, black chickpeas, ancient grains and spontaneous vegetables evoke lost flavours and are cooked with the same methods and procedures as in the past. The constant search to rediscover foods and dishes of the past and the genuineness of our foods at "Metro" Zero will lead you on a journey to discover the scents and flavours of Salento. And this is how the oldest traditional recipes, such as ciceri e tria, broad beans and chicory, potato panzerotti and homemade orecchiette, return to our table in an atmosphere suspended between the scent of the sea and the charm of the land. The Osteria Casa Noscia is located in the heart of the historic centre of Gallipoli inside Palazzo Granafei.

I PORTICI Beerstrot Italiano was born from the desire to create a meeting place in the heart of Gallipoli where you can eat well and drink with gusto, a space where the pursuit of quality, innovation and imagination come together to give life to unique products. The mission is to unite people and diversity around the best outcome: pizza. Pizzas and pinsa with organic doughs are light, easily digestible, and have original toppings that respect seasonality. Hamburgers made with selected meats and homemade bun bread. Craft beers, carefully chosen wines and signature cocktails mixed with art and imagination. In a context with a welcoming and familiar atmosphere within everyone's reach. Here it is possible to have a delicious aperitif, an excellent dinner or even spend after-dinner drinks with friends.

Il Portolano, a restaurant in Gallipoli where seafood specialities are the reason for the cuisine, focused on the exclusive use of high-quality products; the fresh fish is scrupulously selected from the fishermen's nets that arrive at the small port every day. The Trattoria Portolano restaurant was born from the desire to express that innate passion for the gastronomy culture of Gallipoli that has always accompanied us, a faithful relationship to the ancient recipes handed down in the kitchens of our homes. In a land of fishermen and farmers, of the sea and olive trees, in Salento, the recipes are masterpieces of taste and simplicity: from the encounter of poor ingredients, the wonderful exaltation of flavours is born. The Portolano restaurant is where diners are invited to spend moments of cheerful conviviality, such as a lunch with friends, a family celebration or a candlelit dinner.

Brasserie is a 360-degree food experience featuring homemade burgers with artisan buns and delicious combinations, superfood porn appetizers, super-stuffed sandwiches and a steakhouse ready to delight you with every type of cut. Last but not least, the homemade pizzas are from the most classic to those with super enjoyable combinations. A wide selection of international craft beers accompanies all. Brasserie today is considered a pub without schemes, a place without limits where the friendship and history of a family have become the story of a local generation.

Flora – Fusion Experience is a poke restaurant in Gallipoli that comes from a modern gastronomic concept: the contamination of different types of catering. The focus is the use of local ingredients and raw materials ranging from fish to fruit in an innovative way and through a different gastronomic culture, the Hawaiian one. Molecular cuisine is used for the garnishes, thus giving elegance and modernity to the various dishes. Flora is a place able to offer a mixology and champagne service. A space capable of hosting multiple live musical selections and will offer cocktails in a warm, comfortable environment with a strong reference to the landscapes of Caribbean flora.

In the heart of Gallipoli rises Mamangi, a genuine orecchiette shop, as Puglia teaches. In the name of the orecchiette, a native Apulian pasta format, this charming, bright and welcoming restaurant is the perfect place to let yourself be carried away by the love for fresh homemade pasta. Condiments of all kinds, from the classics to the most revisited, at Mamangi tradition reign supreme, sure it can guarantee a unique gastronomic journey in the beating heart of Salento.

The Marechiaro restaurant specializes in fish dishes from the Mediterranean Sea, which are both cooked and raw. Its position is unique: a rock in the middle of the sea. You can choose directly from the counter in the dining room and request the cooking you prefer. Arrived fresh in the kitchen, the fish is prepared by the skilled hands of the talented chef, who uniquely combines colours and scents: each course is beautiful and delicious, even for the most refined palates. Excellent seafood first courses, fabulous linguine with sea urchins. Delicious seconds. The raw ones are entrancing. We also have a proposal dedicated to celiac customers.

Nestled in the evocative setting of the city of Gallipoli, within the elegant walls of Palazzo Grumesi, Il Pettolino Gallipoli awaits you to offer you an experience of excellent cuisine and tradition based on pizza. The emerging star of the Italian gastronomic scene, Executive Chef Vito Gaballo specializes in the art of pizza by Maestro Gualtiero Marchesi. Modern and tied to traditions. Innovative and always attentive to the flavours of the Salento land. This is how the pizza chef Vito offers on the tables of diners can be defined. The Pettolino Gallipoli stands out for the boundless quality of its dough, the quality tradition, the gourmet pizza and the freshness of the raw materials. Quality always comes first.

In the heart of the historic city of Lecce, Osteria di Lecce offers a quintessential Italian dining experience. The restaurant is celebrated for authentic Apulian cuisine, honouring local culinary traditions and ingredients, making it a popular spot with locals and tourists. The Osteria di Lecce menu celebrates Puglia's rich culinary heritage. The restaurant prides itself on using fresh, local and seasonal ingredients to create traditional Puglian dishes with a modern twist. Among the standout dishes are the homemade "Orecchiette con le Cime di Rapa", a classic local pasta dish with turnip greens, and the "Fave e Cicorie", a hearty broad bean purée served with black cherries. Fish lovers will be delighted by the "Fritto Misto di Mare", a plate of mixed fried seafood with the day's freshest catch. The Osteria di Lecce offers a comfortable and charming environment. The décor features rustic Italian elements, with exposed stone walls and wooden furnishings. Combined with soft lighting and carefully selected tables, the restaurant exudes a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Arte Dei Sapori restaurant is located in the heart of the historic centre of Lecce. Warm and welcoming in winter, with its internal rooms with characteristic star vaults, typical of the buildings in the historic centre of Lecce, suggestive and romantic in summer, in a distinct corner of Leccese Baroque, you can spend your evenings accompanied by delicious food and excellent wines, under the starry sky of Lecce. Our cuisine starts from the typical Salento cuisine to everything the Salento sea offers. We will prepare the fish for you in the most varied ways of cooking, always accompanying the first courses with homemade pasta, the bread of our production, and delicious homemade desserts. The wine list exceeds 120 Salento and national labels. There is no more sincere love than the love of food. Please tell me what you eat, and I'll tell you what you are.

La Vecchia Osteria is ideal for those looking for a gastronomic point of reference in Lecce, where you can taste the typical Salento cuisine in a convivial and peaceful environment. Past and present mix like the flavours of this Osteria in a perfect food and wine journey among local products and zero-kilometre ingredients, which enhance their taste and beneficial properties. La Vecchia Osteria offers a vast menu, which embraces different flavours, but with a single leitmotiv: genuine Salento cuisine. A tribute to the old Lecce, which through the careful preparation of our chefs, offers a look at the past skilfully mixed with modernity. From the typical appetizers of the place to the specialities composed of first and second courses of land and sea, each dish is served with care and attention, prepared with typical ingredients of the Salento area.

Typical Salento products have been home for nine years now: the Fiori di Zucchini restaurant is a refuge for lovers of solid and genuine flavours seasoned with love for all-around necessity. Located in the southwest area of the capital, in a side street of Viale Marche, the Fiori di Zucchini trattoria recalls in its furnishings and, above all, in its welcome, that sense of familiarity that makes you immediately empathize with the owners, Bepi and Lucia. Crossing the restaurant's threshold is like entering the dining room of a close relative, where the kitchen's scents mix with the furnishings' warm wood, the jars of jam in the sideboard, and the dried tomatoes hanging from the ceiling. Inside there are 40 seats, plus 25 outside in the summer. The couple knows how to do the honours of the house with joy, putting at ease from the very first occasion all those who want to taste the authentic cuisine of Lecce. Bepi, like a true pater familias, has an attentive eye on the room and the dishes, of which she constantly guarantees authenticity and adherence to tradition. Lucia, a tireless and thoughtful chef, selects raw materials and recipes with care and love, keeping them like a family treasure. The menu, which changes daily based on the availability of products, is a riot of seasonal vegetables, local meats, cold cuts and cheeses, fresh pasta and desserts made with dried fruit, just like the grandmothers of Lecce used to make them. In addition to the characteristic courgette flowers in batter, the sage 'cannulate, the pieces of a horse with sauce, and the poached rape cannot be missing. The seafood menu is based on oily fish. At the end of the meal, here are the morsels of almond paste that melt in your mouth. But Fiori di Zucca is also attentive to health, having a separate hob for coeliacs to avoid contamination. Even the homemade pasta, upon request, is prepared with whole grains from organic farming with shallow gluten content.

The Zefiro Restaurant is a culinary jewel set in the heart of Lecce. Known for its innovative approach to traditional Italian and especially Apulian cuisine, it has garnered much praise from locals and tourists alike. Zefiro combines a passion for food with a commitment to the traditions of Italian gastronomy, making it an extraordinary food destination. Zefiro's menu is a testament to Puglia's rich culinary culture, with traditional Italian dishes reinvented with a contemporary twist. The chefs use high-quality, locally sourced ingredients to create their masterpieces. One of the menu's highlights is the "Risotto Zefiro", a creamy risotto dish enriched with local seafood and lightly flavoured with aromatic herbs. Also, try the "Cavatelli with mussels and pecorino", which combine land and sea in a delicious fusion of flavours. The Zefiro restaurant offers a sophisticated yet relaxed atmosphere. The interiors are elegantly designed with a blend of modern and traditional furnishings, creating an elegant and inviting environment.

The Blu Notte restaurant is the ideal place to eat fish specialities surrounded by the extravagant beauty of the historic centre of Lecce. The restaurant is intimate, relaxed and welcoming, perfect for any occasion, celebration or holiday. A visit to Blu Notte leaves you speechless: this is where art, culture and cuisine create a fascinating mix, a real treat for all your senses. The menu is completed by a series of tasty homemade desserts, including the characteristic cassata di ricotta. It selects selected wines, from signature whites to prestigious reds, meditation wines and wines produced with the valuable grape varieties of the Salento, among which Negroamaro and Primitivo stand out for their quality and body. The strength of our fish restaurant in Lecce is the variety of fish that is always present on the counter, fresh, delicious and of high quality, personally selected and cooked by the chef, who gives customers an experience of taste and dishes of the highest quality. The main dish of the house is the fresh mint spagoni with chunks of grouper, which combines the Salento culinary tradition with a taste that delights the senses. Fish is in the spotlight at Blu Notte, a fish restaurant in Lecce, in the heart of the historic centre. Here the best catch is treated with respect and cooked to taste even better. Chef Maurizio's skill is demonstrated during the service of an excellent menu, from appetizers to desserts. The flagship of our menu is undoubtedly the first and second courses of fish, exquisite and carefully prepared dishes, which you can enjoy in the evocative setting of the historic centre of Lecce, accompanied by highly selected wines, from signature whites to red products in Salento.