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Puglia has a lot of mind-blowingly beautiful places to explore if you’ve got a trip planned here anytime soon. But you also don’t want to miss out on local Apulian cuisine and the best local dishes on offer here because they will tantalize your taste buds.
Michelin-starred restaurants in Puglia are most likely your best opportunity for a refined dining experience during your time in Apulia. Italy has many of these and luckily, Puglia is home to about eleven (11) of them. In this guide, we discuss all of them.
1. Casa Sgarra – Trani
Traditional Puglian flavors and regional cuisine with a modern twist is the major theme of the different dishes on offer at the Casa Sgara, the seafront restaurant in Trani, located just twenty minutes away from the buzzing port in this town.
The Casa Sgara is run by three brothers whose culinary expertise and collaboration recently earned them a Michelin star as one of the latest entrants in the Puglia region. You can visit the Casa Sgara for anything from fresh handmade pasta to delicately-prepared seafood dishes, or Sunday ragù with fish or meat, among others.
- Lungomare C. Colombo 114,
- Trani, 76125, Italy
- https://www.casasgarra.it/
2. Bros Restaurant – Lecce
The Bros’ Restaurant at Leece is what you get when you mix entrepreneurial creativity and a dose of cheekiness with a super-duper fascination with food making. This restaurant is the handiwork of two partners, Floriano Pellegrino and Isabella Potì.
The restaurant offers two tasting menus in 15, 10, and 5 courses. You can make a stopover here for surprise dishes like the “Fucking Cold Egg” or the “Spaghetti timbale.” The creative and contemporary culinary experience here will amaze you!
- Via degli Acaja 2
- Lecce, 73100, Italy
- https://www.brosrestaurant.it/
3. Angelo Sabatelli – Putignano Bari
The Angelo Sabatelli restaurant recently moved to the historic Santa Chiara spot in Putignano. But that is not the only noteworthy thing about this Michelin-starred Puglia restaurant.
Angelo Sabatelli describes its cuisine as modern and creative. True to this, the dishes are a blend of the most original local produce given a modern twist and an occasional Asian flavor that most people who stop here can’t stop raving about. You’ll find dishes here like Dim-sum ”with crab, along with Mediterranean options like roasted aubergine with burrata, tomato, and basil, among others.
Santa Chiara 1,
Putignano, 70017, Italy
4. Pashà – Conversano
The Pasha at Conversano does not only have a beautiful name, but it also has a nice history to it. This iconic restaurant opened 18 years ago at the Seminario Vescovile (Bishop’s Seminary), one of Conversano’s most historic buildings.
The focus here is deeply rooted in local Apulian cuisine perfected over the years and served with a modern twist. The food here will sweeten your mouth and the setting will blow your mind. That’s just how mesmerizing the Pasha is!
Morgantini 2,
Conversano, 70014, Italy
5. Casamatta – Manduria
Casamatta’s commitment to delicacies based on local Apulian cuisine using the best local products such as the region’s own fish and meat as well as vegetables grown in the restaurant’s very very own garden has earned the restaurant not just One Michelin star but also another One Michelin Green star for gastronomy and sustainability.
Casamatta is offering diners their best taste of Puglia and the restaurant is doing so in an eco-friendly fashion.
Contrada Scrasciosa,
Manduria, 74024, Italy
6. Primo Restaurant – Lecce
A trip to Lecce is always an exceptional one. Another exceptional thing is eating out at the small Primo Restaurant at Lecce where young chef Solaika Marrocco delights her diners with her high-quality Meditteranean cuisine.
The Primo Restaurant offers contemporary Apulian dishes from pasta with tomato, oregano, and chili to sweetbread with raw Gallipoli prawns and orange, as well as parmigiana of eggplant, tomato, and béchamel with burnt wheat. These, as well as others, are presented in a small dining space with few tables and a vaulted ceiling. The food and the setting are as delightful as they can get which is why Primo earned its Michelin star for the first time this year.
47° Reggimento Fanteria 7,
Lecce, 73100, Italy
7. Due Camini – Savelletri
Modern cuisine based on Apulian cuisine and heritage, made by none other than the famous chef Domingo Schingaro and presented in a beautifully transformed Mediterranean setting worthy of the attention of international VIPs like David Beckham and Madonna – that was the plan for Due Camini.
The restaurant is playing according to plan, sweetening taste buds and winning hearts in the process. You might want to try out one or more of its three (3) tasting menus of Vin in Puglia, Divin Italia, and Naturally, the next time you’re around Savelletri.
8. Cielo – Ostuni
If you’re looking for a place to relax, be pampered, and be delighted in an extraordinary culinary experience after wandering the Puglia’s many sights and destinations, it doesn’t get any better than the Cielo at Ostuni, one of the best Michelin-starred restaurants in Puglia.
Cielo’s creative and contemporary cuisine is made up of not just Apulian but also diverse flavors and recipes from different parts of the world. After you enjoy your meal in the white dining room with its iconic vaulted ceilings or among citrus trees in the restaurant’s courtyard.
Scipione Petrarolo 7,
Ostuni, 72017, Italy
9. Porta di Basso – Peschici
You start to feel the difference the moment you’re seated inside the Porta di Basso. Inside here, the goal is to make you feel special and pampered and your hunger satisfied with not just any kind of food, but high-quality Italian cuisines made from a special combo of local ingredients along with over 200 types of wine, if you’re up for that too.
This restaurant in the old town of Peshici recently earned its well-deserved Michelin star. The menu here is mostly seafood, Apulian, and contemporary and can be enjoyed either on the terrace overlooking the sea or inside the dining space, an ancient oil mill with lime and stone vaults that now houses one of the best Michelin-starred restaurants in Puglia.
Colombo 38,
Peschici, 71010, Italy
10. Già sotto l’arco – Carovigno
The trendy and stylish Già sotto l’arco is located in a fine Baroque building in the Carovigno town of Puglia, Italy. Under the superb command of Teodosio Buongiorno and Teresa Galeone, Già sotto l’arco offers a mix of traditional, seasonal, and local, Apulian dishes, along with over five hundred different kinds of wines in its huge cellar.
You’ll find the best of Apulian here, whether you’re looking for meaty dishes or fish specialties. For all of its charm and delicacies, the Già sotto l’arco won and deserved its Michelin star as a testament to its culinary excellence among other Puglian restaurants.
Corso Vittorio Emanuele 71,
Carovigno, 72012, Italy
11. Quintessanza -Trani
The Di Gennaro family of four brothers led by the head chef Stefano have managed to turn Quintessenza into one of the most sought-after restaurants in Puglia. The restaurant recently changed its location, moving to its current Lionelli address, with the new location placing the restaurant closer to the Castello Svevo and Santa Maria Assunta cathedral.
The Quitessaenza itself now offers different choices of dining spaces for diners ranging from a panoramic terrace to ground floor and cellar. Here, you’ll be treated to a simple menu made from a fresh combo of locally sourced produce including the extra virgin olive oil the Di Gennaro family produces by itself. The cuisine here is Apulian and contemporary, with the restaurant being one of Puglia’s exclusive group of Michelin-starred restaurants.
- Lionelli 62,
- Trani, 76125, Italy
- http://www.quintessenzaristorante.it/
A culinary expedition like no other!
Puglia has all of those fascinating sights and is filled with all kinds of memorable experiences and moments you’ll want to cherish forever.
Along with the physical experiences, any of these Michelin-starred restaurants in Puglia also offers refined dining experiences with exciting dishes for an all-around memorable culinary experience. If you ever find yourself in Puglia, be sure to try out one or more of these restaurants.
