Ojala we will be spending three weeks in Puglia in October:
Bari…4 nights
Ceglie…3 nights
Nardo–4 nights
Savelletri (Nearby fancy hotel). about 10 days. (been there several times but not in the last 15 years or so since Rocco Forte took them over; large heated pool is the draw for me)
I’ve been to the region about 4-5 times but not in many years except for recent Basilicata/Gargano foray; we will not go to Matera this time.
Looking for good food, nothing fancy.
Have already booked CIBUS in Ceglie, nothing else so far.
Eager for any and all recommendations for dinners.
We will have a car upon leaving Bari and return car at Bari airport on departure.
Any and all comments great to read; I eat everything and I am especially on the lookout for ricci di mare. (sea urchin). And that famous spaghetti all’ assassina in Bari which I have never tasted. And all good whole fish.
Sounds like a great trip. Cant add more other than what Ive written about
I get the sense that you cant go wrong with any of the Cegli old town places heavily reviewed on Google Maps. I was told many places closed during the pandemic and I’m guessing the strong survived.
What are your plans for Nardo. Explore the town or day trips?
Four nights at hotel in Nardo.
Want to go back to a place we loved in Taviano (snail) but it’s changed names and maybe gotten fancy by now…it’s dropped the dialect name and is now named CASA MARTINA…will check with who I meet around Nardo and get recs.
I adore Santa Maria al Bagno and we had a branzino I still remember 15 years on at ART NOUVEAU. Have not done too much exploration on the Ionian side…but Taviano was a charm back then… IL PURITATE and Gallipoli held less appeal back then but hey–we have a car and a couple of weeks…(I now do all the driving…they should put out a traffic alert on the radio…“erica1 has returned…prepare for slow driving and traffic jams!!”
Just requested that our Bari hotel book for us a table at AL SORSO PREFERITO.
For the “assassin’s spaghetti” which of course will be too spicy for my partner but we will work it out. I also have booking at CIBUS but beyond that unlike my usual behavior, I’ve not booked anyplace else in advance. (We leave Sunday 5 October). Is there anyplace I will greatly rue if I do not book? Sometimes It’s nice to play by ear and I am thinking that in October, with a Bari-Bari agenda, I don’t have to do much more. Will not go to Lecce. Looking moor around Specchia, Rufano, Taviano, Nardo… FARMACIA DEI SANI in Rufano was lauded to us on our first visit maybe 15 years ago…anyone here been there??? It seemed like quite the place back then and I loved those inland towns–Specchia and Ruffano…
I’m going to talk to a lot of locals and investigate…
Any help most welcome…
Ziggy, sorry, for Nardo will explore town in early evening and hope to walk to restaurants for dinner but we do have a car. I doubt if there’s a whole lot of “sights” for us in Nardo but if I am in Italy, and even better in Puglia, I am just happy to be there and chatter as much as I can with locals…looks like a nice hotel recommended to me from a reliable poster on Fodor’s…she’s well traveled and has seemingly good advice on hotels…“.rainycitygirl.” The hotel is the PALAZZO TAFURI…fancy!!!
For what it’s worth, I found the predominant flavor in spaghetti all’assassina the char/burnt component, not the spice level. The burnt flavor was what I had to get used to because it seemed a little odd. Then started to like it…
From what I could see, most tables at Il Sorso Preferito (I made a same-day reservation) ordered it as a shared primo and then moved on to seafood for a main.
Looking forward to hearing about your trip.
I need to organize my thoughts and post about Abruzzo & Molise (+Naples, Ischia, Rome).
Leely I would love to read anything you wrote on food, on anything else.
Booked AL SORSO PREFERITO and TERRANIMA in Bari…would like to explore lots of street food, too.
I have two seafood places marked but I think I can leave those until I arrive and talk to the hotel hosts…I’m excited about Bari..never entered the city at all until now!!
Leely I would love to read anything you wrote on food, on anything else.
Booked AL SORSO PREFERITO and TERRANIMA in Bari and will ask hotel people where else to eat, including snacky things…I am very happy to be going to Bari for the first time.
