Puglia, Basilicata, and Calabria Restaurants

Puglia, Basilicata, and Calabria Restaurant Reviews

Southern Italian cuisine is rustic and healthful, featuring homemade pasta and cheese, fresh vegetables, seafood, and olive oil. A defining principle of Italian cooking is to take excellent ingredients and prepare them simply. That philosophy reaches its purest expression here.

The best—and cheapest—meals are often found at a rustic family-run trattoria (sometimes referred to as a casalinga), commonly located in the countryside or city outskirts. These bare-bones places often dispense with printed menus, but they manage to create flavors rivaling those of any high-brow restaurant. Assent to the waiter's suggestions with a simple va bene (that's fine) or faccia Lei (you decide) and leave yourself in the chef's hands.

More-upscale establishments turn authentic local ingredients into deliciously inventive dishes. Fish, unsurprisingly, is the star attraction on the coast. Many such restaurants are set in breathtaking locations, yet prices remain relative bargains compared to similar places farther north.

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