Alterno - Ristorante e American Bar Bari — Restaurant in Bari

This is THE busiest restaurant on the street and we were told by another local business owner that is where they always go for their favourite dish so we risked it for a biscuit. We went early as we had elsewhere to be at 9pm, arrived at 7:10pm. We figured it can't be too chaotic early on a Tuesday night..... We were promptly sat at a table as they were still fair quiet at this time. Whilst we were speaking with our waiter, another member of the waiting team starting to shout questions at home over our heads and pointing at other tables, narrowly missing our faces. We placed our order, fairly straightforward we thought. Instead of bruschetta with salmon and straciatella (a bit weird to me) we wanted it the classic just tomatoes etc without fish and cheese. We also ordered an Assissina (spicy burnt pasta) and carbona with a side salad. After around five minutes, water, wine and bread arrived. A fairly ok start. A fly landed in my water but we're eating al fresco so what do we expect. 15 minutes later, the bruschetta arrived. WITH fish and cheese. We told the waiter that this is wrong and we specifically requested the classic tomato version. He took it back and said he'd be back quickly. Another 25 minutes later and the correct antipasto arrives. Nothing special, I've made better at home and the plate was like a jungle with so much rocket you could hardly see the bruschetta! Basically they toasted some bread, dribbled some oil and put some chopped cherry tomatoes on it and then hid it in leaves. By this stage we were too hungry to care to ate it anyway and the plate was cleared away quickly. Another 15 minutes later and our pasta arrived. Mine was fine, pretty sloppy with the presentation but my partner's carbonara was STONE COLD. I'm not even taking warm ISH, it was cold! We told the nearest waiting staff and was just told 'wait' and they went to the guy that took out order. He stopped to take the order of two other tables before finally coming over to us, by which point our side salad still hadn't arrived and I had finished my pasta. He felt the pasta bowl, realised it was stone cold , shrugged and said he could ask them to remake it. By this point we'd had enough and asked for the carbonara and salad be taken off the bill and for the card machine so we could pay and get out of there as we had been there 1.5 hours already and had somewhere else to be. TL:DR - ok food if they get it right but the service...

I normally leave reviews when it's good or really bad, unfortunately this was the latter. We arrived around 7 pm and ordered bruschetta glass of wine and a couple pasta dishes. Nice and simple for an Italian restaurant you would think , we requested instead of the mixed bruschetta of salmon and cheese just the traditional one, fine no problem we were told. 15 minutes later the starter turned up , with fish and cheese. No problem, we smiled and reminded the waiter it's we wanted the traditional as requested, he apologised and took it back , 25 minutes later he brought the correct starter out , yes almost thirty minutes to fix the mistake and put tomatoes on bread and bring it out , It wasn't the best but hey were now an hour in and only had this to eat so far . Another 45 minutes pass for us to have to ask where our food is for us to then receive my carbonara,cold . Not warm ,Luke warm . Cold . Like it had been sitting there for 20 minutes. I told the waitress that it's cold and it seemed to annoy her more than anything. You would think this would of been fixed right away . A sorry and take the plate away as this is fixable. Nope. I sat there for 5 minutes why she walked past me several times , I then got up and told another waiter who then checked the food and took it away. At this point we're an hour and half in , everyone who sat down after us had eaten and left at this point we just asked for the bill and left. Just to put this into context Bari is my 9th Italian city roughly 7-10 days we go for m I've eaten and well over 60 restaurants in Italy and this was , hands down the worst food I've had. Staff , service and food were so so bad.The waiter very kindly told me that the pasta and the salad they also forgot to bring out would be removed from the bill , so that was nice of him to remove items we didn't either eat or receive. So congratulations , I will never forget this place I have eaten better Italian...

Alterno Bari – A Dismal Disaster: A Warning to All Diners

Once a promising establishment, Alterno Bari has sunk into a quagmire of unsanitary practices and blatant deceptions. What used to be a reliable spot for Italian dining is now marred by portion scams and alarming hygiene issues.

Portion Scams and Billing Deceit A recent visit revealed that two ordered portions of fritto misto ended up being one meager serving split between two people. To add insult to injury, a ciccio/pizza pane—never delivered to the table—nonetheless appeared on the bill. This isn’t a mere oversight; it’s an outright scam that leaves you short-changed in both quantity and quality.

Filthy Conditions and Chaotic Hygiene The restaurant’s sanitation has deteriorated to a shocking degree. The restroom is nothing more than a poorly improvised space with persistent foul odors and visible grime. In a baffling lapse of basic hygiene, customers who neglect to wash their hands after using these facilities come into close contact with the serving staff. Even worse, the dishwashing area is a breeding ground for infection, and the utensils are rinsed in water that leaves much to be desired.

Service That Fails Expectations For those expecting the warm, traditional Italian service, prepare for a rude surprise. The staff—whose diverse origins are discreetly evident rather than the typical local Italian profile—seem more intent on cutting corners than on offering genuine hospitality. Their forced smiles barely mask an unprofessional and indifferent attitude that further tarnishes the dining experience.

Final Verdict Alterno Bari has transformed into a sanitary hazard and a purveyor of deceptive practices. If you value your health, time, and money, steer clear of this...