Mamapulia — Restaurant in Bari

We went there after reading the excellent reviews and were very very disappointed! We went here for lunch around 12. This was our first meal after arriving in Puglia and were super excited for it! We ordered the fried seafood, a filled pasta with pork cheek dish and the bruschetta. The bruschetta was a disappointment with stale bread (see pictures), the fried seafood was a small portion for 20 euros and the octopus was extremely chewy. The pasta dish was the only only saving grace. To add to this, I noticed that they didn’t give us any bread (which I saw inside when I went to pay) and the two guy waiters didn’t even care to smile and were super grumpy. The girl who took our order was okay. Even though their service is poor, they still charge 10% of the bill as service charge though! I waited till the end of my 10 day long trip in the Puglia region to write this review so that I could compare it to the tens of other meals we had during this time. And I can for sure say that this one is absolutely at the bottom of the list.

Reply to the restaurant: We were definitely not served any bread or focaccia as soon as we sat down. If we were served, you would see it on the photo. The photo has only the three dishes we ordered. And like I said in my original review, there were plenty of other restaurants we...

Our B&B host, Martino, recommended this spot and we loved it! We ordered the bruschetta, spaghetti all'assassina, steak, tiramisu, and caramel cheesecake.

Our server was the best—his energy and kindness added to the overall experience of us dining there.

The bruschetta was delightful. The tomatoes were chef's kiss. Fresh and flavorful.

We were so excited to try the spaghetti all'assassina, as we learned this Apulian dish originated in Bari. We ordered this dish at another restaurant during our stay one of the other days, and we enjoyed this version at Mamapulia much more! Because of the method of cooking, they do require at least two orders of this dish, which was fine by us since my husband and I both wanted our own plates ;-). It does also take about ~20 minutes to make!

The steak was good, as well, but we were really wowed by the other dishes.

And lastly.... dessert. The tiramisu was yummy, but holy moley, the cheesecake was HEAVENLY. We couldn't stop stealing another spoonful. I wish I could eat this every...

Honestly underwhelming. I decided to have dinner here due to the good Google reviews and the pretty looking dishes but there are places in Bari that are much better in terms of food, atmosphere, price and staff. The pasta was way too salty and portions aren’t that big so if you’re hungry you won’t get full. Taste wise it was alright but nothing I would come back for.

Another annoying thing was how the staff decided to clean the place while we were still eating with 1h30 to go until closing time. A bit of sweeping wouldn’t have bothered me but throwing away glass bottles created a constant noise of glass breaking for about half an hour. I understand we all want to go home asap after work but that doesn’t create a great atmosphere at all ! Anyway, if you have other restaurants on your list you’d like to try I recommend trying those instead because I for one wish I had spent my...