Ristorante Del Centro — Restaurant in Bari

I really loved this restaurant. The waiters are super friendly as well. I read some reviews below that the bald guy with glasses wasn't nice but that wasn't my experience at all. He was very helpful all along and brought over another waiter that spoke english when he couldn't communicate thoroughly. It was close to their lunch closing time when I arrived and he happily took me in anyways. When I asked for suggestions on fish dishes, they referred me to a deliciously made sea bass and noted when larger portioned dishes might be too big for me. I found their recommendations to be very sincere and didn't just lean towards higher priced items as well (again, some reviews mentioned this). I travel quite a bit and can be very picky about my seafood. I got the raw seafood platter and a fresh baked fish. The branzino was cooked to perfection with simple herbs that highlighted the freshness of the fish but yet, not overpowering. The meat texture of the fish was just perfect. SO many places tend to overcook their fish but this one was super tender and juicy. And this was something like 8 euros only! What a bargain. Some reviews complained that they took some fees for tips, this wasn't the case at all, it is common in Italy at many restaraunts that there is a small fee of about 2-3 euros (this is also indicated at the bottom of the menu), I didn't find any overcharging of any items on the menu. All in all, I really thought the overall experience was awesome. I would love to return in the future. Having read such mixed reviews on google, I was a bit cautious at first but found my experience to be totally positive and I feel very grateful to have tried this place. As such, i wanted to leave a review and maybe help others who are also reading the other reviews and in hesitation. Give them a try, you will be...

The first sign of danger was the chipped plates, mismatched glassware and signs/menus (that were in need of replacing )written over with tape and marker.

The fresh seafood present at the ice-bar kept us interested. This was the only good part of the evening. The fresh seafood was good. It was good because the kitchen didn't do anything to make it worse. It was served with lemon and we used the olive oil, salt and pepper to season. There was no Tabasco or vinergerette etc. We had a soupy risotto with some tasty bits of fish. A pasta with lobster that may have been microwaved (some bits very warm/some cold). The lobster wasn't bad, but didn't have any real freshness to it, as you would expect from fresh lobster. At 18€ a serving I doubt it was fresh.

The wine was corner shop quality, not bad, but in no way interesting or appetising.

Service was abrupt and completely uninterested. Our waiter tapped on his phone as he held the card machine to us. Threw the receipt on the table, gave us our mains before finishing our starter, generally rushed us out of there despite leaving 30 minutes before closing.

This is the kind of place that was since good, and the owners have become uninterested in service, customers or the physical quality of the...

When we arrived (at a Tuesday night) there were not many people so we seated immediately. The waiter brought us the menu and we decided what we wanted to eat. I chose pasta and my partner chose fried fish. We also ordered starters. The starters arrived fast and we ate at a normal speed. Still when we finished them we waited more than 30 min for the two dishes to arrive (which is not acceptable given the dishes were quick to cook and the restaurant was almost empty by then).

The food was a bit salty but the worst part is that my partner found, on his dish, a human hair (not his) and I found, in a dish pasta with cozze and vongole, a shrimp leg. I am not allergic but if I was it would have been a major problem.

Everything we ate was mid. The price was high for what we ate and for sure I am not returning or recommending...