Già Sotto l’Arco — Restaurant in Carovigno

The restaurant is very pleasant and welcoming. The decor is well curated and gives a very good vibe .

We ordered the surprise tasting menu (6 courses) - the dishes were not unpleasant but lacked that something special, the texture throughout the meal was too uniform as everything was soft (some different textures would have been nice!). We really struggle to see through the menu itself what the chef is inspired by, what does she like and what is the thinking behind the dishes.

The other thing that annoyed us was that because we arrived half an hour before all the other tables, the staff were delaying our order to regulate the service to be able to serve everyone having the tasting menu at the same time, so the gaps between our courses were too long and the meal took 2,5 hours - while we appreciate this makes things easier on kitchen staff, it's not what we would have expected at a Michelin-level restaurant with only three tables dining on a quiet weekday. We also would have expected to have all the ingredients of the dishes explained to us when each dish was presented, given that it was a surprise menu.

We couldn't quite see how this restaurant managed to get a Michelin star - the standard in Italy is pretty good and this particular dining experience was nothing exceptional. €85 for a 6-course tasting menu is also way too overpriced for the region - we went to another Michelin-starred restaurant in Puglia the next evening and had a much more memorable tasting menu for almost half the price. Not even in London 1 star restaurants 6 courses tasting menus are this pricey.

Suggestions: lower the prices, find what it is special and what is the unique value proposition of the chef and play with textures more. There is potential, but at the moment everything is too pretentious and lacks...

[FR] Un accueil très pro, dans un lieu très chaleureux. Cuisine typique et locale, mais tournée façon gastronomique. La vaisselle très atypique est accordée à un dressage des plats minutieusement réfléchi. Le service est très agréable et efficace afin que l'expérience soit totale. Les plus de cet endroit : expérience d'un étoilé Michelin pour un prix très abordable.

[IT] Un'accoglienza molto professionale, in un posto molto caloroso. Cucina tipica e locale, ma girata in modo gastronomico. Le stoviglie molto atipiche sono sintonizzate su un dressage meticolosamente studiato dei piatti. Il servizio è molto piacevole ed efficiente in modo che l'esperienza è totale. Il plus di questo posto: un'esperienza "una stalla Michelin" a un prezzo molto conveniente.

[DE] Ein sehr professioneller Begrüssung an einem sehr gemütlichen Ort. Typische und einheimische Küche, aber auf gastronomische Art und Weise. Das sehr untypische Geschirr ist auf eine akribisch durchdachte Dressur der Speisen abgestimmt. Der Service ist sehr angenehm und effizient, so dass das Erlebnis total ist. Das Plus dieses Ortes: Michelin-Sterne-Erlebnis zu einem sehr günstigen Preis.

[EN] A very professional welcome, in a very warm place. Typical and local cuisine but with a gastronomic twist. The very atypical crockery is tuned to a meticulously thought out dressage of the dishes. The service is very pleasant and efficient so that you fully enjoy the experience. The plus of this place: "One star Michelin" experience for a very...

I wanted to like this place because the setting and interior were lovely. However, it was very disappointing and I'd recommend you avoid this place.

We were a group of 4 and went for the 4 course tasting menu. It was a 'surprise' menu, and I think had we seen details of the 4 courses we ended up having, we absolutely would not have bothered ordering it (we would have gone for a la carte dishes instead - some of which sounded very nice indeed.)

The menu was a surprise for sure - a bad one. It was pretty much the 4 worst dishes from the a la carte menu - not a showcase of any talent.

It started off OK with a pumpkin soup, although I didn't feel like I was eating Michelin star standard food at any point - there did not seem to be any skill used for any of the dishes.

The first 2 courses were slimey and basic. (An eggy mess and a risotto.) There wasn't really any variety of flavour or texture, they were just 2 bowls of creamy, salty gloup that were bordering on being inedible.

The next course, a beef dish was far too salty without any other notable flavours, and 1 portion was full of gristle and sinew (we complained but it was not really acknowledged. The service was average at best.)

Dessert was the best course. Also the wine was good, with a decent enough selection.

However, I would not...