Osteria da Giuseppe — Restaurant in Ceglie Messapica

If you’re looking for authentic, THIS IS IT!

My wife found an article referring to this Osteria and we figured we’d give it a try.

Not surprisingly we were the first customers at noon, but the place quickly filled up - not a single tourist, so we knew we were in the right place.

We ordered the house appetivi and everything was delicious, from the meats and cheeses to the pickled onions and meatballs and mint infused squash… it was all wonderful.

Then we each ordered a pasta and they were all unique and tasty with the orchiette and rape di chime (some sort of green… turnip or broccoli) was the winner!

Ohh and I forgot to mention: we tried the Asino, or donkey! Tasted like roast beef, but a new adventure for us all!

The homemade tiramisu also excellent, made with real mascarpone and worth the trip alone! Then they brought little bottles of amaro and lemoncello with the towns’ famous almond and cherry cookies… a delightful end to a wonderful meal.

They really made us feel not just welcome, but at home. A truly original and authentic experience, in a cute...

This experience was truly one of a kind. From the moment we walked in, Giuseppe and the entire team made us feel incredibly welcome. The atmosphere was warm and authentic, and the hospitality was unlike anything we’ve experienced in Puglia before. The food was a solid 10/10. Every dish was prepared with care and bursting with flavor, especially the tomatoes, which were honestly some of the best we’ve ever had. You could taste the quality in every bit of the dishes!!

Giuseppe, the owner, surprised us by speaking perfect German, and he even took the time to share a bit of his life story with us, such a fascinating and genuine person. It's rare to meet someone who runs a place with so much heart.

On top of everything, the value for money was outstanding. Portions were generous, prices more than fair, and to top it all off, we were treated to a complimentary schnapps at the end, which was such a lovely gesture.

We’ll never forget this dining experience, it was special in every way, and we’ll 100% be...

Honest price for honest food. All in set menu (20-ish euro pp) with typical Puglian appetizers, surprisingly tasty, choice of three pasta's of which the linguini was a bit too salty, but the other two were alright, if a bit much and heavy. Choice of a few Secundi, among which griglia misti (mixed grill), as expected a mix of grilled meats, which seemed alright, with potatoes, but the other secundi we tried, veal/vitello with arugula and parmesan, rare/saignant, as ordered, was really tasty! Basically a type of warm carpaccio, but the meat was really nice, happy we got it rare as ordered. At the end the typical Puglian cookies which are a bit anise, so not really for us, but have to respect honouring local cuisine, and limoncello, always tasty. The red wine was okay, but definitely preferred the white. All in all a good, affordable and lovely experience, introducing us to Puglian food. The owner is very friendly and speaks a fair bit of...