Amore Crusco — Restaurant in Matera

Restaurant that deserves more attention!! Hands down, 10 out of 10. As we entered restuarant, waitress Ariana and chef Adif greeted us kindly.

We ordered a glass of house wine and a truffle gnocchi, traditionally cooked orrechiette as a primi piatti.

Orrechiette tasted very fresh and light. I could feel that its mozzarella and tomato was very fresh since it tasted very savory, even though its a simple dish.

Gnocchi was great, but would have liked if it was a little bit more al dente. But the truffle sauce and the added peperoncino was fantastic!

House wine was not so expensive, 6 euroes per glass. The taste was not so deep but enough to enjoy, it was very fresh.

As a secondi piatti, I ordered another glass of house wine and a beef steak, and a matera-style-cooked-cod.

Beef steak was not a traditional-western styled steak but it was great hence the cheap price, and because it was perfectly cooked as ordered, medium rare.

Cod is the reason why I decided to write this review. I'm traveling around Portugal, Iceland and Norway which claim that they have the best cod food in the world. But the cod I tasted in this land-locked restuarant was eyes-opening! It tasted something I've never tried anywhere in the world(its the reason I travel), moreover, it was delicious. It was very fresh and it was marinated with a special sauce, the flesh was very chewy.

I'd highly recommend to visit this restuarant to enjoy materan quisine, and I'd like to visit here...

We wanted to dine at a restaurant where a kind gentleman approached us and told us to wait 5 minutes for a table. He even offered us some wine and peppers while we waited, which was very nice. However, after some time, we noticed that other people were being seated while we were still waiting. After about an hour, I asked a staff member why, and she told me we were actually waiting for a different restaurant next door! Then the lady from the restaurant we were supposedly waiting for came out and told us, quite rudely, “If you don’t want to wait 5 more minutes, you can leave.” She even insulted my mother by asking, “Don’t you understand English?” and added, “This is how we do things in Italy.” I explained that the man told us 5 minutes, but we had been waiting an hour. She had no answer. Terrible attitude, very disrespectful, and not even able to communicate properly in English instead, they were being sarcastic. We obviously left and went to the restaurant next door. Customers deserve clear communication and respect , we’re the reason these places stay open! Very bad...

I went upon a reservation with the intention of sitting on the terrace(end of August)but unfortunately I was seated at a table right at the entrance with limited view with explanation that there is no seats available which was quite not professional and the entrance with limited view with explanation that there is no seats available which was quite not professional to see people passing by and going in without reservation. So for what reason the reservation system?

Baked orecchiette in tomato sauce was really delicious and heartwarming,crusco had really interesting sweet taste and crunchiness but too little to cover the bitterness of wild chicory(also no noticeable garlic scent as presented in menu). I wasn't asked if I wanted dessert,instead I was given a piece of watermelon which was a nice gesture,good local wine - unfortunatelyI didn't keep...