La Grotta Del Gusto — Restaurant in Matera

I had an absolutely fantastic dining experience at this restaurant! The food was nothing short of amazing. I ordered the cavatelli with sausage and mushrooms, and it was a masterpiece. The mushrooms were incredibly fresh, and the sausages were juicy and bursting with flavor, perfectly complementing the cavatelli. To top it off, I paired the dish with a glass of house wine recommended by the waitress—an excellent choice.

For dessert, I got their panna cotta, which was beautifully dressed with chocolate powder and caramel syrup. To balance the sweetness, I ordered a limoncello, and the combination was simply phenomenal. Every bite and sip was pure perfection!

The service was exceptional as well. The waitress (I regret not catching her name) was fluent in English and went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect. When I needed a taxi to the bus station, she personally called several drivers and even offered to drive me herself when no one picked up. Thankfully, we managed to get one in the end, but her kindness and dedication left a lasting impression.

This restaurant truly exceeded all my expectations, from the incredible food to the outstanding service....

We are in magnificent Matera for the first time. We took a long walk and wanted an early dinner. Most of the local restaurants open at 7:30 but we wanted time to enjoy our beautiful room in Il’ Hotel Di Pietra. We happened upon La Grotta and read some reviews. The recent ones were promising. It tuns out that the current owner has only had it for a year (hence the recent positive reviews). His sister speaks great English and couldn’t have been sweeter to us as she gave him a night off. The servers were friendly and attentive. The diverse menu offered local dishes and old favorites at very reasonable prices. We sampled the fried peppers and soaked bread appetizers which were unique and tasty. Our salads were fresh and crisp. The sausage and mushroom pasta was amazing! The Eggplant Parmesan was delicious. The refreshing, light lemon sorbeto dessert had lemonade topped with lemon sorbet on top - perfect after a pasta feast. Please support this business. You’ll be...

I loved this place so much I visited it twice in my one day trip to Matera. The food was absolutely amazing and the location is really cool because you're dining in a cave. I worked in restaurants for 16 years and I can say that Dorela and Alessandro who waited on me were not only nice and sweet, they were great at their jobs.

This is also one of the few restaurants that is open in the off-season (though like most places, they will close a bit during midday, depending on how busy they are, but that's normal).

Tip: if you can't decide between the pastas, order a half-size ("mezzo misura") of a couple of them. The food is very cheap compared to the quality and quantity you get, so eat as much as you want.

Also, the wine pours are absolutely...