Ristorante Nadì — Restaurant in Matera

Browse through my other reviews and you'll see I don't write a negative opinion like this easily. And yet, our experience at "Nadi" can't be described as anything other than "an authentic disgrace". From the way we were "welcomed" by the staff to the tune of "no, you can't seat inside as it's been booked for a group" (the dining room was visibly not arranged for a group, and no such thing actually arrived in the time we were there), to every single dish we were served, everything was a huge disappointment. The "tagliatelle al funghi porcini" were dull and tasteless, the "ravioli” were filled with an insipidly unidentifiable mixture and presented with a few scarce drops of poor quality canned tomato sauce. The "complete salad" was ironically a good name for a "complete disappointment" of green leaves that definitely had known better days, with some tomatoes and the worst mozzarella you can find south of the Alps. Finally, the "melanzane parmigiana" was the single one item that could be saved from an otherwise horrendous waste of time and money in Matera. "Could be saved" because being something I regularly prepare myself at home, I can assure with a degree of authority that this parmigiana had been prepared at least 3 if not 4 days prior to my visit to Matera. In short... This is exactly the worst (and best) example of a touristic restaurant, with a business model essentially based on "milking the cow" as much as they can, knowing that this tourist will never return, irrespective of how well, or otherwise, they do their work. Hence why I feel I have the responsibility to warn potential future clients: It's not just the money they took from me, it's the opportunity to have a great meal in the country with one of the most fascinating culinary traditions in the world. More opportunities will come for sure, but this one will never come back. Don't say...

Avoid this restaurant, the manager is rude and nasty. Our vegetables didn't come at the time of our meal and the bread did not come with olive oil, so it was dry. I had to complain because a plate of spinach arrived alone and unpaired with anything. The table behind received full service. For the inconvenience I asked can you offer us a glass of wine? They gave us a glass of wine (only because I had asked for some compensation) but when I complained when the bill came I was disrespected and a manager (Giuseppe) slammed the bill shut in front of us for complaining, which was the most disgusting part. He walked away and we had to go up to the bar and complain. This is so unacceptable! We were told we've already given you a free glass of wine, to which I immediately said yes because I asked for one! I had to pay full price and I am incredibly disgruntled. The manager was incredibly unaccommodating, walked away from every interaction and left his staff to deal with...

Don't waste your time in this place. It is a tourist trap. We ordered the risotto truffle, and it is the worst risotto I ever had: dry, saltless, and just some truffle on the top. Even when not enjoying the food, neither I nor my husband leave it unfinished on the plate, but this time we did. Tye service was also bad, considering the restaurant was empty, and when the waiter asked me if there was something bad with the order and I confirmed it, instead of trying a conciliatory approach, he got defensive and could not care less. People who reviewed this place 5 stars must have been lucky or something else; for me, it was the worst experience in the 7 days I spent...