Komera - Cucina nostra — Restaurant in Monopoli

What a very special find. From the moment we entered we felt special. I have no idea why people are leaving bad reviews. I know they have just opened about three months ago (the bar man told me). May be they have upped there game. Have a read of our experience below.

We started the evening with cocktail. I had a Manhattan and my partner had a Negroni. They were both delicious. The mixologist (Bart) explained what he was adding and telling us about the quality ingredients.

When we sat down for our meal we were introduced to a beautiful Scorpion Fish. I never normal like restaurants that push there 'catch of the day' but this felt more like they were proud to show off their beautiful fish. It was recommended that we could have the head made in to a rich sauce served with Pasta and the body filets served for our main. We felt.so comfy and content that we accepted the recommendation(could have been the very well made and strong 6€ cocktails).

We started the meal with the Burrata stuffed with shrimp which was delicate and creamy. The panzanella style salad that came with it was he perfect contrast.

Then our pasta arrived. (They explained that the pasta takes time to cook as it a thick pasta. A speciality from Napels) it was out-of this world...... Well we thought it was until the main dish arrived! We were then blown away by the texture, flavour and freshness of the fish.

What a spectacular meal. We are only here for a week. It would be wrong to eat here every...

Came with my coeliac partner - staff were very knowledgeable about gluten in food. One things is though, on the menu there were items marked as not having gluten but actually were not safe when we tried to order them.

The food was decent, I had a prawn pasta (with gluten) and it was cooked well. The wine was great. However, what dampened the mood for me is when I put parmesan on my pasta (I know, I know - it’s not widely accepted to eat seafood and cheese but I like it and I’m a paying customer), a waiter came and quite loudly talked down to me about it in Italian. I laughed it off but for the price point of the place, I don’t think this behaviour is acceptable.

My partner had the poppette in tomato sauce, which was decent also, however the sauce was quite sharp and he was recommended to take with it grilled zucchini. But, the zucchini were covered in a mint oil which is traditional for this area and with the sauce from the pipettes I’m afraid this combined oddly, perhaps a different more neutral side would have worked better.

Overall the service was good, place is pretty, lots of wine choice, decent food and good vibes. Would recommend reprinting menu with appropriate and accurate allergens, and also training staff to keep their opinions about customers’ food choices to themselves as it really made the experience less pleasant.

Thank you very much to the shift manager to being very accommodating and attentive though, I would...

Impression on entering is excellent, the restaurant actually located within an enclosed courtyard, skillfully decorated.

A bit disappointing to arrive 10 minutes before our 7:00 pm reservation to be told we (a party of 7 adults), couldn't get a drink before dinner and being turned away and told "no, come at 7:00. A bit arrogant, (from one waiter), considering the collapse of tourism over the last 2 year! The principle reason for its downgrade to a 4* rating.

However, the rest of the staff were attentive and service was good.

The food: the vegetarian options were very good, and the aubergine dish well presented, very tasty and well appreciated. Prima patti were generous and the monkfish was exceptionally combined with bacon, a lovely twist to a seafood favorite.

All the main courses, including several pasta dishes, were also excellent, with the quality of presentation and ingredients well delivered.

Of special note was a high standard, fresh, grilled octopus dish, and finally a very large beef rib served with steamed spinach. Both of these were done just right. The quality/aging of the beef was spot on, and could not be faulted.

I would definitely go back, as there are other dishes I would wish to try, as there is an interesting interpretation of traditional dishes...