MERAKI — Restaurant in Monopoli

I am leaving a one star rating because the option of no stars isn’t there. My friend and I stumbled upon this place whilst on a walk along the shore. We noticed the yellow couch and Antonio (manager / owner) came up to say hello. He seemed very welcoming and friendly so we had a seat to have a drink and some nibbles. They didn’t have a food menu when I asked, which is understandable because they had just opened and Antonio made a joke & said ‘I’m your menu’. He recommended the crudo di mare (raw fish platter) as a nibble and then we chose the wine (they did have a wine list). We should have known that it was going to be an interesting experience, when he recommended the most expensive wine on the menu, which is a red flag in our opinion but we went with it. We shared a bottle of rose, the platter & two coffees. The bill came to €74, when he brought it, he said just do €70. But the receipt was not itemized, it just had one item as ‘varie’ equalling €74. Though the amount seemed off, we were going to pay it no issues until he said he doesn’t take card payments which he failed to mention before we sat down. It’s customary for places that do cash only to mention before you order. We went on a wild goose chase looking for an ATM to withdraw cash, upon that walk, we reflected on the price (we had just had a two course dinner with wine the night before for half of this bill) and when we went back with the cash to talk to him, he said that it is the normal price. €25 a head which sounds absurd and even then, the bill still doesn’t add up. Regardless, stay away from this place - this man isn’t...

My recent visit to MERAKI was nothing short of a disappointment. Upon arrival, we were not greeted warmly; instead, the first waiter threw menus on the table and left without a word. This initial lack of courtesy set the tone for the rest of our experience.

We ordered two Coke Zeros and two Caprese salads. The waitress, seemingly unaware of what a Caprese salad was, needed to be shown the item on the menu. This was the first red flag.

Despite it being 3:30 PM—a relatively slow time—we waited 35 minutes without any sign of our food. When I inquired about the delay, I received no satisfactory explanation. After 40 minutes of waiting, we decided we had enough and asked to cancel our order. Shockingly, we were still charged 26 € for two Cokes and one Caprese salad that was "half ready" while the other hadn't even been started.

The waiter's rude response to our complaint was astonishing. Instead of apologizing, he claimed they are not robots, which only added to our frustration. Though I cannot fully judge the food, the Caprese salad we saw did not look appealing at all.

Overall, MERAKI feels like a classic tourist trap. The unfriendly staff, lack of professionalism, and poor service make it a place to avoid. To add insult to injury, the restaurant is at street level, exposing diners to car exhaust at eye level.

Save yourself the disappointment and choose a different establishment. MERAKI is not worth your...

Terrible place to be lured into. Run away! Zero stars if I could 😅

We were there a few months ago & had a terrible experience. We returned to monopoli & de used to give it another try…. One never knows: we could have stumbled in on a bad day for the cooks/owner/etc….

Boy oh boy! We wish we had not returned.

They act super friendly with you, the owner comes to joke around & asks you, a few min after you sit down, to write a good review for them

They bill you for items you did not order (it has happened Ed twice on 2 visits, it says enough!) LOOK CAREFULLY at your bill!

They charged us €15 for 4 leaves of green salad (they had no salad on the menu & we asked if we could have one)

The food is just ok. The octopus sandwich €15 had a small piece of octopus tentacle cut in 3 in a not so fresh bread…..

Overall: so many other great places to eat.

Do not fall victim to these scammers.

Also: the way a business owner responds to bad reviews say enough. All a disgruntled customer wants to hear is a «  We are sorry you had a bad experience, please give us a chance to make it right! » but the owner systematically attacks former unhappy guests. Not smart & not professional!

PS: the owner holds court with his friends there & the blaring music makes it seems like a party scene. IF THEY WERE honest & genuine, this could be a huge hit in Monopoli Unfortunately they chose to be...