Calapà - Ristorante al mare di Puglia — Restaurant in Polignano a Mare

Warm welcome from the maitre'd, wonderful setting, lovely Sunday afternoon buzz, great wine list...but the food... it was awful.

1 - as per menu 'Marinated tuna and swordfish slices with citrus aroma, capers and red carrots'

Not one single caper or red carrot in sight. The citrus aroma? Nowhere to be seen. Just visibly dry tasteless leathery 'fish'. Shockingly bad.

2 - from the menu 'Mullet Carpaccio with its bottarga ' - they served seabass (not pinboned) with a shrug. Needed further seasoning to be palatable.

3- 'Chitarrina with wild clams and pendulum cherry tomatoes' - it arrived looking totally dried out. Did it sit on the pass for 30 minutes? The worst pasta I have ever had. A child could have produced better.

4 - I had ordered 'Local octopus cooked at low temperature, vegetable catalana and black rice chips' but the food was so shockingly bland I cancelled and left.

And the toilets had urine on the floor and even up the walls. I had to inform one of the staff.

It gives me no pleasure to say this was one of the worst meals I have had in Italy, having been a frequent visitor for 40...

We went on a Sunday night in October, and on the early side of dinner service. There is an adjacent free private parking lot, which was very convenient because Polignano a Mare was hopping and streets were blocked off. We felt very welcomed from the start—we were one of three tables at the time, but I appreciated the kind and warm welcome!

I chose a catch of the day which I chose from the case. The staff helped choose an appropriate preparation, and it was delicious. I had a pasta as primo and my husband had the prix fixe. Everything we had was delicious and fresh. I did get a different dessert than I requested but I chalked that up to the language barrier.

It was expensive (relatively speaking) but worth it. I would 100% return if I return to Puglia! We had a wonderful dinner...

Very disappointing birthday dinner – rushed and underwhelming

We went to Calapa for my 30th birthday dinner while staying in Polignano a Mare with my sisters, and unfortunately it was a big letdown. Both our first and second courses were brought out at the same time, which completely rushed the experience and meant our mains were cold by the time we got to them.

The food itself wasn’t enjoyable. For the price point and setting, we expected much better. It really felt like the kitchen just wanted to get everything out as quickly as possible with little care for quality.

I wouldn’t return, and sadly regret choosing this spot to celebrate a milestone birthday. We left wishing we’d gone...