Description: We asked the front desk clerk at our hotel (
Albergo Cesari) to recommend a nice seafood restaurant in our area, and boy did he! Taverna Antonina prepares seafood in the style of Puglia, on the southeastern shore of Italy. The restaurant was only a few blocks from our hotel, it was an incredible treat.
For the first and only time in Italy, Dave and I decided on the fixed price menu: several antipasti, two small pastas, and a main dish. We asked our very helpful waiter for his suggestions. After he suggested a white wine from Puglia, he walked me to what Dave and I called the "fish bar" (see photo below) and let me choose which fish we wanted, recommending several. We chose the sea bass, which was large enough to feed us both and which would be roasted and accompanied by sliced fried potatoes. For our antipasti we enjoyed eggplant stuffed with fish covered with a light bechamel, a salad of mozarella, tomato, and romaine, a selection of little fried fishes, and a cold carpacchio of octopus dressed with lemon and oil. YUMMM. And this was just course one. Then came the lovely pastas: al dente spaghetti with several small tomatoes, a couple of mussels, little shrimp, and octopus pieces; and orichietto with tomato sauce, basil, and a fragrant cheese called cacioricotta from Puglia.
The presentation of all the courses was magnificent, as was that of our main course, the sea bass with potatoes. The waiter served it off its platter onto our plates in front of our table. We drizzled it with some olive oil---squisito! For dessert, we barely made it through half of a ricotta cheese cake containing golden raisins soaked in brandy.
The service here is attentive but not intrusive, helpful but not directive. There are linen towels in the lovely lavatories. Such an experience! Please try the fixed price menu (73,000 lire/person or $34.50)if you have the time and appetite--you won't regret it. With wine, water, and coffee added on, our total bill came to 185,000 lire, or $92.50. We couldn't have dined so sumptiously in New York City for this price, I'll wager.
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