Food to Try in Polignano a Mare: Seafood, Gelato, and Puglia Classics

Polignano a Mare is a fishing port that happens to have a spectacular setting, and the food reflects that origin. The best eating in Polignano is seafood, eaten close to where it was caught, in simple preparations that respect the ingredients rather than obscuring them. The Puglia staples — orecchiette, burrata, focaccia barese — are also present and well-executed.

What to Eat

Pasta con Ricci di Mare

Sea urchin pasta is the dish Polignano is most associated with locally. Fresh sea urchin roe (ricci) is tossed raw with spaghetti or linguine, olive oil, garlic, and parsley — the heat of the pasta barely cooks the roe, which melts into a briny, intensely savoury sauce. No cream; no heavy additions. The quality depends entirely on the freshness of the urchin.

The season for ricci runs approximately October through April; the sea urchins harvested from Adriatic coastal rocks near Polignano. In high summer some restaurants use urchin from further afield or frozen roe — ask the kitchen. Expect approximately €16—24 for a pasta course with fresh ricci as of 2026.

Polpo alla Brace

Grilled octopus is on every seafood menu in Polignano. The best versions use octopus that has been braised slowly first (to tenderise) and then finished on a wood grill — the result is charred on the outside, yielding within. Often served with cannellini beans, or just with good olive oil and lemon. A half-portion as a starter costs approximately €10—14; a main portion approximately €18—24 as of 2026.

Alici Fritte

Fried anchovies — small fish coated lightly in semolina flour and fried in very hot olive oil until crisp. The right version has no soggy batter, no sauce to mask the fish; just clean, hot anchovy flavour with a cold beer. Found at harbour-side bars and basic seafood restaurants. Approximately €7—12 for a portion as of 2026.

Spaghetti alle Vongole

Clams cooked with garlic, white wine, parsley, and olive oil, tossed with spaghetti — the liquid from the clams creates the sauce. A well-made version at a Polignano restaurant is genuinely good; poorly made versions (sandy clams, overcooked pasta, too much garlic) are a waste. Approximately €14—18 per person as of 2026 at the better places.

Focaccia Barese

The Barese focaccia — thicker than the Ligurian version, made with a mix of semolina and white flour, dimpled, drizzled heavily with olive oil, topped with halved cherry tomatoes and olives — is different enough from northern Italian focaccia that it warrants trying separately. The tomatoes collapse into the dough as it bakes, creating pockets of juice. Found at bakeries and focaccerie throughout town; sold by the slice from approximately €1.50 as of 2026.

Panificio Di Cosimo (Via Conversano 8) is the most-cited bakery in Polignano for focaccia barese. Opens early (from approximately 07:30); buy it fresh in the morning or at lunchtime.

Burrata

Polignano is close enough to the burrata-producing area around Andria and the Puglia interior that the cheese arriving at restaurants is genuinely fresh — made that morning or the day before. Eaten with good tomatoes, olive oil, and bread as an antipasto, a good burrata is one of the best simple dishes in the region. Approximately €8—12 for a 250g burrata at a restaurant as of 2026.

Tiella di Riso, Patate e Cozze

A Bari-area baked dish (tiella means the earthenware pot it is cooked in) of layered rice, potatoes, mussels, courgettes, tomatoes, and pecorino — slow-baked until the rice absorbs the mussel liquid. Substantial and intensely savoury. This is more of a home dish and is not always on restaurant menus; look for it in trattorias offering a full Barese menu rather than tourist-facing seafood places.

Where to Eat in Polignano

Il Bastione

Via Porto 3 — on the port side of town, a reliable fish restaurant with fresh daily catches on a chalkboard. The mixed seafood antipasto (approximately €14) is a good introduction: fried anchovies, marinated sardines, octopus salad, and ricci if in season. Pasta courses approximately €14—18; grilled fish approximately €18—28. Total bill approximately €40—55 per person with wine as of 2026. Booking advisable in July and August.

Antiche Mura

Piazza Garibaldi 2 — an old-town trattoria with an outdoor terrace on the square. Good for orecchiette with cime di rapa (approximately €10) and the mixed seafood antipasto (approximately €12). The atmosphere is reliable rather than special; the cooking is consistent. Approximately €30—40 per person as of 2026. Takes walk-ins more readily than the harbour restaurants.

Ristorante Grotta Palazzese

Inside the sea cave below the town — the most famous restaurant in Polignano, partly because of the setting (chandeliers in a cave, the Adriatic visible through the cave mouth) and partly because it appears on every “most beautiful restaurant” list. Dinner costs approximately €80—120 per person excluding wine (as of 2026) and the food is considered good without being at the level the price and reputation suggest. The setting alone justifies one dinner if budget allows. Book 2—3 months ahead for summer dates; the cave fills completely.

Pescaria

Via Conversano (the modern town, outside the old walls) — a fish sandwich counter that became famous for its polpo fritto sandwich (fried octopus in a bread roll). Now has several branches across Puglia but the Polignano original is still the best. Expect a queue at lunch in summer. A fish sandwich from approximately €5—8 as of 2026 — one of the better cheap meals in town.

The Gelato Stops

Gelateria Borso (Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II) — the standard recommendation for gelato in Polignano. Look for seasonal flavours. Approximately €2.50—3.50 per cup as of 2026. Eat it on the cliff terrace rather than inside.

Gelateria dei Pini (Via Trento) — a second good option, slightly less crowded, with a wider range of sorbets that suit the heat.

Eating by Time of Day

Breakfast: the best cornetti in Polignano are at Bar Caffè dell’Orologio on Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. Espresso and cornetto approximately €1.50—2 as of 2026.

Morning snack: buy focaccia barese by the slice from Panificio Di Cosimo on Via Conversano — the best early-morning snack before the beach.

Lunch: the harbour restaurants are good for a seafood lunch from 12:30. Expect to wait for a table at the better places from about 13:00 in peak summer.

Aperitivo: bars on Via Roma and on the cliff terraces serve Aperol spritz and local wine from approximately 18:00. The cliff bars fill quickly at sunset.

Dinner: from 20:00. The old town restaurants are busy from 20:30; book ahead for the Grotta Palazzese and Il Bastione.

Local Wine

The Bari province produces decent wines that are rarely labelled prominently in restaurants but pour consistently. Ask for local Primitivo or Negroamaro by the carafe — approximately €8—14 for a half-litre as of 2026. The white Verdeca and Fiano di Avellino (from Campania, often available) pair well with seafood.