Ristorante Porta Nova

Hands down the best meal I had in Italy. The portions were huge, and each dish was so flavourful. Wholesome, fresh, from a real chef 🧑‍🍳. We ordered from the “extra menu” directly with the chef. Donato was very knowledgeable with all the ways to prepare each fish. We ordered a fish, a lobster pasta and another kind of fish (I don’t know the names of the dish, so here are the pictures!). We paid good money, but well worth it.

Yesterday, we were melting in Ostuni. Having seen as many sights before shoe rubber adhered to the paving stones, we craved lunch and a cool location. We had originally planned to eat at one of Ostuni's oldest restaurants, but it was inexplicitly closed. Firing up Google maps, we searched for what was nearby and found this place. First off, it is not for those on a tight budget. If you want authentic, original, and amazingly well-balanced dishes, which, with a bit of recalibration (food and presentation excellent, the ambiance could be slightly improved) ..could be a contender for Michelin Star quality. It is that good. Whilst we were tempted with the taster menu, we couldn't quite stretch to a £200 lunch for two (+ drinks on top) so worked through the menu so that we could try new dishes and experience new flavours. Our needs were very well managed by Donato, who patiently helped to explain the dishes and shared some really interesting techniques. For example, we couldn't understand how out of season turnip tops could appear in a summer menu..the answer, Flash Freezing. The result..a flavour and texture as good as if it had just been plucked from a field. The same technique is used with fish. Minus 14C kills off bacteria too..always good to know. My wife and I tried to decide which dish we thought was best...it was impossible as we loved them all. The Octopus was fabulously succulent, the Red Tuna stunningly fresh, and amberjack carpaccio an absolute delight. It would be helpful in future to have fully itemised billing (we discovered too late that we had been overcharged for drinks we didn't have), but the quality of the food and experience is by far what we will remember the most. With a little fine tuning, I think this could be a a first rate experience from beginning to end. The food, service, quality of tableware, comfortable seating.. already exceed expectations. Thank you again.

Delicious lunch and busy dinners here. Situated at the top of the ramp heading through one on the original gates of the city. Great views from their restaurant.

100% Scam!!!!!! They didn’t give us any non-wine menu. They said they didn’t have any beverage menu. They didn’t show us any aperitivo menu at all. We asked for 1 glass of wine and 1 non-alcoholic beverage. The bill came out as 25 euro per person. We thought the olive and bread were offered to us for free. The bread was black, totally overheated. Such a scam place! Totally losing face for Southern Italian people.

Beer ribs excellent until we ordered a second plate. Shrimps, seafood pasta, Codfish.. yummy! Excellent viewpoint of the White City. Downside? Expensive.

Absolutely amazing food! Staff were kind and helpful. House wine is 100% local and worth trying. They give you two amuse bouche to start (two first photos) and their very own taralli and bread with local olive oil. The mains were scrumptious and dessert was exquisite.

Beautiful place with presentation, the view with sunset was spectacular and the staff friendly. Food was good, prices to match and wine selection phenomenal.

My favourite meal in Puglia. Beautiful, traditional food, absolutely delicious and the staff were so friendly and informative. We will be back. Fabulous restaurant!

Let me start by saying that I am a diehard foodie and have eaten at Michelin star restaurants around the world. Porta Nova was a stumbled upon gold mine. Let us start with the wonderful little baked goods that exploded with flavor in your mouth. Followed by the BEST olive oil we have in 7 weeks in Italy (Ciacciolio) green, rich buttery utterly amazing. The tomatoe cream soup, which was a chef gift was delicate and rich with buffalo mozzarella. The Crocker filet with vegetables were to die for and my pasta with shrimp had a sauce that I used bread to wipe my plate clean. And then came our aperitif, vanilla, hazelnut liquor. We felt like we had died and gone to heaven. I can not comprehend that this restaurant does not have a 4.5 or 5 star rating. If you are in Ostuni you have to eat here.