B&B Palazzo Croghan

Just eight tables, set beneath a vaulted brick ceiling, define this small restaurant in the historic centre of Lucera, housed within the former 18th-century bishop’s palace and, in fine weather, also offering pleasant outdoor service. Chef-patron Mirko Esposito stands out for joyful, sun-filled cooking built around Apulian ingredients from both land and sea. Particularly playful is his reinterpretation of the “prawn cocktail”: the shellfish are arranged individually on the plate, each covered with perfect alternating stripes of cocktail sauce and squid-ink cream.

A must for anyone looking for traditional home cooking and authentic cuisine from Puglia. Make sure you try the antipasti, and then move on to a first or main course.

The dining room at this restaurant housed in the Palazzo Baronale’s old outbuildings in the historic centre of Apricena boasts an attractive brick-vaulted ceiling. The cuisine, which focuses mainly on fish and seafood (raw, cooked, baked in the oven or served with pasta), effortlessly combines traditional and modern flavours. A delightful welcome and friendly service complete the picture.

In the heart of the historic centre, just a short distance from the Cathedral of Lucera, this restaurant lies in an ancient alleyway where the stables of a noble palazzo once stood. Today the dining room is arranged across several interconnecting spaces, framed by elegant stone vaulting; at its centre, two glass panels allow a glimpse of the cellar, which houses over 300 labels. The cooking is Mediterranean, modern and vivid in colour: among the dishes, octopus with almonds, fusillone with pumpkin cream and scampi, and a fillet of fish – sea bream, sea bass or dentex according to the market –

Welcoming and a short distance from the centre, the restaurant distinguishes itself through an architectural character of clear contemporary orientation and an equally modern gastronomic offering. The cooking ranges with balance between fish and meat dishes, interpreted through modern recipes and contemporary cooking techniques, among which the use of the Josper oven stands out, reserved in particular for selected meats left to mature in the dedicated dry-ageing unit. Among these, prized Iberian cuts feature prominently on the evening menu. At lunch, the offering broadens to include more immed

Modern cuisine, prepared with meticulous attention and enriched with carefully selected seasonal products. Tradition meets originality, as in the surprising risotto with clams, cauliflower and a dash of cocoa. Only twenty places in a spectacularly designed dining room: walls and ceilings clad in undulating light wood panels that weave together in a dynamic arch, creating an impression of movement that envelops the dining experience.

Offering classic seafood cuisine, this restaurant serves the most well-known and loved dishes, from raw seafood to pasta and gnocchi with various sauces, and main dishes such as baked fish, fish stew, and salt-crusted fish. Of course, there are also fried dishes and fish soup (available by reservation). Everything is served in a lovely dining room with brick arches or, when the weather is nice, along the pedestrian street of the picturesque historic center.