Al Vecchio Frantoio - BERNALDA

It was supposed to be a relaxing evening out with friends, dinner and then drinks in Bernalda but it ended up being a frustrating one spent inside the restaurant constantly waiting to be served. Asked for punctuality when booked we showed up 1 minute earlier just to be kept 15 minutes standing before being seated (even though the table was already ready and available). Menus only reached us 20 minutes after being seated and urged by one of my friends. We ordered a starter, a main course, 2 bottles of wine and 2 bottles of water. Drinks came pretty fast. The starters were served over 1 hour after ordering and another hour was gone before receiving the main course. When finished we didn’t ask for the bill but decided to go to the cashier a paying directly there to avoid any further time wasting. There was no one there and having to wait a good 5 minutes before the owner showed up (it was midnight by then). So, we wasted 3 hours, blew the entire evening to eat a starter and a main course and paid 40 euro each (by the way food quality does not justify the waiting whatsoever there is much better choice in Bernalda)

I’ve been a regular customer over the last 5 years and I can definitely say it’s not worth a visit anymore. The location is really nice, especially in summer, but the quality of food and service is appalling! In all honesty... I had better pizzas in London! Tonight we waited a whole hour for 3 pizzas. Staff is rude, unapologetic and definitely not up to speed with the menu as they weren’t able to tell us what people at another table were having. There’s plenty of other places on the same street I’m sure you can find a nicer one!

This seemed to be a step up from the typical pizzeria. Pleasant clean decor. It was frequented by locals. Everyone seemed to have a good time and all the teenagers and children were well behaved. A friendly buzz but not extreme noise. Our pizza was fine, but nothing out of the usual. The Antipasto platter with bacon wrapped cheese and various soft and hard cheeses was quite good.

Al Vecchio Frantolo is one of the best restaurants in Bernalda. Top quality at reasonable prices. Great for lunch or dinner. Fresh fish and the best veal steak I have ever eaten!

It looks like this restaurant aims at being a sophisticated place, for special occasions or romantic dinner. However, the result is very far from the intentions. The menu is boring, with a depressing '90 flavour. The food is ok, but there is nothing exceptional or worth to comment on. For whatever you wish to eat (pizza, grilled meat, traditional food) there are other better options in Bernalda! The atmosphere and location are not so exceptional either, it is a bit overpriced (compared with other nearby options) and the service is just terrible. So, at the end, you are fine just skipping it.