Restaurants in Taranto

Where to eat in Taranto

If nothing else, be sure to sample Taranto's storied cozze (mussels), a delicious subspecies called mitili harvested from the city's bays. Taranto has long been renowned for it's seafood in general, and mollusks in particular. Taranto ostriche (oysters) have been sought after since Roman times, and the ancients once left the shells of a local snail called the murex to rot in the sun, creating a prized purply-red dye that was used to stain Imperial togas and other royal garments across the Mediterranean.

[star]Da Mimmo. Via C. Giovinazzi 18. tel. +39-099-459-3733. Closed Wed and 20 days in Aug.
The owner's name is Cosimo Mannarini, but everybody calls him Mimmo. Locals wait patiently up to 20 minutes to squeeze in at the outdoor tables with a bit of breeze, since the pizza oven keeps even the high stone vaults inside too warm for comfort in summer. The poet-cook is given to belting out Elvis ballads and Neapolitan folk songs, but that doesn't get in the way of his tossing excellent pizzas, which are small enough to leave you room for a secondo such as involtino or popette al sugo, or a frittura di pesce fresco (fry-up of the best catch from the docks that morning). If you'd rather not start with a pizza, among the primi you'll find the standby orecchiette al pomodoro, pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans), and spaghetti alla cozze (made with Taranto legendary mussels).

Basile. Via Pitagora 76. tel. +39-099-452-6240. Sun-Fri noon-3pm, 7-midnight.
The eatin' isn't as good at at Mimmo's (above), and there's more traffic whizzing by the sidewalk tables, but locals still flock here when they want pizza or a simple meal at low, low prices. Service can be agonizingly slow, so be prepared to linger over your spaghetti alle cozze (with mussels), tortellini in brodo (cheese-stuffed pasta rings in broth), or orecchiette mantecate (pasta in a tomato sauce with hard ricotta). Secondi include cozze cooked however you'd like them, a fritto misto (mixed fish fry), or, for turf'ers, a quarter of a roast pollo (chicken).