Where to Eat Seafood in Polignano a Mare: Local Fish, Puglian Pasta and Stone-Vaulted Dining at Antiche Mura
Antiche Mura sits on Via Roma, in the heart of Polignano a Mare, a few steps from the old town and the sea cliffs. The entrance is discreet; inside, the restaurant opens into a sequence of stone arches, vaulted ceilings and warm dining rooms that immediately give the place more character than the average seafood address in a heavily visited coastal town.
We visited in 2026 and found a kitchen firmly focused on Puglia: raw seafood, baked fish, mussels, local vegetables, troccoli, paccheri and a wine list that gives real space to regional producers. The menu is broad, but the restaurant is at its best when it stays close to the Adriatic and lets local ingredients do the work.
This is not an experimental restaurant. Antiche Mura relies on fresh fish, recognisable combinations and a polished but still relaxed style of service. The setting carries obvious weight, yet the food remains substantial enough to justify the reservation.
A Historic-Centre Restaurant with Real Atmosphere
The stone dining room is one of Antiche Mura’s strongest assets. Exposed walls, arches and warm lighting create a refined setting without pushing the restaurant into formal fine dining.
The location is central and inevitably international, but the menu avoids flattening itself into generic tourist food. Rice, potatoes and mussels, baked cuttlefish, raw shellfish, cime di rapa and local white fish keep the cooking anchored in Puglia. The wine list follows the same logic, with most labels coming from the region and several bottles produced only a few kilometres from Polignano.
The Antiche Mura Starter Is the Best Way to Understand the Kitchen
The house starter costs €20 per person and is served in the centre of the table. It brings together yellowfin tuna carpaccio, gratinated scallops, fried cod, octopus alla catalana and riso, patate e cozze.
It is a generous introduction, but the selection makes sense because the preparations move through raw, fried, baked and traditional Puglian cooking without becoming a random seafood parade.
The riso, patate e cozze is the most regional bite: rice, potato and mussel absorb each other’s flavour and create a dense, savoury preparation that has nothing to do with the lighter seafood dishes around it. The fried cod adds crispness, while the tuna and scallops bring the meal back towards a cleaner marine register.
Troccoli with Mussels and Cime di Rapa Are the Pasta to Order
The troccoli with mussels and cime di rapa, listed at €16, are one of the dishes that give Antiche Mura a clear Puglian identity.
Troccoli have enough thickness and roughness to carry both the vegetable sauce and mussel juices. Cime di rapa bring bitterness and a slightly mineral edge, while the shellfish add salinity and sweetness.
The paccheri with cherry tomatoes and scorpionfish, at €15, are the cleaner alternative, while the more unusual mezzo pacchero with sea urchin and cooked oysters, at €17, pushes the marine flavour much further.
The House Baked Fish Is the Signature Main Course
The restaurant’s signature preparation is local white fish filleted and baked with Bitetto olives, potatoes and courgettes, priced according to weight at €7 per 100 grams.
This is the dish that best fits both the setting and the kitchen. The fish remains central, while potatoes absorb its juices, courgettes bring sweetness and the olives provide bitterness and salt.
For a more direct option, the grilled seafood selection costs €18 and combines octopus, cuttlefish, a large prawn and yellowfin tuna. The crispy mixed fry, with prawns, anchovies and calamari, costs €19.
Sporcamuss Is the Right Puglian Finish
The tasting menu closes with sporcamuss, the Bari pastry made from puff pastry, icing sugar and warm custard. It is a simple dessert, but exactly the right one here.
The contrast is direct: crisp pastry outside, hot cream inside, plenty of sugar and no unnecessary reinterpretation. After fish and pasta, one portion is enough.
Its presence also gives the menu a local conclusion rather than ending with another generic tiramisù or chocolate dessert.
Wine Pairings
With the Antiche Mura seafood starter, choose d’Araprì Metodo Classico Pas Dosé. Bombino Bianco and Pinot Nero bring fine bubbles, acidity and a dry saline finish that handle raw fish, fried cod and gratinated shellfish without favouring one preparation over another. The bottle is listed at €35.
The troccoli with mussels and cime di rapa work beautifully with I Pastini Cupa, made from Bianco d’Alessano in Valle d’Itria. Its restrained fruit and savoury profile suit both the bitterness of the greens and the sweetness of the mussels.
For the local white fish with potatoes, courgettes and Bitetto olives, pour Terre di San Vito Apeneste, produced directly in Polignano a Mare. Its freshness and aromatic lift keep the baked vegetables lively while respecting the fish.
Service, Atmosphere and Prices
Service is professional and confident, with the polished rhythm expected from one of the better-known restaurants in central Polignano. The room is elegant without becoming stiff, and the stone architecture gives dinner a strong sense of place.
The five-course tasting menu costs €55 per person, excluding drinks and the €4 cover charge, so the real total is €59 per person before wine. It includes a choice of starter, one first course, one main course, lemon sorbet and sporcamuss.
Useful Information
- Address: Via Roma 11, Polignano a Mare
- Area: Historic centre, a short walk from the old town and Lama Monachile
- Cuisine: Puglian seafood, local fish, fresh pasta and traditional regional dishes
- Signature dishes: Antiche Mura seafood starter, troccoli with mussels and cime di rapa, baked local white fish and sporcamuss
- Tasting menu: €55 per person, excluding drinks and cover
- Cover charge: €4
- Fresh local fish: €7 per 100 g
- Grilled seafood selection: €18
- Mixed fried seafood: €19
- Raw seafood: €20
- Closed: Thursday
- Telephone: +39 080 424 2476
- Reservations: Recommended
- Vegetarian options: Available
- Gluten-free and intolerance-friendly dishes: Available on request
- Outdoor seating: Available
- Wine list: Strong focus on Puglia, including producers from Polignano, Valle d’Itria and the wider Murgia area
Our Rating of Antiche Mura
Food: 8.8/10
Fresh seafood, clear Puglian flavours and a menu that works best when it stays close to local fish and vegetables.
Starters: 7.9/10
The house selection is generous but coherent, moving confidently between raw, fried and traditional preparations.
Pasta: 9/10
Troccoli with mussels and cime di rapa give the restaurant a strong regional identity.
Fish: 9.1/10
The baked local white fish with potatoes, courgettes and Bitetto olives is the kitchen’s most complete dish.
Desserts: 7.5/10
Sporcamuss keeps the ending simple, warm and unmistakably Puglian.
Wine List: 9/10
A serious regional cellar with strong Puglian representation and several precise local pairings.
Service: 7.9/10
Professional, attentive and well suited to the polished setting.
Atmosphere: 9.3/10
Stone vaults, arches and warm lighting create one of the more characterful dining rooms in central Polignano.
Value for Money: 8.8/10
The €59 tasting-menu total before wine is convincing for five courses in this location.
Overall Rating: 8/10
