Il Poeta Contadino

Il Poeta Contadino is Alberobello's fine-dining table, a few steps from the Rione Monti, on Via Indipendenza. It was opened in 1977 by Leonardo Marco, an Alberobello native who left his economics studies to devote himself to cooking, and he is still at the helm. It is the place for the special meal of the trip in the Itria Valley: Apulian produce, creative technique and classic restaurant service.

The house

According to the restaurant itself, it received a Michelin star in 1990, among the first in Apulia; in 1993 Gault Millau chose it as the best restaurant in Italy, and in 1997 its cellar received the Grand Award from Wine Spectator magazine, which the house still displays as its pride. The dining room has exposed stone walls, white tablecloths, upholstered chairs and old paintings: a formal, celebratory atmosphere.

The website does not say whether the star is still current: if it matters to you, check the Michelin guide before booking.

The menu

It mixes dishes from Apulian tradition with signature ideas. The current menu has, as starters, sea bream millefeuille with liquorice glaze and olive powder, soy-glazed aubergine or artichoke flan with burrata and anchovy oil. For first courses, broad bean purée with cavatelli and seafood, the dish of the land in a sea version; black tagliolini with clams and sea fennel, and strascinate with cardoncelli mushrooms, red onion and sausage. For main courses, sea bream with potato ravioli and Bari olive tapenade, sea bream in a black bread crust with burrata sauce, lamb with mint goat's cheese or pork fillet in an herb crust.

The menu does not publish prices. Expect fine-dining prices: it is the most expensive table in this guide to the valley.

Hours and booking

It is open every day, at lunchtime and in the evening, except Mondays that are not public holidays. Book with the form on its website, choosing lunch or dinner, or by phone, +39 080 432 1917. The same house has a simpler osteria, the Osteria del Poeta.

Getting there

It is on Via Indipendenza, in the centre of Alberobello, a few minutes' walk from the Rione Monti and the Trullo Sovrano. If you sleep in the town, come on foot; if not, leave the car in the car parks at the entrance.