Have you ever had a meal that you got so swept up in that you forgot that perhaps pictures for your blog might have been a good idea? Well that is exactly what happened to be when we went to Masseria Il Frantoio. We had travelled to Ostuni, Puglia with my in-laws for their Ruby wedding anniversary. As with all holidays I take, the first thing I do once we have booked is look for amazing foodie options nearby. As this was such a special anniversary this made this finding somewhere nice even more important and that is how I came to stumble on the website of the Masseria Il Frantoio.

Masseria Il Frantoio

Now the Masseria specialises in local Puglian cuisine using fresh local ingredients. The Masseria also manufactures several varieties of olive oil, which is the only oil used in the cooking here. Olive oil production is a big part of the history of the region. Before dinner we were given a tour of the olive press and grounds of the Masseria (also a hotel) which were absolutely stunning and got you salivating for dinner and added to the theatre of the evening.

Usually dinner takes place on the terrace of the Masseria, but unfortunately for us there were strong winds on the day we visited which made this impossible. The inside however still provided a lovely atmosphere.

Now the interesting thing about the Menu at the Masseria is you don’t know what you are having until you arrive and you eat what you are given. I love menus like this as it means that you try things that you would never normally dream of. We had Fried bread with a tomato sauce, fried courgette flowers, the most delicious swordfish I have ever tasted and desert accompanied by an olive oil shot to name but a few.

The dinner was also paired with three wines from the local area which were all lovely. The best however was the Rose, which is unusual for me to say as I am not usually a Rose fan. I mentioned this to our waitress and suddenly more of it appeared on a table. Maybe the wine also had something to do with the lack of pictures of the food!

The Details

The dinner cost 60 Euros for I forget how many courses and wine which in my opinion was a steal! It was definitely the most authentic Italian foodie experience I have ever had and I can’t wait to go back and actually get some pictures of the food this time!