Puglia’s best restaurant (one of the best in Italy, in fact) moves to a dream masseria

It’s not yet time for end-of-year rankings, but we can already say with some confidence that Polignano a Mare is set to be Italy’s gourmet destination of 2025. Or at least among the favourites for the podium. After the golden quartet of Martino Ruggieri, in the “blu dipinto di blu” of Domenico Modugno’s hometown, another national champion of haute cuisine is about to land (among the 52 Tre Forchette in the 2025 Ristoranti d’Italia guide, the only one in the region, still confirmed despite the Antonio Zaccardi affair): Antonello Magistà’s Pashà, which at the end of June — the 26th to be exact — after three weeks of closure, will say farewell to its former home in Conversano and embark on a new, ambitious adventure just 7 kilometres away.

The new Pashà, “Restaurant and Residence”

“Although the move was initially planned for next autumn, an unexpected acceleration of the renovation work allows us to announce our arrival at the new premises as early as the end of June,” says the patron, frankly leaving us speechless, as the opposite is usually the case for 9 out of 10 of his colleagues. Clearly, this is not a simple relocation, but a fresh beginning that already seems destined for success. “The evolution is not just a change of address, but the fulfilment of our concept of hospitality and an extension of our philosophy, which is nourished by memory and celebrates the deep value of food as a bond between people,” Magistà confirms.

What the Pashà will be like at Masseria Mancini

The historic 14th-century estate, in Contrada Torre Catena along the Polignano-Castellana Grotte provincial road, offers an immersive experience that begins with the journey itself, along some of Puglia’s most scenic roads. The focus is on expanding hospitality, with 2 Deluxe rooms and 4 Comfort rooms (including one quadruple), a spacious car park with golf cart service to welcome guests, a restaurant with outdoor seating, a lounge bar with a fireplace, dedicated spaces for the kitchen and patisserie, a traditional wood-fired oven, a conference room for 150 guests, an outdoor bar, and a trattoria with wood-fired cooking, a vegetable garden and a small orchard. From next winter, there will also be a hammam and a swimming pool. Everything has been conceived with sustainability and minimal environmental impact in mind, as demonstrated by the photovoltaic system that makes the building energy self-sufficient. The team — or rather “the Pashà family,” as Antonello proudly calls them — remains the trump card: the dining room experience led by floor manager Rossana Minunni, the kitchen directed by chef Michele Spadaro and pastry chef Valentina Lenoci, plus four new recruits “will ensure even greater comfort and dedication, strengthening our ambition for ongoing pursuit of quality and attention to detail.”

The Tre Forchette Awarded in 2023

“Pashà Ristorante e Dimora elevates the concept of hospitality, becoming a stronghold of Apulian food and wine culture, immersed in the countryside,” emphasises the patron. Which, in truth, it has been from the very first day nearly thirty years ago — as we wrote the year it was awarded the Tre Forchette, describing it as “a gourmet home for discerning lovers of aesthetics and modern cuisine” and referring to Antonello Magistà as “a seasoned host, acutely attentive to his guests’ well-being.” And as reiterated in the most recent edition, in the post-Zaccardi era: “The restaurant-home spirit is written into every corner of this place’s hospitality, which occupies the spaces of an ancient monastery and has always been a place of luxury and familiarity, the perfect retreat after the sea or the ideal choice for a wedding anniversary, a romantic dinner, or a gathering of gourmet friends. Today, that choice gains new vigour with a team that perfectly embodies the spirit of the place, both in the kitchen and in the dining room, magnificently coordinated by Antonello Magistà, who oversees hospitality and cuisine with the sensitivity and intuition that allow him to anticipate every desire, even the unspoken ones — which he, and the young people he has surrounded himself with, always manage to catch in an instant.” In Conversano, “everything was beauty and research.” In Polignano, we can expect nothing short of magic.