QUOKKA - Pizza & Cucina In Monopoli

28/09/2025: A charming place, a seaside restaurant, extremely elegant and high-end. We had two appetizers, two main courses, and a shared dessert, plus two glasses of wine. The two appetizers we chose were gurnard carpaccio with citrus extract and roasted mackerel with zucchini scapece. The two main courses were stuffed squid and cardoncelli mushroom "absolute," which is mushrooms in three textures. Finally, a "chamomile meadow." Everything was delicious, everything was undoubtedly prepared with dedication and passion. Everything was beautiful. However, nowadays it's really hard to find places that prioritize the quality of the product, but rather put it on the surface. The dishes we tried were basically "poor"—we're talking zucchini, mackerel, cardoncelli mushrooms; perhaps the most expensive was the cuttlefish. I paid 50 euros for each of these items, which isn't worth the product itself, but rather its preparation and everything that goes into a restaurant of this caliber. But, excuse the cruelty, I don't have to pay for this. I want to pay for the dish, and we're not talking about an expensive dish, because they didn't offer me white truffle on the menu. When I talk about appearance, I'm also talking about the initial show cooking, which was nice, yes, but customer service is another story. The service, if anything, needs improvement: I have the freedom to choose the wine by the glass, and if the sommelier wants to recommend it, he should open the bottle in front of my table, or at least keep it vacuum-packed. And I can accept a mistake like that in average restaurants, but not here, where, I repeat, the bill wasn't so "sweet."

21/09/2025: As always at the Top in Puglia!!!!