[July 2026] During our summer holiday in the Apulia region of Southern Italy, we visited Porto Cesareo the following day.
This town holds many memories for my husband, as he visited it repeatedly for his summer holiday since he was a child.
I also visited this town with him nearly a decade ago.
This time, our primary goal was to meet up with my husband’s cousin, who happened to be staying in the town.
We arrived a bit early, so we took a stroll along the waterfront.
Several boats, likely catering to tourists, were moored there.
The seawater was incredibly clear, and there were plenty of fish.
As we walked, the layout of the area began to come back to me.
The restaurant we had booked was called “Da Antimo”—a place both my husband and his cousin had visited many times in the past.
A sign indicates it was established in 1957.
However, according to them, it has since been renovated and now looks quite polished.
They mentioned that, in the past, there used to be a counter displaying fresh fish, from which you could choose your catch to be grilled.
For this visit, my husband and I shared a mixed plate of fried seafood (squid and shrimp) as a starter.
For my main course, I had swordfish skewers served atop a bed of fried baby squid.
The swordfish was a bit bland, but the baby squid was delicious.
My husband chose *orecchiette*—a quintessential pasta from the Apulia region—for his main course.
While *orecchiette* is typically served with a sauce made from *cima di rapa* (a type of broccoli rabe), this is a seafood restaurant, so it was served with a seafood-based sauce.
It was packed with ingredients and looked delicious.
My husband’s cousin skipped the starter and opted for the mixed fried seafood—the same dish we had shared—as his main course.
He himself has professional-level cooking skills, but he mentioned, “I don’t do any deep-frying at home.”
As for the deep-fried dish—well, it was every bit as delicious as I had expected.
Afterward, we moved to another spot and tried a local specialty: cold coffee with almonds.
It was truly superb!
We ended up going back for it many times after that.
