Trattoria Paolangelo

Very good food, very big portions.

We were walking by trying to find a good place to eat so we read the reviews and we decided to go here. I think the best thing were the olives and the bruschetta. The dried pepper pasta dish was incredibly dry as the put also crumbled bread. The other pasta dish (meat with sweet pepper) contained different types of meat which felt like leftovers and the quality was pretty regular. We have been travelling the region for 4 days and this was definitely by far the most regular meal we have had.

The tomato pasta sauces that each of us had were extremely bland. It tasted like Passato from a jar ,not even a flavored sauce. Vegetarian antipasti was better, although the egg plants and zucchini were a tiny bit under cooked, and the broccoli Rabe was a little bitter

TL;DR Good food, mediocre service, scammy practice / Ottimo cibo, servizio mediocre, prezzi disonesti Full review: the food here is good, really good. We came here because the place was recommended by our AirBnB host. We are a half Italian, half American family, so we have experience with service both in Italy and in the US. We love good food, and this seemed to be both a convenient and authentic place - not a tourist trap, or so we hoped. We sat down, and we had to wait over 30 minutes. We had to ask if we could please order, since we were hungry - and only then someone finally came to take our order. We were four: two of us ordered the famed "menu pizza" - a selection of local appetizers and one pizza to be shared by two people, for 12 euro per person (but at least two people must order the same). The other two of us ordered a la carte, one pasta dish and one mixed grilled meat. We made sure that we did NOT order appetizers, since we heard that the portions were generous. We also got a bottle of water and a bottle of red wine - an excellent red. The waiter agreed, took our orders, and left. The dinner started well: the appetizers were generous, to the point that we were so full by just tasting them all that we asked if our orders of pasta or grilled meat could be canceled. They said no, but that we could cancel the pizza provided that we still paid for the full "pizza menu". Thinking that it was going to be $24 for the generous appetizers, we agreed - the pizza would have been too much, and the price was right. After a long while, the rest of the food arrived: past and meat. We still ate some and enjoyed it, and ordered Amaro Peppe to finish our meal. All was good. We even complimented this place for having good and honest prices as we reached the cashier. She asked for my card and I handed it over without looking at he bill - and yes, that was my mistake, but this place felt good. We even left a generous tip, a practice that is not common in Italy. All considered, we expected a reasonable bill - however, the restaurant charged us not just for all we ordered, but an additional 32 euro for two more orders of appetizers that we specifically said we did not want. When we asked to rectify this overcharge - particularly since we specified that we did not want four order of appetizers, and since we even said to leave the charge of the "menu pizza" even without ordering the pizza - they said no, and laughed at us. So, here I am writing this review, my experience of Matera and its food a bit ruined by dishonest restaurants. We ended up paying a lot for things we did not want. This "misunderstanding", as they call it, could have been avoided by simply taking the non-existent appetizer orders off the bill. Instead, the cashier insisted that we ordered everything and refused to issue a refund. Conclusion: there is a lot of good food in Matera, stay away from this place and go find another restaurant. You'll enjoy the meal more and you'll actually pay the right price - perhaps more, but it will be what you actually ordered. We surely won't be back.

My family had a wonderful meal when we were actually able to order after half an hour waiting. The food was well prepared. When the bill came we noticed bill that they charged my wife's card without showing us the total. They charged us for two potions which we did not order and refused to issue a refund when we objected. This felt like a set up scam. Be wary and ask for the bill before paying. We will be contesting the charge with visa.

Really good restaurant in Matera, good products, a lot of food for a good price. You can buy the menu with 2 courses and starters for 18eu. The taste was delicious and the service was kind and fast. I really recommend this restaurant. It is important to make a reservation because is a turistic and popular place. The ragu and mert was excelent!!!

If you want to feel the real italian atmosphere, make sure to visit this place. Various tasty entrees, fresh ingredients, true taste of Italy.

The starters were amazing. If you ask for starters for three, they will bring you like 12 dishes! Consider this if you are thinking of ordering something else. They do not serve pizza for pranzo.