Le Botteghe

Le Botteghe is the Antonelli-family-run dining room on Piazza San Pietro Barisano — a small medieval piazza in the heart of the Sasso Barisano, two streets from the Cattedrale di Matera — and is the village's most authentic classic-Lucanian dining institution. The restaurant has run on the same Sassi location since the 1980s and is the canonical Sasso Barisano family trattoria.

The menu is unrepentantly classic Lucanian. Hand-rolled cavatelli with Lucanian lamb ragu and Pecorino di Filiano; ciaudedda — the Lucanian fava-bean-and-artichoke spring stew; a slow-cooked Lucanian lamb shoulder with thyme; cialledda — the Lucanian bread-tomato salad with onion and oregano; a Matera-bread tortino with sheep's-milk ricotta and fig jam; the famous 'crapiata' — a Lucanian seven-grain-and-legume soup that the kitchen has run since opening.

The wine list is short and entirely Lucanian-Apulian — Aglianico del Vulture, Negroamaro, Primitivo, Greco di Tufo — at the most reasonable Sassi prices. Glass pours start at €4 and the by-the-glass programme is the most generous in the village. The cellar holds about 100 references.

The terrace is the experience — twelve tables along the medieval piazza, a 270-degree view of the Cattedrale and the surrounding Sassi, and a south-facing afternoon-sun aspect. The kitchen runs continuously through the afternoon, which makes Le Botteghe the village's most reliable late-lunch destination. Service is family-run — the Antonelli siblings rotate the floor.

Le Botteghe is the team-dinner room in Matera — the Lucanian menu is shared-format, the medieval piazza terrace is the canonical Sassi lunch setting, and the wine list is forgiving on a multi-bottle dinner for eight. It is also the easy first-date answer when both diners want Sassi atmosphere without precious tasting-menu format. Book the long banquette table on the piazza terrace.