Fornello da Ricci

Fornello da Ricci occupies a converted farmhouse at Contrada Montevicoli outside Ceglie Messapica, a whitewashed hilltop town in the Brindisi province of Apulia that has quietly built a reputation as one of the region's serious culinary destinations. The restaurant holds Michelin recognition — one of only a handful of starred addresses in the province — and the cooking is built around foraging, heritage breed animals, and biodynamic wine in a format that predates the fashionable farm-to-table movement that has since caught up with it.

Chef Angelo Ricci and the kitchen produce a seasonal tasting menu (€75) that changes substantially across the year's agricultural calendar. Agnello con erbe selvatiche e mandorle — lamb with wild herbs and almonds — references the ancient flavour combinations of the Murge plateau's pastoral tradition, the wild herbs foraged from the land surrounding the farmhouse rather than cultivated. Orecchiette al Negroamaro uses a wine reduction as a sauce base for hand-rolled pasta, the grape's distinctive herbal bitterness contributing structure without sweetness. The biodynamic wine selection is among the most serious in Apulia, curated to represent small-scale natural producers working across the region's indigenous varietals.

The farmhouse dining room is furnished with dark wood, warm lighting, and the kind of quiet that comes from being set in open countryside rather than a town. The atmosphere is formal without being stiff — service is professional and knowledgeable, the pace of the tasting menu expansive by design. Ceglie Messapica is approximately 20 km from both Ostuni and Martina Franca, and the restaurant requires a car to reach. Sunday lunch (12:30–15:00) is the one lunchtime service; dinner operates Thursday through Sunday from 19:30. Monday is a full closure day. Reservations are essential — call +39 0831 377104 or book through the restaurant's own website.