Il Frantoio
We stayed at Il Frantoio near Ostuni while on our visit to Puglia. Frantoio means olive press or crusher. The beautiful agriturismo is set in an old country farm surrounded by centuries old olive trees. The rooms and common areas are delightfully decorated and very comfortable.
While the setting is absolutely stunning, the star of the show is the food. Everything served in the restaurant is grown and produced on the organic farm or picked wild in season. We went to Il Frantoio before I started the blog, so I don’t have photos of the food, which is a crying shame, because it was some of the most delicious and well presented food I have tasted and seen. Fortunately their website has great photos. You can tell that everything is grown with pride and love and the staff were delighted to serve our food and tell us about its journey to the table.
Il Frantoio produces DOP grade extra virgin olive oil, which can be purchased at the farm shop, along with heavenly jams and preserves. There is also an excellent wine cellar full of rare Pugliese wines. It is possible to take part in cooking lessons, which would be great fun.
The restaurant is open to non residents and I believe a long table is put under the trees in summer for guests. I’ll have to go back.
huge old olive tree at Il Frantoio
Now that’s a tree that would inspire a fairytale if ever I saw one! It looks like there would be a whole world under that tree! 😛
By: Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella on July 16, 2010
at 5:34 am
I’ve been paging through your posts, your pics are awesome!! I’ve got to develop more patience for taking (Jake’s job!) and posting (my job!) photos.
Love the tree…
Kim
(travelonafullstomach.com)
By: Kimberly on July 16, 2010
at 12:14 pm
Thank you! I bought a new Canon G11 recently, but the Puglia photos and Portofino were taken with my old camera.
By: bagnidilucca on July 16, 2010
at 12:20 pm
I want to go back and stay where you stayed
By: Roz on July 18, 2010
at 12:00 am
I’m drawn back by your wonderful photos. I agree with Lorraine about the fairy world quality of that beautiful old tree. When Sally was almost two and we lived in England we’d go walking down tree covered country lanes and find tree roots with hung-over cobwebs amongst them still lit by dew-drop fairy lights and I’d make up stories about the previous nights ball.
By: Jan on July 18, 2010
at 12:56 am
So true that the star of the show in this region is the food. Every vistor reports the same. It’s worth looking at this blog about Puglia’s rustic charm, particularly the food… http://rusticcharminpuglia.blogspot.com/
By: Fair Oak Farm (@FairOakFarm) on September 22, 2011
at 8:27 pm
Puglia has lots to offer, particularly food. We loved Alberobello, Ostuni and a few of the coastal towns. Driving in Puglia was hell.
By: bagnidilucca on September 22, 2011
at 8:35 pm
Reblogged this on Masseria Il Frantoio.
By: masseriailfrantoio on May 27, 2014
at 7:45 pm
This is wonderful!
By: Ishita on October 14, 2015
at 4:18 am