WHERE THE LOCALS EAT FOCACCIA

Napoli has her pizza, Rome her crumbling ruins, Milan the snooty catwalkers and Venice the running water gardens, but Bari, Bari is famous for focaccia. Generally speaking we are not talking about the bloated, fluffy kind you get at your friend who's into foods house, no, the style predominantly slung in shops around town is thinner and more crispy.

Think dough cooked with liters of olive oil in the time-worn pans. Think simple tomato sauce splashed on top, an olive or two, some herbs, seasalt, more olive oil.

The ideal focaccia should be portable in a small paper wrapper, perfectly attackable whilst walking, and oozing with punchy flavours and tangy-salty conflicts. The bread-part can be thin or slightly more fluffy, but should have a delicious crunch at the bottom that holds its shape when diagonal.

Below are The Mouths three favourite places to grab a focaccia in Bari, and yes we did try quite a lot more but they just didn't touch the hem of these.

Where To Find The Best Focaccia In Bari

PANIFICIO S. RITA

A hole in the wall if ever you're looking for one, the locals know to queue up here long before they open, and grab some fresh out of the oven as soon as the doors unlatch.

The quintessential Bari focaccia, but a tad on the intense/heavy side if you fancy eating an entire slab. But a must-do for sure.

MAGDA

Branding-wise a tad more like a fancy wine store than anything else, Magda makes a fluffier version of the classic Bari focaccia, but the flavours are endlessly puzzling in the most wonderful way. This is really a slice of heaven.

The simplicity and the punchiness of the tomato really hits home at Magda.

PANIFICIO DIRELLO

#THEMOUTHSCHOICE

Definitely our pick if you only have time to hit one place in Bari. Though Rita is far more authentic in terms of vibe, this place makes our absolute favourite slice. The focaccia is beautifully crisp, thin, and seasoned to the limits of sanity.

Their white onion focaccia, if available, is a thing of miracles.