Vitantonio Lombardo is one of Matera’s established fine-dining addresses, occupying a beautifully restored ancient cave in the heart of the Sassi. Lombardo, born in Savoia di Lucania in 1979, trained with chefs including Paolo Teverini, Gianfranco Vissani and Fabio Barbaglini. He first earned a Michelin star in 2011 at Locanda Severino in Caggiano. In 2018 he returned to his native Basilicata, opened the restaurant bearing his name in Matera, and regained the Michelin star within the same year.

His cooking is firmly rooted in Lucania but deliberately contemporary: traditional ingredients, memories and combinations are reconstructed using modern techniques and often rather playful presentations. Michelin particularly highlights this connection between regional tradition and Lombardo’s highly personal interpretation. The spectacular cave itself is an important part of the experience and makes this one of Matera’s most distinctive dining rooms.

Unfortunately, our dinner did not live up to that reputation. Lombardo himself was absent, attending his daughter’s birthday, and the difference in the kitchen was noticeable. The sous-chef was obviously not able to reproduce the same level of precision and consistency. Nothing was disastrous, but for a Michelin-starred restaurant the meal was OK at best, with several dishes under-seasoned or simply not executed perfectly.

We chose a selection largely composed of dishes from different periods of Lombardo’s career. The Tagliolino of the King Shepherd – Matera Capital 2019, with milk, lime, spring onion and Osetra caviar, showed the conceptual ambition of the restaurant, combining humble pastoral references with luxury ingredients. Drone View of the Murgia – 2018, bringing together fava beans, chicory, oyster and green apple, was another very Lucanian idea, translating one of the region’s classic combinations into a contemporary composition.

The Rice with Butter, Figs and Anchovies – 2015 continued the theme of combining richness, sweetness and salinity, while the Sea Bass in Black Olive Crust – 2017, accompanied by green beans, white chocolate and vinegar sauce, was perhaps the clearest example of how ambitious these combinations can be—and how much they depend on absolutely precise execution and seasoning.

Finally came CalaMarro, squid combined with lamb entrails and rosemary apricot. It is one of Lombardo’s signature dishes and Michelin itself singles it out, describing the combination of squid and lamb offal. It is exactly the sort of dish that explains Lombardo’s reputation: strongly regional in spirit, technically ambitious and completely individual.

The setting remained impressive and the ideas behind the food were clearly those of a talented chef. But ideas alone are not enough at this level. On this particular evening, too many dishes lacked seasoning, precision and final refinement. Perhaps simply bad luck that we visited on the night Lombardo was away, but based purely on what was served to us, this was unfortunately not a Michelin-star-level meal.