Hi I’m Davide Manzari!

I am a professional chef with over 10 years of experience in the culinary world, specializing in Mediterranean cuisine but I love any kind of cuisine. My journey has taken me through Michelin-starred kitchens in Spain and private chef roles for retreats, weddings, and special occasions. Currently, I am the head chef and owner of an Andalusian-inspired restaurant “Luz Ristorante” in Puglia, Italy. My passion is crafting unforgettable dining experiences that celebrate both tradition and innovation.

For me, cooking is...

Motivates me every day. I love everything about this job . The relationship I have with cooking is almost obsessive, it's complete magic.

I learned to cook at...

When I was a child, I used to steal with my eyes and reproduce by myself with a few modifications the traditional recipes seen by my mother.

A cooking secret...

A lot of basil in the tomato souce :-)

My menus

Spanish menu

STARTER

All inclusive

Gazpacho / shrimps pil pil

Iberian ham croquettes

Cantabrian anchovies / pepper and lime butter

FIRST COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Seafood Paella

Meat paella with 30-day-old cow

Lobster paella (additional cost)

MAIN COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Ibérico's demiglace and potato terrine with pimentón

Seabass pinchos / burnt pepper cream / fried almond

Lamb pinchos moruno

DESSERT

All inclusive

Catalan cream

Alfajores

Tasting meat

STARTER

Choose 2 dishes

Tartare of local cow/ whipped yolk / pine nuts/ pecorino cheese

Apulian frisella : fresh tomatoes / feta cheese/ evo oil

Carpaccio of lamb / grana cheese cream/ Garden salad

Bruschetta di coda di toro / mayo pimienton

FIRST COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Rabbit ragout/ fresh pasta pappardelle

Fresh pasta orecchiette / boar sausages/ yellow datterino

Fresh pasta “orecchiette” with yellow tomate/ stracciatella pugliese/ almond

MAIN COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Old local cow marbled, 30-day matured / truffle

Bombette from Martina Franca: pork neck roll with pancetta and caciocavallo cheese

Ibérico's demiglace and potato terrine with pimentón

Slow cooked “braciola” for 12h in tomato ragú: braciola is a typical Apulian beff roll with pecorino cheese garlic and basil

DESSERT

Choose 1 dish

Ganache/ caramel salted / peanuts

Chocolate souffle

Tiramisu’

Crostata del trullo di alberobello

Catalan cream

Tasting fish menú

STARTER

Choose 2 dishes

Red mullet flamed / beurre blanch/ mullet roe

Cantabrian anchovies / pepper and lime butter

Local wild fish sashimi / water of 5 different apulian tomatoes/ “ricotta” cream

FIRST COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Lobster / tagliolini fresh pasta

Fresh pasta cavatelli / shrimps / cream of peas and lime

Fresh pasta “calamarata” with seafood and cream of fava beans

Fresh pasta capunti / octopus ragù/ potatoes lime cream

Handmade Squid Ink Linguine with Sea Urchin and Saffron Cream

MAIN COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Crunchy octopus/ chimichurri /mayo lime

Cod fillet alla “mediterranea”

Fillet of wild seabass/ Challots souce

Big prown / garlic oil and chilly/ Apulian cialledda salad

DESSERT

Choose 1 dish

Ganache/ caramel salted / peanuts

Crostata di ricotta del trullo di alberobello

Chocolate souffle

Tiramisu

Italian/apulian family style

STARTER

All inclusive

Apulian frisella with 5 different type of tomato

Aubergine parmiggiana: fried eggplant and after cooked in earthenware with tomato , mozzarella and basil

Apulian Burrata cheese

FIRST COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Fresh pasta “calamarata” with seafood and cream of fava beans

“orecchiette di Barivecchia” fresh pasta with datterino yellow tomatoes/ burrata cream/ crunchy capocollo pork salami

Cavatelli fresh pasta / Redfish ragout/ basil

Handmade Squid Ink Linguine with Sea Urchin and Saffron Cream

MAIN COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Slow cooked Apulian “braciola” cooked for 12h in tomato ragú: braciola is a typical Apulian beff roll with pecorino cheese garlic and basil

Fava beans puree and Wild chicory

Cod fillet alla “San juannidd “: with tomate souce anchovies cappers and parsley

DESSERT

Choose 1 dish

Tiramisu

Fresh cannoli stuffed with ricotta cheese

Tart of fresh ricotta cheese

Mar adriatico

STARTER

All inclusive

Sashimi di ricciola / tartufo nero estivo / emulsione al tartufo

FIRST COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Risotto/ tartare gamberi/ la sua bisque

Risotto astice/ salvia

Spaghetti/ spigola / lime

Orecchiette frutti di mare

MAIN COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Branzino/ beurre blanc/ mandorla fritta

Polpo ai Carboni / piselli / riccio di mare

Capesante/ capocollo di Martina / mayo al lime

DESSERT

All inclusive

Tiramisù

Crostata di ricotta del trullo di alberobello

Ganache montata / caramello salato / arachidi

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Chef Davide's reviews

4.75

•

52 services

Polite, friendly, very professional. Strongly recommended if you're looking for a delicious food and an outstanding service.

Perfect experience

Chef David was amazing, good spirit, amazing food and good service. What more could you wish for I would highly recommend

Great!

Chef Valentina and her crew were exceptional! Our dishes were true Puglian fare and they were so accommodating throughout the whole process. Food was outstanding- such a treat to have them cook rather than a restaurant! A+++

Davide and his team created a wonderful dinner for our group of 8. The food was delicious and we felt like it was a very high end restaurant instead of our Airbnb rental. He's meticulous in his preparation and presentation. We highly recommend his service.

WOW! Davide made us the best meal we had in Puglia. The food was fresh, unique and absolutely delicious. We asked to amend the menu to allow for more courses and he delivered, providing us with an incredible 7 course meal with wine pairing. the wines were fantastic. Would recommend Davide and his team to anyone. Thank you!

Davide and his partner were friendly and professional. They prepared an amazing meal for our family that we all enjoyed. I could not recommend him more strongly

Davide was an incredible chef and went above and beyond, the food was delicious and he catered to our every need. Would highly recommend, an amazing experience all round. Thanks!

We truly enjoyed our dinner - thank you!