Coquus

Eight tables under a vaulted brick ceiling in what used to be a bishop's palace: this small Apulian restaurant in Lucera's historic centre earns a Michelin Bib Gourmand for cooking that takes the region's land-and-sea larder seriously without taking itself too seriously. The chef's riff on a prawn cocktail, striped in alternating cocktail sauce and squid-ink cream, signals exactly how the evening goes.

One honor, in evidence: