26/07/2025: Overall, I give it three out of five stars. But let's take it one step at a time.
I give the location five stars because it's fantastic. The restaurant is well-maintained, spacious, clean, with well-spaced tables, and the veranda overlooking the Sangineto waterfront is exceptional. The ample parking and the quiet, easily accessible, and easy-to-find location—it's practically on the main road toward Cetraro, heading south for those coming from Sangineto—complement the restaurant's excellent location. I also give the service five stars. The staff are friendly, attentive, and quick to take orders and serve promptly, aided by the obviously well-organized kitchen. The food, however, is a bit pricey, and I'll explain why. There were two of us; we ordered fries and mussel soup as an appetizer, asking for them to arrive together. The fries arrived first, and we obviously ate them without waiting for the mussel soup. Which was a good thing, because they would have been cold. The fries were pre-cooked and not hot. They arrived at the table without salt or sauce. After the fries were finished, the mussel soup arrived, which I must say was superb. Truly, truly good, excellent. Let's move on to the second courses. We ordered a cardinale pizza (the Margherita with cooked ham, typical of Calabria) and a fried shrimp and calamari. The pizza was excellent: we Neapolitans love Calabrian pizza: rustic, crispy, and homemade. When we come to Calabria, we certainly don't want leavened flours and a Michelin-starred pizza chef who gives a damn about the hours of leavening and the percentage of water needed to make the pizza exceptional. When we're in Calabria, we want Calabrian pizza, and this was it, and it was excellent. The fried shrimp and calamari were a sore point. Given that if you present yourself as a seafood restaurant, fish must be your signature dish, and given that I'm perfectly aware that the fish—it's also written on the menu—is frozen, you can't bring me something as simple as fried shrimp and calamari that's completely "mushy" because it was fried an hour earlier and perhaps reheated in the microwave or some other way before serving. In short, even frozen food, if cooked well and served expertly at the right time, can make a good impression. And this frozen seafood was a complete disappointment! Completing the overall negative review of some of the food was the Cala beer, an excellent Calabrian beer, served warm (almost at room temperature) along with the water and Coke, also warm. And even the liqueur, Calabrian fennel, which I only find here in the summer, is exceptional, served in a cold glass but the contents warm! In short, the pizza and mussel soup were good, the chips were poor, and the fried fish was awful. The service and location were excellent, but the drinks were a bit cold. Let's get to the price: €56.50. A good price for what we ate. There was a small negative at the end: on my way out, I complimented the pizza chef on the excellent Calabrian pizza—cooked in a wood-fired oven, which is crucial—but he didn't appreciate it and didn't even give me a nod. And that's just not good. There's a lot of room for improvement; overall, a three is a positive rating. In any case, for a cool evening overlooking the view and enjoying a good pizza, I recommend it, but book well in advance otherwise you won't find a table.
24/07/2025: All good. Magnificent sunset. Delicious and huge pizza.
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