FIRM bar tabacchi In Porto cesareo

16/03/2026: We were nervous about visiting due to some of the very negative google reviews. However it was raining and Nonna was near our hotel. I liked the humble style of the menu and decor, replete with chipped crockery. Bread arrived in paper bags and bussing was performed by gathering up the corners of the paper table clothes, typical of mom and pop shops. I was relieved to see a table of 6 middle aged Italians when we arrived. Our waitress didn’t speak much English but managed to comply with our request for a softer local wine. My companion had a primo of pasta with tomato and strong ricotta which was stronger than the ricotta salata we’ve had in Sicily. Very al dente and a great dish for people who like strong cheeses. I had the scialatielli with seafood. Light spaghetti vongole style sauce containing mostly clams. The single prawn had been peeled and deveined but left head on. Again, perfect al dente pasta served harder than in northern Italy. We shared a secondo and contorno. We ordered steak with porcini which I considered a risky choice. Meat was medium rare as ordered, and very tender. It could have looked more elegant if the sauce had been served under the steak instead of smothering it. Also slicing the steak in the kitchen would have looked more attractive but that wouldn’t be in keeping with the style of the restaurant. Our contorno was chicory sauteed with good olives. There was nothing to fault with suppliers of ingredients or cooking technique. Service can be a little slow. Our waitress seemed to be covering tables on both floors.

24/02/2026: It's a very traditional local restaurant, but unfortunately it didn't quite suit my taste; most of the dishes were too salty for me.