taverna Antica Grotta In Tropea

18/11/2023: Our first few days were spent in Pizzo, one of them being a travel day with late arrival for any beach time so to kick off our beach adventure we picked Lido Regina Del Mare as our best bet. We visited Regina on the back side of Summer so we knew most places have either shut down or are in process which this lido was doing when we arrived at 10:30 and thought maybe they were closed for the season already. The owner Mimmo set us up with chairs, an umbrella and friendly introductions as well as some discussions about what we may like for lunch and I mentioned loving mussels and my wife loves a good Vongole (almost once a day if she can get away with it) and off he went. We tried out a mezzo or two of local rose wine while taking in the views of Pizzo in the distance we had the beach to ourselves for least for a few hours until others came after lunch. The beaches in Calabria are some of the most beautiful in the world and crystal clear due to most beaches being rocks of vary size from match head size pebbles to golf ball with very little sand to murk up the water so bring good water shoes. Laura is Mimmo's wife she is also the chef and runs a tight ship she cooked two of the best pastas we had of the trip a red mussel for me and vongole for the wife we returned plates that could have been put back on the shelf. Very attentive service with great food set in a scenic uncrowded beach just a short way from Pizzo should make this place at the top of your beach needs in this area. It is a true family affair and we felt very well looked after I also got to play with their German Shepard Aria for a bit whenever I made a trip to the bar which was an added bonus.

07/10/2023: The best lido, see you next time guys 😀