This place seemed popular with the locals, so my hubby and I gave this place a try. Food is legit!…read moreWe split a bufalotta pizza- tomato sauce, cherry tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil, and oregano. We also shared the mixed platter appetizer, but it is quite large. If i were to only order one single appetizer, it would be the eggplant (meat)balls. My only "complaint" is that they get really busy. We ordered some wine and they failed to bring it to us. It was no big deal--- maybe it was God's way of telling us we should drink less. Hehe. The food was awesome and we may even swing by here for lunch before our flight home.

Wonderfull little restaurant with superb food and excellent wines for reasonal prices. Many locals…read more Top!

We miss it! This is…read moreeasily one of the best places we've been on this summers Road Trip in Italy. We stumled upon it more by accident. We planned to meet our Airb'n'B hosts here. We stayed in nearby Nicotera and didn't even know that there's a beautiful beach nearby. We ended up coming here every day - four in a row. Here's some reasons: Beach is nice, clean and quiet (even in high season). Seems still to be a secret or people might not travel that far south. Then there's the hosts of this Beach Bar. Friendly, helpful and going further than the extra mile for their customers (more of that later). Beach chairs and umbrellas cost as little as 8 Euros (two chairs, one umbrella)...for the whole day! And our dog was even allowed on the beach. And ultimately...the food. We really didn't excpect anything from it. And turned out to be wonderful fresh, daily changing fish and seafood. Perfectly cooked by the host/owner. Some of the best meals on this trip. And we've had many. At first sight the menu seems short and not very special (Spaghetti Ragu and Carbonara for example). It's because the best meals only come by request. Just ask what they got today! Can be cozze (mussels), Calamari, fish cakes, vongole etc. And it's all NOT on the menu. Luckily we've seen other locals eating it. Portions are big and quality is high. The anchovie fish cakes were delightful, fresh and savory. Vongole and Cozze fresh as well....huge plates of fantastic seafood. Few ingredients, but perfectly cooked. Calamari were fresh as well, crispy and tender! Every day we also got served some antipasti...and every day the portions got bigger and the bill got smaller! Salumi (different meat cuts) were a great choice as well. Dried and in oil preserved tomatoes, eggplants and other veggies. A realy feast. Fried potatoes with Calabrian Chillis....awesome! Drink some "Dreher" beer with it.....perfect match. Together with the chairs and umbrellas we never paid more than 40 Euros. For everything....rent, food and 6x beers! And like I said, every day we got more food for less money. They didn't have to do that...they knew we're not locals, just some tourists that might not come back for quite a while. But they did. And had some good chats with us. We really felt so welcome, almost felt like being at home with family. Great people, great food....a great experience. One of the places this year that really touched us and we miss a lot. Highly recommended!

Looking for an experience of authentic Sicilian culture? You'll find it here. Authentic, old…read moreworld, charming and delicious. It is slow food, at it's finest. Dishes that other won serve, because they require time, love and attention. Lots of seafood, freashly caught and you can taste the difference. Amazing vegetarian pasta. Lots of dishes to select from. Too many. You could dine here for a week and still not explore it all. Go! You will be delighted!

We arrived at the restaurant and was told there were no tables available for the evening and was…read moreturned away. I then informed them I had made reservations to celebrate my wife's birthday and was promptly seated. The highlight was the bread and the olive from Mt Etna, amazing splash of olive oil!. Then things went down hill from there. Service was mediocre, the food was not as expected. I had Spatola and had to search for bits and pieces of fish. The taste was off and I elected not to finish my meal. I assume they were having an off-night but after seeing some of the reviews, I don't think so. I traveled throughout Italy, Sicily and Sardinia and must say this was not enjoyable. I would not recommend this place of business until they re-evaluate their menus and staff.

As a Calabrese, I can honestly say the food was as authentic as you can get; from the antipasti to…read morethe handmade pasta. The homemade wine and amaro complemented everything on our plates. Service was professional and quick. There is a good reason why they have been open for 47 years. Family run and 100% worth the drive!

Wonderful food! We visited this restaurant for lunch on the…read morerecommendation of our B&B host in the nearby town of Tropea. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. The restaurant seemed be full of locals and it was very reasonably priced. It was well worth the drive from Tropea.

You will find this upscale Italian restaurant off of the main square which overlooks the beautiful…read moreIonian sea. I visited in the off season so I can't attest to what the normal staff is like but on my visit it appeared that the chef's father was working the front of the house and the son was the executive chef working his magic in the kitchen but humble enough to have come out 3 or 4 times during our dinner to talk to the patrons and make sure everything was in tip top shape. I will caution that they were fairly strict to trying to maintain in appetizer 1st 2nd 3rd course type of experience and asking for things out of order or making substitution irritated the father in the front of the house. The wine selection was excellent with a collection of local wines and a beautiful house table wine that was served in the bottle. With fish that was grilled fresh from the ocean I almost felt like it with still wiggling on the plate but it was perfectly charred on the outside and soft and buttery on the inside. I had a soup that was absolutely delicious and I'm glad I ordered it even though the father was resisting me because I had already also ordered a set of appetizers. On a cold night mostly it was expats or tourists in this establishment but clearly this was not touristy food but high end Italian for tourists and for wealthy locals. There are a set of tables available on the patio area overlooking the Ionian sea which would be full and busy on a warmer day during a brighter season. The main charm is the insides of this restaurant with the candlelight lighting effect that they achieve in what would otherwise be a dungeon of an old castle cellar that is brought to life by light, decorations, nice table settings and wonderful wonderful food.

It pains me to write a negative review here. But I had two dinners, March 7 and 8, 2023. The first,…read morewhile I'm not nearly as enthusiastic as the first two reviewers, was good enough for me to return. Of course it was March and almost everything in Troipea was closed. The seond time, though, was odd. I made a small mistake in ordering an extra salad. I told the owner/chef the mistake was mine and offered to pay for it. For some reason, this set him off, and from that point he and the female server were completely passive aggressive. For example, they left plates on my table, offered no dessert etc. The fish is good, albeit uneven. I ate grilled whole orata, quite small and boney, fresh and flavorful. Appetizer size. The chef/owner seems not to realize he's in the service business.

Very special location. Excellent menu. Great portions and quality. Romantic and ideal for a special…read moreoccasion.

Oh my goodness. This place was amazing…read more I'm not sure where to start, so let's start with the view. The pictures uploaded by others show the view from the restaurant, and it doesn't matter where you're seated--floor to ceiling glass windows give diners an unobstructed view of the shimmering Mediterranean sea. (I'll try to upload a photo as well.) I was there for lunch in August with a few friends (most of whom were locals). We ordered a number of seafood appetizers to share, including raw shrimp and other fish. Presentation was beautiful, and everything was fresh. For the main course, I had spaghetti with sea urchin. Simple, right? Yes, simple done right. The pasta was cooked al dente and smoothly mixed with the sea urchin. Every bite delivered a heady mix of perfectly cooked pasta flavored with the slight brininess from the sea urchin. I finished off my plate fast and looked hopefully at my friends' plates, hoping they weren't able to finish theirs so I could have more. Alas, they seemed to like the pasta just as much as I did as their plates were empty as well. A few others ordered a variety of cooked seafood, including swordfish. Their orders were presented on a heated tile of pink Himalyan salt, which I found fascinating. Yes, I'm easily impressed. :D I tried a bit of swordfish, and though I'm typically not a fan of this particular fish, it was amazing. We finished off our meal with some espressos (passed on dessert as we were all so full). Amazing lunch. The price was more than reasonable too, considering the breathtaking view, the warm and friendly service, and the quality and freshness of the food.

While in Tropea we had 2 fabulous dinners - one at Osteria della Cipollo Rosa (very intimate and…read moreinformative wine pairing dinner) and Incipit. We totally relied on our waiter her for recommendations and he did NOT disappoint. The food was superb and the surprise was the cannolo at the end - it's a canollo in a dish of cream, totally shareable. We ate outside on a beautiful eveing but if you can, sit inside as it looked very interesting!

Customer service was excellent. Beautiful views with no up charge for eating Al fresco.read more

For a delicious meal and Messina beer on tap, check out this awesome restaurant right near the…read moreduomo! My family and I had the seafood sampler which wasn't bad--probably would not order again. We really enjoyed the Pappardelle pasta though and I highly recommend that. There doesn't seem to be too much to do in Messina but if you find yourself here for some reason, I think this is the place to be!