This review is for the restaurant only. Locanda Gulfi has an immensely beautiful view in a pastoral landscape just outside of Ragusa. The restaurant is beautifully done and definitely feels like an elegant retreat a cut above. The restaurant offers either a tasting menu or a la carte options for lunch. I will say that our dishes, although beautiful in presentation, weren't spectacular. Carpaccio of beef was thick and chewy, porkneck needed sauce and was really rather bland. Creamed codfish was a step below - tasted like my grandmother's gefilte fish in an overly fussy format. The Sicilian fish soup was considerably better, and desserts were the best we had in Italy; the wine was absolutely phenomenal.
I recommend coming for the wine tasting, pasta and desserts. Had we stuck with those, I think we would have increased our rating by a full star.
Service was a bit overly formal and even though the restaurant was empty for much of the duration of our meal, we did not feel entirely welcomed to be there with our kids. Options for them were limited (they will eat a wide array of things but the food here is more boutique in presentation and thus we were definitely encouraged to give them only something very basic, a bit of a disappointment) and although they sat quite well and were not exceptionally noisy, our waiter gave us a more or less constant stink eye every time he came over. I'd like to have suggested to him that they might benefit from more families coming, given the emptiness of the dining room, and frankly, we came for lunch, not for dinner, so as not to disturb other diners with the fact that children do exist!
In any event, if you are a couple looking for a romantic country setting for a meal, it really is a beautiful spot. Pasta, wine, desserts e basta cosi. You'll be happy, even if you get the stink eye too. read more