Taverna Del Mare - CASTELLABATE

Following a recommendation in 'The Rough guide ' who are normally spot on we were confident that we would not be disappointed....how wrong can one be. If we could have got a WiFi connection to check tripadvisor it would have saved us €55 as all the reviews ie that the place is dreadful are, unfortunately, accurate. The food was luke warm , tasteless , overcooked and dripping in olive oil. All the other restaurants during our 3 week stay touring puglia and the basilica region were fantastic, this was just a one off thankfully. The only redeeming feature was they didn 't bat an eyelid when we refused to pay the 10% service charge no other restaurants charged this I should point out . It was as though they knew it was rubbish. Alarm bells should have rung when there was only 1 other couple dining ! Lesson well and truly learned. Fellow reviewers take heed.

Many negative comments which clearly contrast with our experience. Compared to several other places in castellabate, this restaurant offers good value for money. Service was swift and friendly, food was excellent.

This is a hotel restaurant, right by the town beach. For such a nice spot we had a frustrating experience. Utterly bizarre service waiters a weird mix of obsequious and sinister, courses arrived in no particular order, with one main course being served 15 or 20 minutes after everyone else had finished. Despite all that making us feel like walking out, we didn't. Why? Because the food especially the fish was perfect.

We didn 't stay at this hotel but, made the massive mistake of eating in its restaurant called 'Taverna Del Mare '. I ordered lobster. I was not presented with it uncooked before and when it turned up it could not have weighed even 200 grams. It was about the size of a large King Prawn (Gamberas) although still not anywhere as big as a Madagascan King Prawn. (I have a picture available). I eat lobster often and am very conscious of the weights. When the bill arrived we were charged for 400 grams! I tried to argue with both the waiters who were belligerent and rude, refused to recognise the argument and now couldn 't speak any English, unlike before. We then felt scared for our safety as they had about 4 or 5 male friends turn up on the other side of the restaurant so, decided to just pay up and leave quickly. Avoid this place at all cost! Very nasty experience!! You have been warned!