Il Ghignante Circolo Di Cultura Sarda

I don’t know where to start with this place, whether to focus on the fact that two of us got ill after eating here, or whether it took so long to serve us that the kitchen closed half way through our meal or that the food was really disappointing. Let’s start with the positive, the place is lovely, looks classy and had a nice atmosphere. We tried to book 4 different restaurants first, but this had space and given it’s high rating on TripAdvisor we decided to book here. However I genuinely don’t understand how the ratings are so high. And we were surprised that on a Friday night at this location we saw maybe 5 tables that were not occupied. We arrived at 21:10 (with a reservation for 21:30 , our first contact with the waitress was after 22:00. For the anti pasti we asked the chef to make a selection so we could taste different things as there were 5 of us. Quite honestly everything we got could’ve been purchased at Waitrose, it was basically a selection of smoked salmon in several different ways (one with honey, one with nuts, etc... , and one bowl of mussels. Even the muscles weren’t great, the boil in the bag packs that I buy in Waitrose are better quality than what we were served. We then awaited our first course which arrived after 11 pm. We said we would order our second course after we had the antipasti, but the waitress never took our order. My friends had a selection of pasta dishes which I was told were all very average. Myself and another friend had the fish soup however it took me over half an hour to finish the dish as everything was in shells and everything had to be taken off the bone. Also interestingly we weren’t given a spoon for the soup and quite frankly we just gave up waiting for the waitress. By the time the waitress came round after our first course it was 11:45 pm and the kitchen was clearing up. At that time she approached the table and asked us if we wanted a dessert or coffee. It seemed pretty clear that a second course was out of the question and given the fact it was midnight when we intended to eat much earlier our appetites had dissipated and quite frankly the quality of the food we felt that ordering the second course would be pointless and probably disappointing. Considering what we ate and how little wine we drank I also think it was poor value for money. Then the icing on the cake came the day afterwards when I mentioned to my friend that I had “stomach problems“ I was then informed that he was suffering the same consequences. The only thing that we ate in common was a nut cream that was added to our coffee. So we are guessing that it probably wasn’t stored correctly. Therefore I cannot recommend this place and would actively advise people to avoid at all costs. Unfortunately the environment will lure people in because it is stunning and given the ratings on TripAdvisor it will of course encourage people to go. However my personal experience means that this place goes on my blacklist. This place defines style over substance in every respect. Other issues we saw included: We had selected a particular white wine to go with the fish (as one of our friends is a wine expert but unfortunately the white wine that our table selected had not been stored in the fridge so we had a choice of drinking it warm or we were told that they could put it in the fridge and we could have it a couple of hours later! We ended up choosing another wine. Also on the table next to us one person got the second course first and the rest of the table got a second course after he had finished his which was really quite awkward and we did hear that table complain about the timing of the dishes. There were also some other minor issues, but quite frankly I’ve made up my mind about this particular place. The attached photo shows the fish soup . By the time I got to the liquid it was cold.

Interesting decor, and inspiring food presentation but unfortunately the staff lacked professionalism and the food was not as good as it appeared. The roasted vegetables, served with lamb cutlets, were very well presented but they were served lukewarm

The food was very delicious, the restaurant is beautiful, pretty good athmosphere. The only thing why I can not give them 5 is because the staff was pretty disorganized, they were kind, but it was little but hard to communicate in english.

Elegant motorcycle seat. .... very well-kept kitchen . we ate the fregular with the seafood..... excellent absolutely to recommend. the price is right for the local fi type

The choice and quality of raw materials, combined with the kindness and friendliness of the staff, make this beautiful place in the center of mass an indispensable place if you want to get the Sardinian specialties without being on the island. I and my wife stayed last week on the excellent suggestion of the owner of the b