L'oasi Del Riccio - FASANO

Very disappointing. We have eaten here before but this visit was not good. 6 friends eating. Seafood portions were very small (see picture of all the seafood we had for SIX people). €12 to €15 each for primi. 1 primi was missed and was delivered to our table after everyone else had finished. Seconding (polpo) was black. Unedible. When we reported it, we were told that it was the marinade! The side orders were not delivered to our table we had to cancel them because we had already finished eating. when we complained at the point of paying the man was very dismissive. No customer service. €2 coperto. Too much There are many other restaurants in Savelletri and so we will not return.

This restaurant was recommended by our host. We were very excited to go because we love fresh seafood and it doesn't get much fresher than this. Our first attempt was a fail. Although online it clearly stated the hours the restaurant was open, it was not. We went back the next night and made a booking to be certain. It was not especially busy. This place is very, very rustic right on the beach, mosquito candles burning on the rocks. Nothing fancy at all, which gives you the expectation that it will be authentic. We have very little Italian and even our menu Italian failed us for seafood. There is a QR code though that steers you to a menu in English except the staff had no English, so we had to choose in English and then order in Italian and the menu is 100% not set up to facilitate that. We had beer and wine while we tried to work it out, then sat back to wait feeling not too confident in what we had ordered. We got raw squid, raw cuttlefish, octopus, fried baby squid, pasta and prawns, pasta and scampi, fresh fish of the day and a few other things. We ordered house wine. We did not order urchin because none of us enjoy it. The food was good simple and very fresh. The service was okay, but we felt quite ignored because of our lack of Italian. We got a shock when we asked for the bill. A rough piece of paper with nothing itemized. And it was 170 euros! We have lived in Europe a long time, we have been to plenty of restaurants in Italy and France and Switzerland, but none of this prepared us for the shock of this amount. For the nature of the restaurant the price was ridiculous. We asked for an itemization but they couldn't (wouldn't understand us. (Not even sure if this is legal. And then they wanted to be paid in cash. Well, no, we had to insist on a credit card and, suddenly the machine worked again. We liked the casual seaside ambience, we loved the fresh seafood but we did not like how we were treated and we did not like that we felt completely ripped off.

Normally I don’t reviews, but this restaurant deserves a critical eye. After the recommendation of a friend, my partner and I were looking forward to test this well-known spot. Unfortunately we were disappointed. I had ordered a tartar di gamberi rossi, which arrived as a block of ice (A sign of fish not being fresh and well-prepared). After kindly asking the waiter for the menu, in order to order something else, the tartar was brought back to me in a molten version. It was thus, still cold and full of water- a no-go. My partner had order spaghetti allo scoglio which were sandy and absolutely nothing special. The waiters were unattentive, slow and did not respect any covid-19 restrictions (e.g. no mask). Lastly, there was a sign claiming that the card-machine was broken, however when we explained that we didn’t have any cash and could only pay by card, it magically worked without a problem. This is a classic trick in Italy, in order to evade taxes. This restaurant is not worth the hype and should be avoided at all costs. Puglia is a region full of special and fresh delicacies, this restaurant give credit to the region and Italian food at all. Embarrassing.

Friendly staff, great food and simple service. Lots of food choices. Better to book in advance. Sure we will be back!

Staying nearby and wanting some real local food our barman recommended this for proper Apulian seafood. Did not disappoint. Don’t expect fancy tables and cloths. But we sat by the ocean, were served by charming people and surrounded by locals. Had the sea urchin very fresh and under €1 ! Like a sea fois gras. Then a delicious gamberoni pasta followed by some fresh fresh bream. Meal was a bargain and we enjoyed the accordion player! A welcome respite from hotel food. Thank you.