Il Tempio Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in undefined

Pure arrogance and very poor customer service!!! I am replying to your comments after my wife reviewed your restaurant. My wife didn't like your home made tagliatelle with zucchine and gamberetti, it tasted gelatinous, bland and the pasta overcooked, it looked like everything was thrown in boiling water at the same time for 3 or 4 minutes and plated. We told the waiter after our first mouthful, he went away, waited and nothing happened. The waitress approach our table to clear away the dishes and again we told her that we left the tagliatelle because we didn't like it and made a point to make sure that the chef was aware of our dissatisfaction. Again nothing happened.... Only when we decided to make a move, Alessandro appeared and he wanted to know what was wrong with the dish, as we were trying to explain, he was adomant that, as that dish was most popular there wasn't anything wrong with it! We then asked if he had tried it, he said "I don't need to try it I know what it taste like", but it was too late as the chef had binned it anyway! We had no apologies or another dish offered in place. Another of your unacceptable comment is that we didn't eat the tagliatelle as you said but left it because we didn't like it. In my opinion as a restaurant owner for the past 50 years, the manager, Alessandro, should have been on the ball immediately, apologies and offer another meal. Train the staff properly on how to handle a complain! After all you only had one more table in that evening. Alessandro we could hear you talking at the bar to Leo & Anna at the bar but obviously we were not considered to be important enough to come over as soon as the problem was reported. Your reply is astonishing, mentioning the storm and bad weather as the cause of our review!!! Maybe you should look closer to home and admit that sometime things can go wrong and have a different approach on how to handle a customer comment. We didn't accept your twenty Barbadian discount on the pasta dish, left you 20 US dollar tip to show you that we came for a free meal or a discount! Our reservation was for 8pm, we were back at our hotel by 9pm after a 25 minutes walk, what a shame! We have eaten out in other restaurant near by and found the food & service the be impeccable, especially impressed by the Barbadians knowledge about catering....

In October 2022 this was absolutely the best place to eat, we were waited on and served fast - no problems! However this year, November 2023 the service was extremely slow. (I notice Il Tempio do not like criticism however this is how you must gain knowledge to improve) The restaurant had 4/5 full tables and the rest was empty. When we entered, the waitress didn't believe that was had a table booked which was odd, I shown her the email confirmation but that wasn't enough either. Anyway, we finally sat down and got our water, my partner had his beer and then waited 30/40 minutes to order our food. We were avoided by all of the waiters to order our food and a man in a branded shirt did it for us which didn't make sense, you've got all of these waiters/waitress to do the job but none of them want to do it...our starters came - I had a Cesar Salad (with mayonnaise??) And no meat, the gentleman who took our order didn't ask and I was so hungry and fed up that I completely forgot - I ate it all as I had some of the garlic cheese from my partner's starter and that was that. It was a nice starter, but missed the mark with the what tasted of plain mayonnaise and lack of meat. There was a very long wait for the mains but absolutely worth it as the mains were delightful, just like the first time! I really loved my meal and would recommend the dish every time. My partner could not get enough of his meal! We asked for the bill which came in a pointless box that was difficult to open, even the waitress struggled (get rid of that, it's old, useless and a hygiene issue - a delicate silver dish would suffice).

Overall the food was good, service was slow and the atmosphere was ok.

I will be returning again soon, and my opinion may change but don't take this constructive criticism and blast me on here for it, learn from it and then you'll see more positive feedback.

FOR YOUR REPLY

I booked at 15:30 for a 18:00 reservation. I didn't book half an hour beforehand - please check your facts. I also did NOT ask for a plain Cesar, I wouldn't do that. So again, check your facts as now you've annoyed me. So we won't return as your customer service is absolutely shocking and not professional at all - I gave you the benefit of the doubt but you are still blaming the customer,...

There is so much good to say about this pretty and well situated Italian restaurant, it’s menu, drinks, and lovely service staff— that it is too bad nothing makes up for the fact that the owner is perhaps unstable and was definitely out of line. What would have been a 4.5 or 5 must be downgraded to warn people of this woman.

We went for a birthday dinner, were seated by the operatically styled owner Anna, then proceeded to wait for 10-15 minutes to have drink orders taken. Understand, this is a small establishment and we came early enough there were only two other tables dining. Anna came back when we flagged her over to ask politely if drink orders might be taken— so we were startled when, in response, she had an outburst and began to loudly and irrationally berate our guest of honor for being impatient, not appreciating the experience they offer, and who knows what else.

In hindsight, we should have all stood up and summarily walked out. But being a tired and amiable crowd, we quietly absorbed the tirade then, after she left (and sent over the delightful Katrina & Hayden), made merciless fun of her. But what our birthday boy took as shocking and strange... I could see someone more sensitive taking as a hurtful and evening ruining event.

Anyway, Il Tempio did recover a bit after a delicious meal of such highlights as seafood risotto, linguine Bolognese, steak carpaccio, and a standout barracuda tartar. And when the two lovely and longtime staffmembers, led by the strange Anna, surprised our table with a spirited rendition of Happy Birthday and a gratis dessert complete with lit sparkler atop. That was a great photo opp and genuinely appreciated.

True, a night later the beach side bartenders were also rude but, honestly, I am happy enough to give them leniency given the conditions they likely work under. We did leave immediately that time.

Ultimately, I hope the proud passionate Anna gets the medical treatment she needs so this treasure of an opportunity fulfills it’s destiny— and beach climbers & sophisticates can dine side-by-side in candle light beside the sand. But in the meantime, it might be best to call ahead to determine her day off before...