Sotto Sopra — Restaurant in Gamsha

Do not try this place unless you like to be disappointed. I had the misfortune of dinning at this so called Italian restaurant, Servers were pretty rude and arrogant for no reason, food was a shame. Starting with the octopus, cutting it was such a hassle due to how hard and dry it was. We literally received the plate tried a chewy bit and returned it immediately ! Pastas were left untouched, seafood was mediocre at best, pesto consisted of some soupy and extremely salty sauce, when i asked the waiter why my pesto was watery he said “it is juicy” go figure. Third disappointment was the pizza we ordered the prosciutto e fungi, ham was chewy and it was definitely not prosciutto worst part was that the dough tasted like flour and was underdone! We ordered the bill and saw that they hadn’t removed the stinky octopus from the total receipt lol. We kept being disappointed one plate after the other... Atmosphere was nice but kept getting interrupted by the kitchen door that they would forget to close. The place has potential but it seems the owners don’t feel like improving for some reason; i read a couple of other reviews written two years ago complaining about some of the same issues i came...

Rude, unprofessional & untrained staff. I was waiting by the door for 5 min till anyone started talking to me. We were a group of 6 he mentioned that he will take out order after 20 min as he wanted to give the staff at the kitchen a break (never heard that in my life), by the time i checked with the others if they are ok with that which was literally 1 min as they where by the door he already reallocated another group where sitting by the bar. I was surprised and i found it disrespectful and his responses was so rude back to me and he mentioned that is the restaurant rules. I have asked him if we can take a table of 4 and 2 of us can take seats by the bar and then he reallocated us he mentioned to me you are not going to drink alcohol (I don't know on what basis he assumed this, as i drink) it was such pointless conversation with him and i ended up leaving. I was desperate to try the restaurant and i asked him would it be possible to give me a timeline for ex. 1 hour then i will come back to you he can’t do this.

End of the story the stuff is so RUDE, unprofessional and untrained. I was trying to find a manager, but I couldn’t properly this guy was...

Food Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

The culinary experience at Sotto Sopra was simply exquisite. The menu displayed an authentic range of Italian delicacies, executed to perfection. The flavors were rich and well-balanced, truly capturing the essence of Italian cuisine.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5)

While the food was exceptional, the service left something to be desired. The waiting time for someone to take our order was noticeably prolonged, impacting the overall dining experience. Staff members were polite but seemed overwhelmed, which contributed to the delay.

Summary: Despite the lag in service, Sotto Sopra delivers where it truly counts: the food. The exceptional quality of the dishes largely compensates for the slower service, making it a worthwhile destination for Italian food enthusiasts in El Gouna.

Highly recommended for those who prioritize culinary excellence and are willing to overlook minor service hiccups.

This establishment proves itself worthy of a solid four out of five stars, and I eagerly look forward to...