L'Osterietta Vacciago — Restaurant in Ameno

My boyfriend and I visited this restaurant last week while on vacation. We came across it randomly while driving around looking for something to eat. I first noticed the restaurant was empty while walking up to the building the owner greeted us telling us immediately what he had to offer to serve. He said he had a little bit of vegetables, and a little bit of fruit and good wine. He was not at all specific about that he was going to serve nor did he offer us a menu, but I felt like whatever he was about to prepare for us was going to be amazing. And I was right! We sat at our table outside for about 10 mins before he began to bring out small portions of different dishes: sliced pickled onions, mixed peas and carrots, diced cantaloupe, spinach with garlic, grilled sausage links, seasoned steamed cauliflower, sliced seasoned tomatoes, thick soft white cheese blocks, and penne pasta with green pesto. I thought the food choice and combo was so simple and random... yet perfect. My boyfriend was amazed at how I was really enjoying the meal as he has never witnessed me eat so many vegetables willingly. The flavor of everything was so vibrant and worked well together. Even the red house wine was on point. The owner (older, bald, heavy set man) and the other server (man with glasses and long black hair) were very friendly and kind. The owner told me I looked like Quincy Jones. I would definitely say this restaurant is a hidden...

We had reserved a table. Over the phone, the concept of the restaurant was explained to us. We were greeted and the waiter was very friendly and spoke good English. We were given our appetiser. This was definitely in order, but simple. We had to wait a very long time for the main course. After this dish came, this was just a small plate of lasagne and a small plate of pasta. Definitely not enough for 4 people. We asked for another portion because we were still hungry, but they didn't know if there were going to be any more. After finally getting an extra small plate of lasagne, we had said if this was all. Each table also got different dishes. We noticed that we got less than the other tables. The waiter told us that they had expected more clients and therefore we had been given less food. This is obviously not OK as we had made a reservation in advance. In the end, the waiter apologised. Still, we were...

Sabato pomeriggio abbiamo prenotato telefonicamente per 5 persone dopo che il proprietario ci aveva gentilmente illustrato il format: 7 portate a sorpresa, tagliere di salumi e formaggi, bevande incluse per 25€ a persona. La proposta ci sembrava interessante e la location, con il suo fascino antico e il bel posto all’aperto, prometteva bene. Purtroppo la realtà si è rivelata ben diversa dalle aspettative. Le “7 portate” consistevano in piatti basilari, letteralmente 7 piatti in totale per 5 persone e non 7 piatti a testa (fagioli e cipolle, peperoni, insalata con qualche mozzarella, pasta al pomodoro, 5 pezzetti di salsiccia surgelata e piselli con würstel) ciascuno proporzionato per una singola persona. Per 125€ totali ci sembrava decisamente inadeguato. Il tagliere promesso si è ridotto a un piattino di mortadella, con la giustificazione che “avevano finito tutto a pranzo” - eppure quando ho chiamato alle 16 per prenotare, questo era già incluso nel prezzo comunicato. Solo dopo nostre insistenti richieste ci hanno portato qualche mozzarellina aggiuntiva e delle lasagne (dalla qualità evidentemente industriale), accompagnate da commenti del tipo “il Giordano ha detto basta!” e “adesso faccio venire il Giordano!”. Il limoncello offerto a fine serata, seppur un gesto carino, non ha compensato la sensazione di essere stati raggirati. Il proprietario Giordano, pur essendo simpatico, sembra credere di aver fatto più del dovuto portando “più di 7 portate” - ma evidentemente non ha colto che il problema era a monte. Il posto ha indubbiamente potenziale, ma questa esperienza ci ha lasciato insoddisfatti. Speriamo che in futuro si punti più sulla qualità e sulla trasparenza verso i...