Don Carlos Ristorante Pizzeria — Restaurant in Bosa

Avoid this restaurant at all costs!

My wife, son, and I were looking for food quickly as it was later than my toddler’s usual feeding time. We always look at restaurant reviews before deciding where to eat, however we did not this time as we were in a rush, and what a mistake that was. In keeping with all the genuine reviews of this restaurant - it was an absolute disaster of a dining experience.

We were first lured in by the outdoor seating set in an old picturesque square. The waiters were pleasant and our drinks came promptly. Then the food landed. The Parma ham on my son’s ham and melon salad was very strong smelling and tough to chew, his tomato pasta was undercooked (not al dente) and the tomato sauce was bland and lumpy. My wife’s ’Bosa style’ prawns were not fresh, gritty, and the chef had clearly attempted to mask the off crustaceans with garlic. The main offender was my seafood pasta - when placed in front of me the smell of rancid sea life nearly blew me back off my seat. The linguine was coated in a dark brown sludge, and was topped with lots of inedible shell fish (such as a half lobster head with stringy dark green entrails hanging out and lots of unopened mussels).

Having not eaten more than a bite of melon and a couple of the prawns to confirm they were off (thankfully the seafood pasta did not reach any of our mouths), our displeasure was clearly palpable as the waiters began clearing our table unprompted. As they were clearing, they asked what was wrong and using my best facial expressions and repeating the word ‘rancido’ I hoped that the message was clear and I asked for the bill.

I was shocked to see a full bill. I instantly asked for a pen and began crossing out items I was not prepared to pay for. The waitress then demanded that I went inside the restaurant, where behinds he till, a gentleman, who I assume is the owner began to debate the bill with me. A waiter with good English kindly translated for the two of us. Once I had put my experience across to them, there was no apology, simply a demand that I paid the bill in full. I refused. Then, in an act of lunacy, the chef came out with a plastic tub of disgusting smelling chum, waving it under my nose, I assume to try and convince me the bucket of blended foul guts was fresh seafood - my favourite moment was when the waitress smelled it and her eyes began to water. Just so I could leave and escape the smell of stuff you wouldn’t sling to a seagull off the back of a trawler, I paid half the bill and got out of there in pursuit of chewing gum to relieve the taste of an off prawn lingering in my mouth.

I should not have paid anything and should have taken photos, which I regret on both counts.

We’ve had two weeks of enjoying wonderful cuisine and seafood all over Sardinia, but this was without a doubt the worst meal of our lives.

Avoid...

We found this restaurant when we walked through the city. First, it was nearly 40 degrees outside, not a gust of wind, and the waiter made us sit outside when it was empty inside. We even asked if it was possible to sit inside, but the waiter answered that it was to chill inside - which was the point of sitting inside, and they had put up ventilation outside (two fans blowing over a big seating area). After we sat down, the waiter told us we could only order pizza, lasagne and salad only, which was fine. So one of us asked what salad the waiter could recommend, and he pointed to "Insalata Mista." When we got the salad, it looked like a plate for a rabbit. Poorly chopped vegetables in a bowl - not a salad. You can't even describe it as a side dish, and it looked more like a pre-prep for a dish to be made - not something you serve a guest. When we asked for the waiter who recommended this "salad", the attitude the waiter came with was just shameful and awful. He arrived with the menu, pointed out the dish, and said, "This is what you ordered, right? ok, bye" - like he did his job correctly. He wasn't interested to hear what we had to say. If something was wrong. If something wasn't up to expectations. If he could help us with something. Like an ordinary waiter would ask for. To summarize, the lasagne was tasteless and looked like it came from the microwave. The bread that came with the lasagne was rockhard and dry. The pizza was undercooked, with too much tomato sauce and barely any cheese and had zero flavor. It was one of the worst, if not the worst, experiences we had in Sardinia.

Find somewhere...

Absolute chaos, disorganization. Some of the waiters were able to tear up, but people still didn't have a table, they didn't notice the waiting customers. The food was delivered quickly, but it is definitely not a place I would like to return to. We chose pizza, but they told us that pizza was no longer available, so we had to quickly choose something else.

Answer for the lovely owner:

The purpose of the review was not to disparage your work, but to give you an incentive to improve. You are obviously too stingy to pay more people and grow your business. Customers pay your bills. Your city is a tourist destination and lives from tourism. I have visited many countries and businesses, but none have left such a sad impression on me. I don't care that you had 186 customers. That's not my problem. You have occupied the entire square, you have to deal with a large number of customers. Your waiters were cool, I literally feel sorry for them, how they literally had to run to keep up. Don't insult people and learn from your mistakes. I'm not someone who needs to leave bad reviews, I only write them occasionally when the business was perfect or really bad. Your food wasn't bad, but people won't come back because of your attitude. I didn't even mention that the lasagna portion was for a small child, but I'm pointing that out now too. :) I'm definitely not going to stay home just because you're clearly an uneducated person with no effort to improve and the reviews I've read about your restaurant now are proof that it's not the customers fault, it's your fault. I'm editing the review for...