Etnea Roof Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Catania

The food and view were just amazing. I had the amberjack fish and orange salad. The dish was thoughtfully curated, slightly sweet because of the pickled red onion. The fish was so tender it crumbled, and the skin was crunchy. Well done, Chef! I would’ve preferred the pine nuts to be lightly reroasted before serving to have a little more nuttier aroma. As for orange salad, I asked for salt, if fresh lemon was available, it would be even better. The dessert was also excellent, not too sweet and you can taste the pistachio was a real character of the ingredients (not some artificial flavor!) Speaking of condiment, the balsamic, olive oil, salt, and pepper situation here was a little endangered. Each table got different combination or none at all, unless specifically ask. And sometimes it came from other table. I ended up pouring a bit extra on my plate just in case other table needed it (see photo). The service was a little underwhelming. It was difficult to get a waiter’s attention. At some point, a waitress dropped a piece of food when serving another table, and three staff members walked past without noticing or cleaning. So while I was enjoying the incredible view of Mount Etna, the sad piece of food was just left on the ground (see photo). Also, yes, someone you were missing a piece of fried seafood. There was no initiative from the staff to offer coffee, dessert, or check on us after the main course, except taking away the empty dishes. I wanted to order dessert but couldn’t catch a waiter… until one came to serve another table. The initiative attentiveness went extinct. With the QR code menu system, perhaps online ordering would actually improve the user experience.. One last detail: the plant on the table was plastic, whereas the rooftop plants are authentic. If you make a reservation, the best table to view of Mountain Etna are table number 30, 32, and 33. You’re welcome. A real pity the service did not match the food quality and the 5 star view, considering the higher price here. I had salad, main dish, sparkling water, and a dessert for 58 euro. Also there...

Very disappointing experience – do not recommend We visited this restaurant yesterday with a group of 8 friends, and unfortunately the experience was extremely negative. • Menu and prices. Instead of a proper menu, we were asked to scan a QR code. Prices were very high, closer to fine dining level, yet the service and quality did not match. Starters (antipasti) were priced almost the same as main courses, which already felt strange. • Starters. We ordered fried calamari with sardines. They were completely overcooked, almost inedible. The sauce was nothing more than plain mayonnaise placed on a few lettuce leaves. Presentation and taste were poor, and for the price charged it was far below expectations. • Main courses. While most dishes were brought out at once, one guest had to wait much longer, and one dish never arrived at all – we had to cancel it. In addition, all main dishes were bland and tasteless, nowhere near the quality or standard expected from a restaurant charging such high prices (~22-30€/dish). • Service. It took about 15 minutes to even get the bill, and we had to walk to the bar ourselves. The manager eventually came with a bill for €278 (after applying a 20% discount), but when I went to pay, the cashier entered €378. Only after I questioned this the manager suddenly said that we don’t have to pay anything at all – which raised serious concerns about reliability and possible attempt to overcharge. Final impression: poor food quality, bland main courses, chaotic service, overpriced, and very questionable billing practices. Even though there are many positive reviews, they could easily be artificially generated. Verdict – absolutely not...

As God is my witness, reading all the positive comments I have an intense hunch that most, if not all of them, have been bought. My girlfriend and I sat at the table at 2:20 pm. 30 mins have passed before someone talked to us regarding our order. We ordered a burger and a cut sandwich (without tomato due to allergy) with drinks. The waiter seemed unbothered and generally his body language suggested that neither we are welcome on the premises, nor he wants to be there. After another 20 mins the drinks came. 30 mins later a waiter came to us, and stated that there is no bun available for the burger, and he can offer me burger's ingredients with normal breed on the side - I declined and ordered shaffran risotto with another drink. 30 mins after that the food came in (close to 2 hours after we entered the premises, despite the fact that there were only 3 tables occupied in the restaurant), without the drink I had ordered. The sandwich came in with a mountain of tomato, which made it instantly uneatable, and the shaffran risotto was more or less acceptable. After all the waiter billed me for the drink I have not received. I expected the standards of this place with this price bracket to be much higher; the only thing that's bringing the review's score from -1 stars to 1 is the view of Etna, but considering that's the only selling point you should really work on your...