Sparkling Bar Contadi Castaldi — Restaurant in Catania

A truly woeful experience for my wife and I; We ordered and paid for lasagna and water which never arrived. When we enquired with a member of staff, no apology was given, instead she turned away bemoaning there was no lasagna left to give us. We asked for a refund and were told we couldn’t have one due to ‘a problem’. They offered alternative food for the price but at this point our frustration, disappointment and disbelief at the situation replaced our hunger so we left, without food and without a refund - €30 out of pocket. The ordering process was farcical seemingly catching out Italians and others in equal measure, one area of the food counter had a fly thoroughly enjoying itself on the pasta dishes under the counter and the amount of stools available at the bar (7) left most people standing. Overall infuriating to the point of the ridiculous and I would...

I'd recommend to stay away from this bar. I went to the counter to order a Cannoli and the girl (small, blonde with glasses) told me to go around the counter and ask the server for one. I told her that I want to pay first and then get the Cannoli and the girl at the counter told me that it's fine and just go and ask the server girl for it. I went round the counter and when I asked the server girl for the Cannoli she told me that she needs to see the receipt first and then she'll give me one. I told her that the other girl told me that that isn't needed but she insisted that I need the receipt first, thus making me stay again in the line to pay for that Cannoli.

When I asked the girl at the counter why she wrongly told me the process, she started being rude towards me saying things like it's not her fault and that she doesn't know anything. The last part was...

Crazy, loud, crowded, disorganized. You have to stand in one line to order, which can be a long line. Then you get your receipt, which you must take to the left and flag down staff to get your coffee made. Then you take the receipt back to the front food area and have to flag down another staff member to grab your food. The line has no path for egress, so everyone has to bump past everyone else in the dance to get your food/drink.

They also didn't actually check the order on the receipt and made the wrong drink. Wasn't worth going back into the chaos to get it fixed.

You will be stuck here before your international flight since they limit how early you can get to your gate (through passport control). That just compounds the chaos...