Bastione & Costanza — Restaurant in Cefalù

I am visiting Sicily for the first time ever, and this restaurant came highly recommended to me from various sources. I was told that the sunset view from the terrace was spectacular so I had to make a stop in Cefalu and see for myself.

My partner reserved a table for us on this so-called magical terrazza and we arrived right at sunset. Although our reservation was for 9pm, the table was ready beforehand and we were invited to have a seat earlier than expected to enjoy the views at dusk.

The soft sounds of the sea, the warm summer breeze, the crescent moon shining overhead with a backdrop of cotton candy pink sunlight set against architecture from another place in time…

This terrace was even more enchanting than how it had been described.

We began the evening with a glass of local bubbly followed by a bottle of natural Sicilian orange wine. The wine list is extensive and the sommelier was knowledgeable, suggesting a thoughtful selection of wines to suit our taste. The orange wine we selected was excellent, from the region of Agrigento and an exquisitely unique offering.

The carefully curated menu boasts an equally exquisite selection of delectable food delights that are locally and sustainably sourced. We opted for the raw seafood platter, the “involtini di pesce spada”, which were swordfish rolls drizzled with mango sauce, and the warm country-style bread to start.

For the main course, we shared the tuna tataki and the octopus leg, which was served on a bed of lightly sautéed chicory with an accompaniment of “panella con nero della seppia,” tofu-like morsels made of garbanzo flour infused with black squid ink, a typical street-food delight you can find in Palermo.

We ended our food adventure with the mango mousse decorated with wildflowers, and the chocolate ball dessert. I won’t give you any details other than suggesting that you will want to film the arrival of this chocolatey surprise - a true spectacle worthy of your social media feed, especially for any dessert-lovers out there.

And of course, some limoncello to cleanse the palate and aid with digestion to close our charmingly romantic dining experience.

Overall, this food adventure was superb. The staff were friendly yet elegant, knowledgeable and attentive, the food and wine titillating, and the location undoubtedly seductive.

I highly recommend for you to experience Bastione e Costanza when you come for a visit to Cefalu. You will be pleasantly surprised and delighted...

DO NOT come here unless you want to spend the rest of your vacation in the bathroom. I got food poisoning here, and it ruined what was supposed to be one of the happiest times of my life. My (now) fiancé proposed to me earlier in the day, and he reserved a table at this restaurant months in advance to celebrate our engagement. He specifically requested the terrace. Strike number 1: on arrival, they seemed confused that we even had a reservation at all. Strike 2: their terrace was closed for the evening; don’t expect the place to look like all the nice photos you see online, with a view overlooking the water. And, strike 3 (the worst offender): I ordered the octopus ragu on the recommendation of the waitress. I took one bite and knew I wouldn’t be finishing the dish, much less eating any more of it. The calamarata pasta was chewy (not al dente), and the ragu looked completely unappetizing: it looked like BBQ sauce. The taste matched the appearance, as it was possibly the most vile thing I have ever eaten. When the waiter came to ask how everything was when we asked for our bill, I had no choice but to tell him that it tasted bad and I couldn’t eat any of it. When he asked what I meant, I couldn’t put any more descriptors to it: it was just bad. I have never in my life sent food back or complained about the taste, but I made an exception for this meal. They still charged us for the plate, even though it was very obviously 99% untouched, and reluctantly agreed to take it off the bill when we pressed the issue. They tried to convince us that we didn’t know what good food was, basically, or that the pasta wasn’t chewy. My fiancé and I both come from Italian families, so we didn’t appreciate the insinuation.

I woke up the next morning around 5am, violently throwing up. This lasted for 2 days straight. We had to cancel our plans to go to Trapani, and were forced to book a very expensive last minute accommodation because I was too sick to travel. I could barely walk down one flight of stairs, stopping to throw up bile because my stomach was thoroughly cleared out by then and my electrolytes were dangerously low from an inability to even drink liquids. I ended up having to go to a medical clinic, where the doctor gave me an intramuscular injection of antinauseant and a concoction of pills to try to ease the symptoms. Like I said, avoid this place...

The restaurant needs to let people know that the terrace reservation is weather dependent, and if it rains you will lose your reservation entirely (there will be NO option to be seated inside).

I wish I could say that we had a good experience here, but the restaurant canceled the beautiful terrace table with 1.5 hours until our reservation. When I booked, I noted that we were in Sicily to celebrate one family member's 50th and another's 80th. Leading up to our trip, we talked about and shared the picture of the terrace table multiple times, among family and friends. When they called to tell us the terrace was taken out by rain, we thought for sure they might move us inside, no big deal. This did not happen. The person who called me let me know that we would no longer have a table for 8 anywhere at the restaurant - at any time that evening - and that there was nothing they could do about it. I empathize with the problem, and I'm sure the food is amazing, but I do think folks traveling from out of town should know this before booking.

Edit: I recognize that the restaurant is sorry about our experience now, after this review. I just want to be clear that the team did not offer us a table inside, and I'm not sure why. In fact, when I asked about an indoor solution (which we would have happily accepted), I was rushed off the phone with no concern or troubleshooting at all, by someone who was pretty annoyed that I was keeping her...