A Cantinella — Restaurant in Diamante

All started with a recommendation, hence I went to 'A Cantinella' almost sure to enjoy...but this is NOT what happened.

Let's start from the owner: she was serving at the tables and it looked like she was in a rush, we couldn't even really finish a sentence that she was talking over us and responding in an annoyed way every time a question was asked, like all should be very obvious. Terribly rude for the whole duration of the dinner.

The waitress: it's the first time in my life that I experience a waiter that doesn't understand the language. I wondered, how can you hire a waiter in a small town of south Italy that doesn't understand Italian??! I tried to answer this quedtion my self and to me, It doesn't make sense. We also tried in English...same result.

Service: aside from not being understood we had many issues.

Firstly, everything was pre-cooked, hence served too quicky. Some go to the restaurant also to enjoy the experience but after 15 minutes we were finished. During the starters we asked to add something else but the "kind" owner rushed to the table grabbed our empty dishes and burst away saying that they are fast.

After few seconds she came back from the kitchen with the worst polpette that I ever had. As I said they were pre-cooked and I suspect, that with the objective to warm them, they were grilled as there wasn't the typical crunchiness of when they are deep fried before being served.

The non-speaking waiter was constantly pulling our plates as soon as they were empty without even asking if we were finished. Imagine an antipasto in the middle of the table with still food in it, this girl removing the plate and running away...whatever you tried to say to stop her the answer was a blunt "si si" without any true feedback. She also accidentally hit the bottle of water with her arm making that fell into the ground, without even apologising or offering to change it she put it back on the table.

The food: really below Italian standards. Honestly some dishes were ok but not enough to make up for the experience.

The Bill: given what we ate the price was ok. I want to highlight though that hey accept only cash and I realised later that NO receipt was done. This is also my mistake for not asking but I only wanted to run out of there.

There are some other details that I'm omitting but I guess you...

The best homemade Italian food in the region. This is my go to restaurant all year round. Just sit back and say yes to everything! Don't try to be special, don't make requests or advice. Take what they offer and Don't leave without desert! This is my advice as a restaurant owner/chef for over 4 decades. These traditional Calabrian restaurants are disappearing too often. Enjoy Calabrian cuisine and experiment with it while you can. I will be sad when Giovanni and wife decide to retire but until then, Eat here and enjoy! 🤗

Il miglior cibo italiano fatto in casa della regione. Questo è il mio ristorante di riferimento tutto l'anno. Rilassatevi e dite di sì a tutto! Non cercate di essere speciali, non fate richieste o consigli. Accettate ciò che offrono e non andate via senza dessert! Questo è il mio consiglio come ristoratore/chef da oltre 4 decenni. Questi ristoranti tradizionali calabresi stanno scomparendo troppo spesso. Godetevi la cucina calabrese e sperimentatela finché potete. Sarò triste quando Giovanni e sua moglie decideranno di andare in pensione, ma fino ad allora, mangiate qui e...

Ho pranzato diverse volte . Il mio giudizio non è mutato. Il cibo è "a fortuna " . Alcune volte buono altre meno. Di sicuro la scelta non è tantissima. È un ristorante Dov'è Sostanzialmente è presente un menù del giorno e basta. Un grosso problema è che non c'è mai stato fornito un menù. Venivano elencate le pietanze disponibili e basta, costringendoci più volte a chiedere chiarimenti. L'assenza di menù crea un altro problema L'assenza di trasparenza nel prezzo. Il costo totale lo conoscevi solo di fronte la cassa. La sensazione che anche il prezzo stesso fosse a "a fortuna". Esporre i prezzi dei piatti proposti non è un optional È OBBLIGATORIO !!! Anche se c'è un menù del giorno va esposto anche solo su una lavagnetta , Con pietanze e relativi prezzi. L'essere un po' più in là negli anni non vi esime da rispettare una regola base del Commercio . La trasparenza del prezzo di ciò che si vende...