L’Oasi del Riccio — Restaurant in Fasano

After eating what was one of the best meals I have ever had in Italy, on a beautiful terrace overlooking the sea, I was prepared to leave a five star review, HOWEVER, our experience was completely ruined when we tried to pay our bill and were told that the card reader was not working. We were 12€ short of having enough cash to cover our bill, so we happily waited for about 20 minutes, at which point I asked if we might drive to a nearby bancomat to withdraw enough cash to cover our meal. We were reassured that they were fixing the card reader, and asked to sit back down and wait. Twenty minutes after that, we reiterated to them that we would be happy to go to a bancomat, especially as we had a scheduled tour we needed to leave for if we hoped to make it on time. We also offered to supplement our euros with US dollars to make up $10 of our €12 euro deficit. At this point, we were told that our only option was to wait for the card reader to be fixed, or to organize a wire transfer directly from our bank. Not knowing how to do that, nor having good enough internet service to figure it out, my husband then demanded he be allowed to go to a bancomat, leaving me behind at the restaurant as collateral so ensure we wouldn’t just disappear. And so I sat, for forty minutes, while my husband drove to the closest bancomat to cover the 12€ we wouldn’t have been able to pay. The food was delicious, the restaurant was beautiful, and our waiter was incredibly kind, even showing us how to scoop the meat from the urchin we ordered, but the way the situation was handled really ruined our day. We did not make the tour we had scheduled, instead waiting for over an hour and a half because their equipment was not working. I understand that they can’t give away free food, however, we tried to accommodate different options, offered to go withdraw cash only to be turned down twice, and ultimately, were not the ones at fault for our inability to pay as it was their equipment that was malfunctioning. At least one other couple was forced to wait as well, as equally upset with the situation as we were. For that reason, our experience at the restaurant, as well as our plans for the day...

The food was delicious, the atmosphere was great, and our server was lovely. Our poor experience didn’t start until we attempted to pay. Their card machine was not working. Not a problem, my wife and I are reasonable and sat for about 20 minutes while they attempted to fix it. We had some cash, but not enough to cover the whole meal (10€ short). After 2 minutes, we offered to pay what we had, get cash, and come back later. They said no. We asked to drive to bancomat, they said no. So we sat for another 20 minutes. Eventually, I left my wife to drive to a bancomat to get cash and paid them that way. During this, my wife had to stay with her card. After about an hour and a half, I returned with cash. It was a hot day and during this they did not offer her water, we drank our own, despite the problem being their card machine, not our card. Finally, I paid in cash and waited for change, but they originally told me they didn’t have 3€ that I required to get my full change. After about 10 seconds, they pulled it out of the cash register. We don’t speak Italian, so there should be some grace shown in that regard as we couldn’t clearly illustrate our frustrations or concerns, but an hour and a half wait to then be told I would be short changed is absurd. My wife even told me other staff were upset with whoever instituted this policy. For this reason, we will not return and will not...

Highly unprofessional and sub-standard cooking technique for Puglia. To be avoided, despite the beautiful location. The waitress forgot our first course order and did nothing even though we saw her looking at our empty table for minutes. We had to ask multiple staff to check and when it arrived, 50 mins late, the quality of the dish was disappointing, a gigantic and very oily pasta dish with minimal amount of sea urchin. After this dreadful experience we only received a meager apology from the owner who presented us with the full check and made no...