Forio - Ristorante Jamm' Ja — Restaurant in Forio

I am just going to put this here because I don’t know what to say. I came here for the first time in 2022(first trip to Ischia) the food was amazing the service was so kind and warm. I wouldn’t stop talking about this place to everybody when I got home. Now this year (2023), they were quite busy, we luckily got a seat immediately which I thought was amazing. The woman who greeted us was lovely, sweet and welcoming.We ordered ( I ordered the same thing I had the year before), the antipasti came out quickly ,the entrees ( both fish dishes) took some time (again they were busy I totally get ,it no problem). However, from here this is where everything went to hell. It was windy everything was blowing my partners napkin blew away and I had to run across the terrace to get mine. My squid was tough ( sometimes it happens with fresh fish I understand) , I was pulling giant sprigs of rosemary out of my teeth as not to choke), the oranges were barely cleaned in our salad( honestly I had a better salad at the beach bar which is basically a snack bar ), both entrees were just a miss and everything seemed rushed, I guess stick with the pizzas now and just forget the fish.Not once did anyone come to check on us, offer us more water or wine or napkins, hell even dessert. After a good 20 minutes of staring at our finished plates ,someone finally came over to clear our plates ,placemats flying everywhere( I crumpled mine and tossed it in my plate (which I have never done in my life ). Not once did anyone come to check on us but one of the gentleman in all black made sure to go over to another table( in my direct line of vision no less) and talk about us( if you are going to gossip or judge you probably should be less obvious especially when one of us speaks Italian fluently and both of us are in Italy 4-5 times a year minimum)apparently everyone this evening knew each other and I was made very aware that we were just some tourists. Not one person came over or anything and it was not like I was making a scene or intended to( I wasn’t even going to complain)Honestly I am not even mad I am just really disappointed. They were busy and evidently overwhelmed (not too much though to chat with friends) On the way out one of the chefs did wish us well as well as a really charming older gentleman. I won’t say to not go there because the place , the food and the people are /or can be very nice if that is consistent I can’t be sure now.Just how everything went down and clearly once things weren’t going well we were clearly being avoided by all of the staff which was just terribly...

I recommend Jamm’ Ja only for pizza. The pizza is not ”genuine Neapolitan” like some reviews claim - their pizza is a bit thicker than that, but it tasted good - maybe they should rebrand it as Ischian pizza. My spaghetti alla cozze was a tad too salty but ok quality. The stuffed squid though and we might have thrown off the balcony.

The restaurant is located by a busy road by the sea and although you can catch the sunset from the rooftop terrace, it’s not a ”spectacular” place to see the sunset, in fact just a few tables have an unblocked view.

What really pissed me off though was the waiter’s philisophy in restaurant running. This place had separate menus for tourists and for locals (first one in english, german, russian and whatnot, 2nd one in italian alone), tourist menu specifically designed to please tourists who don’t know better - e.g carbonara was prepared with cream, the American way. When I saw this I asked for the menu in Italian. When I asked why the foods are different, the waiter exclaimed that tourists come here and want to eat how they are used to back home. This philosophy means you are blatantly underestimating your foreign visitors and their taste buds - many of us have travelled a long way to eat genuine Italian food. Figuratively speaking - an authentic Italian pizzeria would not serve pizza with pineapple, even when tourists are asking for it.

Overall, the place is a casual place with an ok view where locals go...

If you come to Ischia and don’t stop here it’ll truly be your loss. We came here 2 nights in a row and loved each dinner. First off before food..the sunset view is unreal. Second this is a family owned restaurant and the love and care that’s put into it comes through splendidly in the service and food. Things you will need to order: the rabbit (order 1 day in advance), the diavola pizza, the pasta delizia, and the spaghetti bolognese. Do not skip dessert. The lemon cake is baked fresh and unreal. The lemons for the limoncello spritz and limoncello are grown by the family. We had to take a bottle home it was so good. We also got to try the peperina an Ischian speciality and it was tasty! Best restaurant experience on the island, exceptional food, and superb...