PLEASE READ BEFORE CONSIDERING

My 2 friends and I made a reservation at what seemed to be Ristorante Deus Neptunus by S. Angelo beach, but were surprised to find that the restaurant we booked was on top of a hill, far from the beach. Initially our group was received well by the seemingly friendly staff who showed us to a table with a sunset view. Things took a turn when one of the waitstaff made racist remarks at us. They made assumptions on our ethnicity and race without asking politely, including attempts to speak to us in a foreign language (which sounded stereotypical and mocking) when our english is perfectly fluent. That was the first red flag. Still, we gave the place a chance and ordered a plate of mussels as an appetiser to share and each ordered a main dish respectively: one cod with legume pureé, one paccheri with prawns, one sciatelli neptunus (a mixed seafood pasta dish), and one grilled octopus main to share.

The food was just okay. Nothing amazing, but not horrible. It was strange that the cod was served cold. They also mistakenly served us the appetiser octopus salad with green apples and not the secondo we ordered. Still, we soldiered on.

After we finished our meal, we wanted to pick up our check and head home since we had a long day out on the island and we had commitments later in the evening. We initially asked one of the staff (perhaps the bartender) to get the check and we asked if they could help us call a taxi since the restaurant was located in a very isolated and dark uphill neighbourhood, very far from the nearest bus stop. However, we were told to wait another 10 minutes. We suspected that the staff was preparing for a dance and music session for the whole restaurant and even though we were short on time, we waited. However, after 2 songs with dancing and singing along, we were in a rush to get home and the staff suddenly changed their attitude with us and things took a turn for the worst.

We waited almost an hour to get our bill. We asked almost all of the staff and none of them entertained our request, brushing us off with “just a minute” or “it will come very soon”. One of the staff members brought complimentary limoncello to our table, however we politely declined as we had drank a lot of wine that day before dinner. The staff member REFUSED to take our no as an answer and pressured us to take a drink. We just wanted our bill. The table next to us received their bill but we hadn’t. As that table left, they told us that we would need to go to the register to pay and that the process was “a bit complicated”which tells us we were not alone in our experience. We were never notified of this by any of the staff, and finally went up to the register to try to pay for the meal. Once one lady entertained us, we were extremely shocked by the 20% SERVICE CHARGE that was not advertised anywhere on their website or menu. Our bill came out to a whopping 200+ euro! Thankfully my friend has a keen eye and pointed out that the restaurant incorrectly charged us a bottle of wine that we DID NOT order, they charged us for the main course octopus which we were not served, and for an extra bottle of water that we DID NOT drink. We’d like to reiterate how important it is to CHECK. YOUR. BILL. After finally settling the bill, we asked them AGAIN for the hundredth time to help us call a taxi to which the lady said our taxi will arrive in 10 minutes.

To no one’s surprise, the taxi NEVER CAME. We wasted an additional HOUR trying to get our airbnb host to help us call a cab (which he did thankfully) because the restaurant was of no help and nobody acknowledged us as we left to wait for the taxi. Needless to say, we would strongly advise AGAINST eating at this restaurant and to find somewhere else located at a more convenient and friendly location. My friends and I had a fantastic time in Ischia and had only positive experiences up until this dinner. I would rate this place 0 stars if I could, but since they provided a free pick up service, mediocre food, and live music, it deserves AT BEST a 1 star out of 5.