NAVICULA MĀRĒ — Restaurant in Gallipoli

We first were told by a staff member that waiting time to be seated was very long. At the same time another staff member let us in, because they actually had free tables available. Multiple staff members were all seen drinking alcohol in the kitchen, but also in the customer area multiple times. We ordered 3 starters, where two of them did not contain mentioned ingredients or had additional ones. We also had 3 main dishes, which were equally strange. The pasta with tomato sauce was a very small portion compared to everything else, and the sauce tasted like ready-to-eat passata. The pasta with vongole contained about 15 shells, of which at least half of them were empty when served. The pasta with shrimps contained only two big shrimps and was served on a tomato sauce, which is not mentioned on the menu. The bill contained prices, but no description on what was charged with the prices, which made it difficult to understand what we were charged for. The ambiente was very bad, with staff members drinking and not wanting to seat us. At the same time the customers next to us had their leg up and were listening to reels with loud sound. The only plus: the seafood itself (vongole, shrimps) tasted...

When we told our hotel concierge that we were not interested in any sort of formal dining and preferred a casual location with great seafood (Gallipoli is on the ocean!), she recommended Navicula. They have their own boat and serve fresh seafood every day. There is also a “La Navicula” nearby. This review is for Navicula Mare, owned by the same people. The interior is modest, unpretentious. Cooks and friendly servers are all young people. I think our waiter (both nights) is a part-owner because he obviously took pride in describing the dishes and making honest recommendations. Everything we ate was simple, fresh, delicious and well-prepared. Prices were reasonable. We ate there two consecutive nights it...

They totally ripped us off. My husband ordered housewine, but it came from a 5l plastic container. The mixed grill plate for 18 Eur was very poor - not a main course. The Gallipoli prawns for 20 Eur were 5 pieces of small prawns, but tasty. But the worst thing was Tiramisu which was from supermarket. The other guests at table beside got the fresh homemade tiramisu from patisserie. Very disappointing. We are traveling a lot, but that was expensive and bad. They offered limoncello or coffee as compensation, but I do not drink alcohol and cannot drink coffee in the evening. We had to pay...