Casa & Putia Ristorante — Restaurant in Messina

We had lunch at this restaurant, which had been privatised for the about 20 people attending, on the occasion of my brother's wedding. The food was just amazing and refined, and the wines too. It was a typical Sicilian meal, with about 8 or 9 different items on the menu and only the "dolci" (desserts) were not prepared by the restaurant. We just loved everything that was on the menu, with a special mention on my part for the revisited "arancini" as well as the "polpette" and its side food made of home-made grain bread with cheese and scarola. We were attended to by a friendly young server from Guinea, who thankfully spoke French (our native language) due to his origins and was thus able to provide us with plenty of interesting information about the food and the concept around it, namely "slow food", meaning that pretty all that was served on that day came from very local sources. Another plus about this meal was that our daughter, who is a vegetarian, was always presented with fine alternative dishes although the restaurant had obviously not been noticed. We thought this was a great attention and reflected well the care the owners and their team take of their customers. If we had had time left during our stay, we certainly would have gone back for a lunch or dinner on our own, something we'll definitely do next time we are in the wonderful city of Messina....

My wife and myself arrived at Casa & Putia for dinner and was told there were no tables available. They did not ask if we had reservations. I informed them I had reservations and was promptly seated in the back of the restaurant. About 5 minutes later they ask for a drink request and brought us bread with olive oil. The olive oil was Mt. Etna which was fabulous. That was the highlight of our evening, bread and splash of olive oil. I ordered the Spatola and was a disappointment as there was only bits and pieces of fish which I had to search for. It was like left over fish from a previous filleted fish. The quality of the meal was not what we were expecting, service was slow and our initial greeting was uncomfortable. They might have had an off night, which I’m hoping that what it was, if not they need to regroup and listen to their customers and improve the quality of their meals and service. The bread and Mt. Etna olive oil...

Don't go here if you don't look like a traditional couple!! The food was enjoyable, although some raw dishes came out warm (beef tartar, whitefish) that should have been cold. The reason for this negative review is the service. My partner and I were seated at the back of the restaurant (despite it being empty at that time) and then mostly ignored by the waitstaff. I am not sure what motivated this treatment, but we were next to the restroom and had to constantly signal the waiter for dessert, water, or the check. At the end of the 2.5 hours that we were there, my partner had to get up to get the attention of the server and pay. Multiple couples seated near us were served, paid at their tables, and attentively waited on. It truly made us feel left out. I would not recommend...