Marinero Ristorante — Restaurant in Otranto

I want to share my recent experience at the restaurant Marinero which, unfortunately, was terrible from start to finish. If there had been an option to give zero stars, I would have done so without hesitation.

As soon as we arrived, the staff practically ignored us. We asked for our reserved table, and they responded without even looking at us. They didn't seem to listen while we tried to explain how many we were and under whose name the reservation was made. After about 20 minutes of waiting, they finally seated us, but not without further discomfort.

One of our friends was running late, and while we were waiting, the owner approached us in a rather rude manner, asking if she could remove a piece of the table, despite us clearly stating that our friends were on their way. Once everyone arrived, the same owner returned to our table with an even more unpleasant and arrogant attitude, informing us that they did not split bills, only offering a single bill for the table, which was communicated in a very unfriendly way.

When it came time to order, the staff’s attitude didn’t improve. I ordered a baked sea bass fillet, but what I got was a tiny portion: two potatoes and two green beans, literally counted. Meanwhile, the pasta dishes ordered by others were also meager in quantity. We ordered wine and water, but no desserts. When the bill arrived, we were truly shocked: €45 per person for small portions and terrible service.

In conclusion, I absolutely cannot recommend this restaurant. The quality of the food was barely passable, the service was rude and unprofessional, and the prices were outrageously high for what was offered.

I hope this review helps anyone looking for a good dining experience, because here there was absolutely...

We went there a couple of days ago and we had a bad experience. Service so slow, waitresses however were nice and they were trying to excuse their slow service. Also we found a piece of hair in the fried seafood, but the cherry from the top was their response on my TripAdvisor review. They discredited my answer saying somehow that I'm doing it on purpouse cause we are their competitors and that they do not consider our review because I did not report the piece of hair. What was I supposed to do? Make a scene???🤣. I saw other experiences similar to ours and they had the same answers from the owners, being agressive towards some reviewers. Well I can tell you for sure that I'm not reccomending that place at all. Seeing their answers says a lot about their management and their quality, not being able to apologise and accept their mistakes also shows lack of seriosity. I didn't want to continue with this google review but the way that they have the audacity to say that people are lying is unbelievable. I apologise to the waitress, who was literally shocked and came to ask what happened and apologise when she gathered the dishes that were almost half-full. We didn't want her to feel bad. It was not her...

Where to start with this debacle? The food was really poor. 2 postage stamp entries. Why even bother? For mains 2 pasta dishes that tasted of nothing - in the heart of Puglia that is a crime. This included a pasta shrimp dish for 22e that consisted of almost raw pasta and 4 small shrimp, and a watery soup that was supposed to be orecchiette with broccoli rabe - a regional speciality.

Amazingly the service was worse than the food. We were never asked how our meal was while the Italians on the surrounding tables were asked repeatedly. When we complained about the almost total lack of shrimp in the dish the waiter tried to shake hands and offered us his "business card", which was simply a flyer for the restaurant. He seemed to be genuinely surprised that this didn't put things right. We complained to another waiter about the food and service. They did not reply to our individual concerns but brought a dessert that we did not order or want. How hard can it be to listen, acknowledge and respond to what a customer is saying?

It's one thing to be disappointed with after a meal but to leave feeling angry tells it's own story. This is no more than a pretty tourist trap. There are many better places for food...