TÈCO — Restaurant in Palermo

‼️P.S. If you want to ruin your own mood for the whole day (one of the few days off), then by all means — go ahead! Since you reacted so angrily to my boyfriend’s review, I feel it’s important to clarify the situation, so people don’t think we’re lying. I’m attaching proof to show that instead of owning up to your mistakes, you chose to blame us in an attempt to justify yourselves.

I’m including a photo showing that we were served the matcha at 11:15. Logically, we placed the order — food and drinks — before that, around 11:10. I’m also attaching a photo showing that the food arrived at 11:51. That’s a 41-minute gap between ordering and being served — not 22 minutes, as you claimed. This proves you were lying. If you want to defend yourselves somehow, we look forward to seeing actual proof, not just empty words.

As for the matcha: the photo of the drink was taken immediately after it was served — there’s no way the ice could have watered it down that fast. The taste was awful, and the milk seemed spoiled — there were white clumps in it. We pointed this out to one of your staff, but he tried to convince us that it was the matcha itself (even though matcha is green, in case you didn’t know).

For your information, there are not multiple ways to make matcha — yes, there are different ways to serve it (hot or iced), but there is only one proper method of preparation that most places use: with a whisk. You even sell that whisk, but apparently haven’t learned how to use it. If you can’t make a proper matcha latte, you shouldn’t offer it on your menu — and definitely not serve it, then give your customers excuses.

What truly upset me was the way you responded to our review. I had thought at least your service would be decent — but clearly not, judging by how you handle criticism. I’ve worked in the restaurant industry myself, and a good establishment responds to complaints by apologizing, acknowledging shortcomings, and doing better in the future. But apparently, your approach is more like a cheap diner — never admit mistakes and blame the customer instead. Keep in mind, it’s the customer who pays you, and that should be respected. Instead, you throw dirt on them. Very clever.

❌And the toasts were also really bad. I live in France — you don’t need to teach me what French toast is supposed to look like. Here’s a photo where you can clearly see that one of the toasts was completely burnt. It was served cold, and as you yourself mentioned, there should be a proper crust — which was absolutely missing. Instead, the toast was soaked through with oil. I regret not filming a...

Unfortunately, the worst dining experience we had during our weeklong stay in Palermo. Despite excellent reviews, we were incredibly surprised for our experience. The waiter was really kind initially, but that it is also the only positive thing worth mentioning. We ordered two sandwiches, two smoothies and two cappuccinos. The total wait for food was 1 hour and 10 minutes - which is okay, assuming the food is great when it arrives - but it was cold and really disappointing. The total bill was 30€, and when the waiter asked if everything had been good, we told him no, and he simply said “sorry to hear that, come again another day maybe”. Needless to say, with so many excellent options in Palermo, I would never recommend this to anyone. Price and quality + service is completely disconnected.

EDIT AFTER TECO’S REPLY: I can see that it is customary for TECO to handle all its honest and bad reviews completely unprofessionally. However, while I will not engage in any further dialogue with a manager, who can clearly not accept any customers expressing their honest opinions or sincere regrets for reserving a table, I will never tolerate people accusing me of lying. Thus, I have now attached my original receipt, which the manager naturally did not expect me to save - oops ☺️ Here, you can see that everything checks out from my original review. The total was 30.5€ (even 0,5€ more than I stated), we ordered exactly what I described, and we paid at exactly 11:49, while we had a table reserved for 10.00 - so yes, we waited (even slightly more!) than the 1 hour and 10 minutes I stated in my original review and yes, the food was completely unsatisfying. I, therefore, hope you never accuse a paying, honest, and polite customer for ever leaving a dishonest review - that is simply the worst act of a manager I have ever seen. While I will definitely not come again and accept the “relaxing tea” you sarcastically offered me, I can definitely return the favour and offer you a free lesson in...

Nice café but let down by some of the staff. Some are excellent, very helpful and friendly but others put in next to no effort. We asked for several items as the vegan option due to allergies and were served both cow's milk, instead of oat, and egg instead of tofu. Language barrier may have been the cause of this, but we also had issues with the salad they make. This is ordered by completing a check sheet that they provide, very simple and easy to follow, yet we still had several ingredients in it wrong. All this happened after a 45 minute wait on food yet tables around us were being sat and served within 10 (as most food is pre-made).

Edit: I'm adding this part to my review in response to the company replying.

It was very quiet when we were there, maximum of 4 other tables who already had their food by the time we arrived.

I refer to the pastries and cakes as premade, but you seemed focused on this point compared to the rest of the issues I had. I can hardly call a salad a lengthy process to construct, considering everything that goes into it requires minimal prep. 45 mins for a bowl of leaves and grain? Seriously? Your claiming it takes time to prep due to cooking? If you're cooking a salad you're doing something wrong..

For others being served before us, I'm referring to their meals, not just drinks. Your process of serve drinks before food is common round the world, so no need to be snooty about it towards me like I don't understand the process. What I refer to is that two tables ordered food and drinks, and had their food infront of them even though they had arrived at the café long after we had.

The owner's reply just further proves my point, their attitude can also be found in their products....