Acqua — Restaurant in Porto Cesareo

Very authentic Italian experience, we were surrounded by families celebrating baptisms (with the little kids still happily running around at midnight!), wedding proposals etc. The service is also quite traditional, for better le for worse. It’s quite charming, and the waiters are super efficient, but the refusal to change any of the dishes whatsoever from the tasting menu is a shame. Food wise, the seafood is fresh, as you’d expect from any restaurant on that beautiful coast. But the more complex gastronomic preparations do let it down - the dishes often lack balance (for example one of the pasta sauces just tasted like butter) and some of the more interesting attempts don’t come off and just taste odd (like mackerel with caramel for instance). The tortelli with foie gras was lovely, but the red mullet topping it was unsurprisingly totally lost.

I would still recommend coming here but just sticking to...

Beautiful view, the oyster was good and fresh, the octopus was exceptional (1 of the best, if not the best I've ever tried), my lobster was cooked to perfection and came with LOTS of fresh vegetables, which was nice. My husband's main was okay but in his opinion nothing special. Both desserts were REALLY GOOD. There was a young waiter who -bless him- was learning and was a bit messy at times but the other older waiter was absolutely perfect and did an excellent service as well as suggesting a nice wine. It's an expensive restaurant (€214) and I know I bought the most expensive stuff on the menu but I think it's a bit overpriced (5 oyster €35, not even in London I paid those prices 😅), and the wine was not cold when it arrived (it became cold after being in the ice bowl for a...

Ristorante Acqua at Le Dune is a lovely spot with a beautiful seaside view, offering an elegant and refined atmosphere that makes it a great place for a special meal. However, during the high season, it tends to get quite chaotic, which unfortunately affects both the service and the overall dining experience. I felt that the service and the quality of the food didn’t quite match the premium prices, which was a bit disappointing. While it’s certainly a fine and stylish place to enjoy a meal, I would recommend choosing your visit carefully — perhaps opting for less busy days. A bit more attentiveness from the waitstaff would definitely elevate the experience and make it more consistent with the...