La Taverna Del Leone — Restaurant in Positano

The review is for the restaurant only.

To be brutally honest, it was the least satisfying dining experience of our three-week journey through Italy this year — an unpleasant surprise given the glowing reviews and Michelin Guide mention.

The food itself was well-executed and flavorful, the interior of the restaurant was pleasant, yet the service was deeply disappointing - puzzling dissonance with the elegant table setting and beautiful food presentation that suggest a certain level of refinement and attention to details.

Everything took way too long, starting from the time to be acknowledged and get drinks. Nobody cared if our water or wine needed replenishment and getting another bottle of water required a long wait and repeated requests as we rarely saw our waiter. A simple takeaway order that we requested for a family member, sidelined by a leg injury and unable to join us — that order was forgotten twice and arrived incomplete. This lack of attention was hard to explain considering that many customer reviews praised impeccable service.

The course pacing was another example: some people in our group were served their main course while the others reduced to spectators as their companions ate. Thank god they decided to eat and not to wait for others, because the wait was so long that the meals were consumed and then we all sat for another twenty minutes before the rest of us finally received their plates. The roles reversed and the first part of the group spent time watching.

After finishing our entrees, we lingered another 30 minutes before our waiter came by and took our desserts order - without any interest in doing so, I have to say. The dining room was nearly empty by then—a clear sign the staff were not overburdened. The wait for the check stretched on even longer -- the staff were cleaning other tables, moving around, talking, but didn’t pay any attention to us. At some point we almost lost hope and started to joke that they were going to close the shop and go home with us sitting there.

By the time we finally left, our initial cheer had long since evaporated. The evening, filled mostly with the wait, had stretched beyond 3.5 hours—a ridiculous duration for a standard meal, not some elaborate multi-course affair.

We travel a lot and we know that occasional slip-ups happen, but the missteps repeated throughout the evening. Some of us even genuinely wondered if we erred in some way and the staff’s neglect was intentional — a thought no guest should ever have.

Sadly, even though the food well executed, the level of service overshadowed the kitchen’s effort and left us with frustration and no desire to return.

UPDATE: The owner responded asking for more details to prove that this review was not fake, and seemed to be upset by my using the word "systemic". We were a party of six, dined around 8pm on June 16, 2025, and our check was 338 euros. I hope this is detailed enough. As for the word "systemic", I believe I provided enough examples to show that the level of service in our case wasn't a one time slip-up. However, "systemic" was, perhaps, too strong, and I have removed it from...

GUEST HOUSE REVIEW: We spend a lovely two nights at La taverna del Leone and left feeling like family! The building consists of an incredible restaurant downstairs with several guest rooms upstairs. The rooms are a bit dark but extremely charming and cozy with old school Italian decor. The hand painted tiles around the entire building are gorgeous. We really enjoyed relaxing on the very large private balcony. It was very hot during our stay in august and there is no ac, but the room stayed cool enough. There is no direct water view or access but it is right on the road for easy access to anywhere on the Amalfi coast. The road was quiet at night aside from a few honks from the bus every now and then which did not bother us.

The manager Giuseppe was incredibly kind and helpful. He gave us tons of helpful recommendations and was more than willing to help book reservations and activities for us using his local connections.

Make sure you have at least one dinner at the restaurant!!! It was incredible. We did the tasting menu and it was our favorite meal on our 10 day trip. We also recommend getting a drink or dinner at San Pietro, which is about a 2 minute walk. The views from there of positano and Praiano are incredible.

The location is just outside of positano, right above Laurito beach. You can walk to laurito beach in about 15-20 minutes. Note that it are stairs almost the entire way up and down. You can take the free water taxi from da Adolfo back to positano and then take the positano local bus back to the hotel. The local bus stops right at the hotel which was incredibly convenient.

We originally wanted to stay right in positano but did not regret staying here one bit. It was so nice and peaceful and very easy to get to and from positano and the other towns via bus. It was such a unique and friendly experience and the price is unbeatable and so worth every penny! I cannot recommend this place enough and look forward to returning! Thank you for an...

We spend a lovely two nights at La taverna del Leone and left feeling like family! The building consists of an incredible restaurant downstairs with several guest rooms upstairs. The rooms are a bit dark but extremely charming and cozy with old school Italian decor. The hand painted tiles around the entire building are gorgeous. We really enjoyed relaxing on the very large private balcony. It was very hot during our stay in august and there is no ac, but the room stayed cool enough. There is no direct water view or access but it is right on the road for easy access to anywhere on the Amalfi coast. The road was quiet at night aside from a few honks from the bus every now and then which did not bother us. ||||The manager Giuseppe was incredibly kind and helpful. He gave us tons of helpful recommendations and was more than willing to help book reservations and activities for us using his local connections. ||||Make sure you have at least one dinner at the restaurant!!! It was incredible. We did the tasting menu and it was our favorite meal on our 10 day trip. We also recommend getting a drink or dinner at San Pietro, which is about a 2 minute walk. The views from there of positano and Praiano are incredible. ||||The location is just outside of positano, right above Arienzo beach. You can walk to arienzo beach in about 15-20 minutes. Note that it are stairs almost the entire way up and down. You can take the free water taxi from da Adolfo back to positano and then take the positano local bus back to the hotel. The local bus stops right at the hotel which was incredibly convenient. ||||We originally wanted to stay right in positano but did not regret staying here one bit. It was so nice and peaceful and very easy to get to and from positano and the other towns via bus. It was such a unique and friendly experience and the price is unbeatable and so worth every penny! I cannot recommend this place enough and look forward to returning! Thank you for an...