Assafà — Restaurant in Procida

If I could give 0 stars, I would. This was by far the worst experience of my life. What a disgrace to Italy. My burger was so undercooked it came straight from the cow. Knowing ground beef should be well cooked, I asked for it to be cooked more to which I was told “we can’t do anything because you touched it”. How exactly can I know a burger is undercooked when it’s not cut ??????? We asked a few times to either get a replacement or for it to be cooked more, which they refused. I ended up sharing my boyfriend’s sandwich, completely turned off by the situation. When we finished his meal, the waitress came to say they can replace it - mind you, again, we were told no multiple times from the start. We told the waitress we didn’t want to eat anymore considering the horrible service we got, and asked for the bill - we told her we would not pay for our uneaten burger. Of course, by no surprise at all, our bill included the burger. We refused to pay for it, and finally, the person who dares call herself a chef came out to speak with us. She yelled at us from the start, saying she would call the police on us. Insulted us, told other guests to not look at her while she’s completely losing it on us. The guy next to us ordered a burger as well, and his was cooked properly. I asked him if he requested it well done, but he did not. Rule number one as a chef, show your face. A customer makes a complaint, you come talk to them. Don’t hide in your kitchen. Be humble enough to know you...

It was a really hot day in Procida - looking for lunch and I noticed a promising looking food stand saying - Air conditioning dining; inside - I could not have been happier when I entered the room..it was cool, high ceilings and what every traveller needs.. electricity at nearly every table so you can charge your phone.

The restaurant was busy when we arrived and it was a little difficult to get the attention of the solo young waiter on duty - he was very charming and had excellent English with good knowledge of the menu.

The menu was definitely interesting - and not the standard offering.. we started with the Tuna tartare tacos which were really excellent, then my wife had the shrimp also excellent - missing home I ordered fish and chips and sadly the batter was a bit thick for my taste. The pricing was very reasonable for a prime spot. We chose a good bottle of wine which raised the overall price but overall excellent value for money. An extra note - The toilet was probably the best I have visited in Italy, Clean, working, roomy with a very spacious baby changing counter. The only downside to all this space is that there is only one.. so plan ahead . Not quite 5 stars for me .....

Have to say this is a gem of Procida. It’s literally a takeaway window in a square with just four seats but they serve up delicious food. Choice of your “traditional” fast food such as burgers, chicken nuggets and fries (good with either the house mayo or especially the meatballs and fondue cheese), as well as seafood and pasta dishes. You can get good quality wine and even craft beer (Gaiola golden ale is good). Food takes between 15-20 minutes to prepare (as cooked from scratch) so linger around in the square, which is great for people watching of an evening. So good we returned 24 hours after our first visit. An actual filling and satisfying alternative to all the restaurants locally and much cheaper if you don’t fancy a sit-down meal. English spoken and understood at the counter, with menu in English/Italian. More of this kind of thing and less McDonalds and Burger King would be lovely....