I Banchi — Restaurant in Ragusa

Don’t believe the hype! Honestly the worst meal I’ve eaten in Italy. We are on a two week holiday in Sicily presently but I have lived in Italy for three years so have a good understanding of Italian food, good restaurants and rip-off tourist traps still surfing on their once upon a time entry into the Michelin guide. I understand the owner has a two-star restaurant elsewhere in Ragusa; but to say he’s taken his eye off this place would explain just how poor the meal and experience was. Hospitality and service offered from start to finish was limp, flaccid, perhaps they were hinting at things to come in the form of my salad… Our food: My husband’s pasta carbonara was good; good sauce and pasta correctly cooked al dente. My son’s lasagne however tasted like a ready meal, differentiated only by the large lumps of gristle he found in it which understandably put him off eating any more. To start I had the creamed cod which was presented beautifully and simultaneously tasted of absolutely nothing more than the pretty circle of watery mush it was. To follow I had pasta Norma. I knew as soon as I tried to yield my fork into the pasta that it was inedible. The pasta was so undercooked it partly shattered when I tried to pick it up. I think It must have had no more than 30 seconds cooking time and was clearly a mistake from the kitchen. I also order a side salad. The bottom of the bowl was sloshing with water where the salad had been washed but not sufficiently drained. My husband’s lamb was a dense block of more tasteless mess on a plate and as we left I heard another diner (who was also eating the lamb) express her disappointment with it too. All in all a true embarrassment of a meal to the owner....

We spent two weeks in Sicily and this is by far the worst place we've ever been to. The staff were so rude it became funny. We got to the main entrance (with pregnant wife) and we told the waiter (a guy with a moustache) that we had a reservation for two. He literally walked by us and shouted 5 minutes (he didn't). A good evening or hello would have been nice. It took them about ten minutes for them to have the decency to come and speak to us. When we were finally at our table we ordered a bottle of water and after ten minutes they came and asked again if we wanted water! We then had the stupidity to ask a few questions about the menu and we were told by the senior waitress (blond lady) "Isn't the menu clear enough?". We really felt like it was time to walk out. In any case we then ordered and when I took a €100 bottle of wine they started to be slightly nicer. The food was appalling for Sicilian standards and price where outrageous for what you eat. We skipped desert paid the bill and left. Absolutely awful place with below average food at a considerable price. The only positive was the waiter (guy with an earring) that brought us our wine, he was your nice typical Sicilian. The experience as so bad that we had booked the next day at Ciccio Sultano two star restaurant that we decided to...

This was the worst restaurant we visited during our stay in Ragusa. Absolutely overpriced for the quality offered. Maybe we were spoilt by visiting too good restaurants around (dioniso, locanda Don serafino) but I expected much more from the chef connected to the Michelin star restaurant. We had cold cuts and cheeses for a starter which were OK but absolutely not overwhelming and afterwards I had the most expensive dish which was the spaghetti with sea urchin. The spaghetti was nearly cold and the sauce tasted like cheap marinara sauce. So disappointing. The only decent thing was wine we chose which was red wine from Etna (vico). But again at 70 euro I think heavily overpriced. So all in all I rate it a tourist trap. One last thing to add - very bad service. Taking dishes away without even asking whether we are finished or whether we liked it. On the way out nobody even bothered to say goodbye... I get better treatment in average pubs.... My advise avoid at...