Gustó — Restaurant in Riposto

Last week we were in Sicily on holiday and we were living close to the location of this restaurant. We saw the positive reviews of this restaurant and we chose to go there for dinner.

Upon first impressions, the service is good because you are greeted nicely and the waiter is very helpful in assisting you to select a dish.

We were 4 people and we chose the dishes we wanted. The waiter suggested that we have a look at the fish display just in case we are interested in selecting a fresh fish from the catch of the day. My girlfriend opted to select a Sea Bream from this display and I ordered a plate of pasta with Pistacchcio and Shrimps, our friend ordered Paccheri with Sea food and his wife ordered the Tuna steak.

We were asked if we wanted for all the dishes to arrive at the same time as it would take 20 minutes for the food to arrive and of course we all wanted to dine at the same time so we said that this is not a problem. However the food took well over 1 hour to be served with the excuse that the fish takes long to be ready. This did not bother us that much as we weren’t in a hurry as long the food is genuine.

Finally the food arrived, our friend’s pasta was a very small portion counting exactly 21 pieces of paccheri. His wife’s tuna steak dish consisted of two very small round tuna steaks. I will not exaggerate, the diameter of each tuna steak was not more than 13cm.

My pasta was the most decent plate which was served to be fair.

Coming to the fish, we have to admit that it was very nicely presented and was shown to us when it was ready from cooking and was cleaned and served ready to be eaten without the hassle of cleaning it. Again here no sides were given along with the dish.

Anyway everyone ate, our friends were still hungry because of the shockingly tiny portions they were served and we asked for the bill.

When the bill came, we encountered the biggest shock of our experience at this restaurant. No one could believe that we were charged €114 for the Sea Bream which by the way you can find for not more than €6 - €10 per kilo on the Catania market were they sell ONLY freshly caught fish. Ok you would expect to pay more since you are in a restaurant that is granted, €40 - €60 for this dish, although still steep would have made sense since you are in a specified restaurant for fish. In our opinion, this fish couldn’t have weighed more than 500 grams at the most. Some might say that we should have asked the price per x amount of grams and we truly didn’t however we weren’t expecting such a charge either!

The pasta plates and the tuna weren’t cheap either. The pasta plates were around €25 each and the tuna cost over €30 and we did not mind paying these prices until we saw the ridiculously small portions served.

We honestly did not complain at the restaurant as both us and our friends are not the type to complain and also despite the extortionate price of €114 for a Sea Bream, we just paid and left.

What is even more shocking is that we felt so cheated by this restaurant that my friend decided to leave a review of our experience and the answer he got from the review is a very shocking one.

I am attaching a screen shot of the answer below.

How can the restaurant justify a review this way, saying that it is fortunate that not everyone thinks like us, especially tourists. Does this mean that it is ok to charge people €114 euro for the most common of fish and to serve ridiculously small portions with your guests returning home hungry?

We have been going to Sicily for many years and we have dined at many different restaurants. We do not recall any event like the one we had at Gusto as all restaurants we have been to in Sicily so far have always served genuine food, with decent portions and prices that made much more sense.

Not an experience which can be counted as a good...

We chose this restaurant based on the many glowing reviews (4.6 average here on Google), but unfortunately, our experience didn’t live up to the praise.

When we arrived – only the second couple there – we were told we could pick any table. We sat at a neatly set four-person table on the terrace, as the small two-person table next to it was still full of dirty dishes. A few minutes later, another waiter made us move, saying we couldn't sit at a table for four – even though the place was nearly empty. It felt unnecessarily strict and not very welcoming. They did provide a free starter dish, which was kind.

We were shown the fresh fish selection inside and chose the salt-baked fish of the day, listed at €60–€80 in the menu. We also asked for a wine recommendation, but instead felt rushed to choose between glass or bottle, and due to some language issues, there were misunderstandings that seemed to irritate the staff.

The fish was good, and the fries were homemade – but way too salty. While we were eating, a family (seemingly related to the hostess) was seated at the very table we had been asked to leave. They were warmly welcomed, allowed to rearrange tables, and clearly received special attention – which left us feeling like second-class guests.

After declining dessert, it took quite a while to get the bill, despite only two other parties in the restaurant. The fish ended up costing €113 – far above the stated menu price and not really justified.

Lastly, the bathroom had no toilet seat and nothing to dry your hands with – not what you'd expect from a place with such a high rating (and apparently pricing too).

Overall, the food was decent, but the service, inconsistent treatment, and pricing left a bad impression. Wouldn’t recommend it to other travelers expecting a...

Total Tourist Trap – Overpriced and Extremely Slow Service

We went to eat at Gusto and the experience was deeply disappointing.

One of us ordered the fresh Sea bream for one person. The waiter mentioned it would take around 20 minutes — we agreed, thinking that was reasonable. Instead, the food took almost two full hours to arrive, which is completely unacceptable.

I ordered a pasta dish and literally counted only 21 paccheri on the plate a very small portion. My partner had the tuna, which cost €25, and the portion was tiny, with no salad or potatoes included. We were both still hungry after the meal.

To make things worse, when the bill came, the single seabream cost €114 — with no clear pricing provided beforehand. Not only the plate was so extortionately priced, no sides such as fries or roast potatoes were offered. Just some lettuce and tomatoes on a small side plate. My wife's tuna apart from being a small portion, no sides and not even a salad was given along with the plate.

After this experience, I checked the reviews and found that others had similar complaints about overpriced seafood and long wait times. It’s clear this place is a tourist trap, taking advantage of people who don’t know better.

Definitely not worth the time, money, or frustration. I wouldn’t recommend this...