Il Girasole — Restaurant in Sirmione

Our family decided to have dinner at Il Girasole in Sirmione tonight, but our experience was far from satisfactory. We ordered a full meal, including their flagship dish – the Fiorentina steak. The appetizers were served quickly and were delicious, but the rest of the evening was disappointing.

About 20-30 minutes after finishing the appetizers, we received our steak, only for the waiter to take it away, saying it wasn't our order. After a long wait, which lasted over 40-50 minutes, we finally got a new steak…which was completely rare. We asked for the steak to be cooked more, but after a few minutes, it came back somewhere between medium and well done. The steak was dry, especially around the edges, and completely overcooked, making it inedible.

We decided to speak with the restaurant manager to express our concerns. We emphasized that we had waited too long for the main course, which did not meet our expectations. The manager tried to explain how busy the kitchen was. As someone who understands how long it takes to prepare a great steak, I found it astonishing that he tried to convince me that the preparation time should exceed an hour. Instead of admitting to a mistake, which I would have understood, the manager provided explanations I believed to be untrue.

When we questioned the waiting time and the quality of the steak, the manager's attitude became unpleasant and aggressive. He accused us of not respecting the kitchen staff... Unbelievable.

When we were leaving, I expressed my dissatisfaction once more, and the manager publicly stated that he had no respect for us, which was shocking! We might have let it go, but his behavior, simply insulting us as customers, was utterly unacceptable and astonishing.

Considering the menu and the appetizers, which gave us high hopes for the quality of the food, we were initially impressed. However, the issue with the steak and the significant delay in its serving, followed by convoluted explanations and attempts to blame us for not understanding the preparation time and the busy atmosphere, were scandalous. Meanwhile, all the other tables that arrived after us were served and left before us.

It's a pity that such renowned dishes and presumably great chefs are let down by the staff, especially the manager, who tarnished the restaurant's reputation with his behavior and comments toward customers. The steak we were served over an hour after finishing the appetizers was, in my opinion, delayed due to a simple mistake by the staff. It doesn’t take that long to prepare a steak, even during a busy service. Instead of admitting the error, the attempt to shift the blame to us was scandalous.

It’s a shame for the restaurant to suffer from such scandalous staff/manager behavior. The good impression we had until the whole situation with the long wait and the lies, starting from the waiter through to the manager and their aggressive behavior, particularly at the end, was completely ruined. I warn anyone considering this restaurant that the behavior of the manager is not only dishonest but...

Food was decent but the keta caviar was slimy. This place is on the pricey side, in Sirmione there is a lot better places with the same price. Customer service was poor in the end. We arrived to the restaurant when there was only one other couple waiting for their food. We ordered caprese for appetizer and ravioli and pasta for the main. Appetizer came normally but it took over an hour to get the main course. People around us who came after us got their food, ate and left but we were still waiting. First they brought wrong dish to our table and then we waited very long time for the main course. I asked for the main food from the waiter after an hour and expressed the dissatisfaction friendly. The waiter brought the food in 10-15mins and didn’t say anything. The serving stopped completely after we expressed unsatisfactory. No one took our plates after finishing. We expected some apologies or something but didn’t get any. The waiter started arguing with us when we asked some compensation. This waiter wasn’t around when we arrived to the restaurant and she didn’t serve us, she just brought the bill. She said that we didn’t wait that long and it takes time to cook and in Italy it’s like this. Well it can’t take over an hour to make pasta and ravioli and everyone around us got their food quite fast and some even ordered the same dish as us. Also we asked to talk with the owner and manager but she said they are not around. I don’t recommend...

When I arrived, the girl who sat me at my table was sweet. But then I waited 15-20 minutes for someone to even acknowledge me, and that wasn't even my waitress. She then came over said "prego" took my order and left. I barely got anything out of her except my food (no hospitality). Meanwhile, the Italian families/groups sat were getting all the attention & hospitality. Friendly, laughing, going the extra mile. I assumed that because I was dining alone, I was getting crappy treatment. So immediately, I had a bad taste in my mouth. If it was only that. But I ordered the spagetti cecce di pepe...and it was ALL pepper. I couldn't even taste the truffles...which were plain as day on there. Couldn't taste anything but pepper. I ate it cause it was close to 10pm, I was hungry and there likely was nowhere else to go. Then I asked for my check and, same thing...took her forever to bring it. Then she tried to offer me dessert & I was too upset for already waiting a long time for the check. She then sent someone else over and didn't thank me or wish me a good night. Mostly bad service (assuming cuz I'm from the U.S or because I was alone - not sure) and then it was the worst food I'd had in italy so far. Ps. The wine was good and the other waitresses seemed nice....