Antonino Esposito - Pizza e Cucina — Restaurant in Sorrento

We are British tourist and had high expectations for this resturant as we had seen some positive reviews & the menu seemed diverse too, italian and sushi!

On arrival there was no greeting.

We placed our order...the waiter was not very helpful with explanations & when he saw us looking at the sushi menu he abruptly said no sushi available... when we asked why he just shrugged his shoulders....they should inform you if half the menu is not available!

The complimentary bread basket was literally thrown on our table...we had to ask for the olive oil & balsamic. When we asked for side plates the waitress just pointed behind us where there was a pile of dishes and threw one side plate on our table, expecting us to just help ourselves to the rest...wow for 4€ cover charge a person im not expecting to go get my own plates as if its a buffet!

My husband requested for a few additions to his pasta & the waiter was very unhelpful & said was its not possible as its not what they do. We made the same request in other restaurants with no issues raised.

The dish came & it was dry & over cooked...we told the waiter we did not realise the gnocci was baked and asked for it to be remade again without being backed.

He just walked away without saying anything, leaving us sitting there staring at the plate with no replacement offered. We were gob smacked.

We then spoke to another waitress, explained what happened...no apology but she did get the dish remade with the extra garlic & chilli...

Food was average at best. I had the risotto it was average nothing wow, husband gnocci was average...

This place is very disappointing & poor service for a place charging 4€ a person cover charge...we had our two children with us who did not eat as they had an earlier meal but were still charged...we didnt complain.

Customer service is non existent here & left a poor impression on us as visitors to Sorrento.

Tourist please avoid this place & avoid having a bad holiday experience. They are rude & poor customer service & average food. The restaurant next door attached to the hotel il faro serves more tasty food & they smile & welcome customers!

Shocking & shameful representation of the culinary scene in Sorrento.

Antonino please don't let your poor staff bring down all your achievements.

UPDATE

Our feedback is more than fair...your staff are rude & inattentive. Please read the many other Google reviews confirming the same issue we faced.

We were told to take our plates from the table behind us where they were stacked!

The condiments for the bread we had to request...

Your colleague left us with no solution until we chased it up! It was late & we had two tired children so when the final pasta dish came we said it was ok to be kind as appreciated the effort to rectify the issue.

We have travelled the world & been to a diverse range of restaurants from michelin star’d to cafes & understand good food!

We are the customer and for you to tell us we do not understand restaurant etiquette & flavour is insulting...

We were very kind with our feedback...its a shame you do not appreciate valuable feedback as word of mouth is more valuable than you justifying...

My friend and I ate at Antonino Esposito twice during our stay in Sorrento - it was ten steps from the apartment we rented in Marina Piccola.

The first time we ate here we came for lunch- they were about to close but still sat us as we said we'd just have a pizza and wouldn't take long. The pizza was divine - we had just arrived after a series of long flights and we were ready for a real Neapolitan pizza - both of us had the traditional Margherita (my fave, simple and flavorful) and memories of all the trips I had made to Sorrento years ago flooded back into my brain. The staff, the views and ambiance- delightful. The pizza - perfect!

The second time we ate at Antonino Esposito was for dinner on our last evening before heading up to Rome. We still haven't stopped talking about how good it was - everything was superb. The kind staff remembered us from days before. We had a view of the sunset on the water. Towards the end of our dinner, a tour bus came and a huge group of teenagers on a school trip entered the restaurant and the entire staff went into gear serving them all the way in the back of the restaurant - the chef was inundated with orders (the restaurant was also full of other diners) and never lost a beat, never looked harried for a minute. It was fascinating to watch how smoothly and efficiently everything was handled. By the way, on both occasions we ate here, most of the diners were Italians having meals with their families.

For an antipasto, we shared a delicious beef carpaccio with walnuts, candied oranges and yoghurt drizzled with olive oil - very creative and really really special. We each had a primo, I had spaghetti con vongole and my friend had mezze maniche with mussels and beans. Both of our plates were exceptional and bursting with flavor. The portions were substantial. We had a bottle of white wine recommended by our waiter, a Lacryma Cristi del Vesuvio bianco and it was perfect for our pasta. Alas, we were too full to enjoy a secondo or a dolce but I would venture to say those, too, would have been unforgettable. I saw the food as it went out to each table, a burrata with gold leaf caught my eye! Such a charming place, I can't wait to return.

Grazie infinite! A la...

This must be the worst service that I got in a restaurant and I live in France so you imagine how bad it was. I asked the waiter for a trash bin for some flyers I ended up with. She told me to look for a trash bin outside. Then I asked them where is the toilet and THEY SHOW ME THE PUBLIC TOILET OUTSIDE???? Then this women who takes reservation told me “This is a restaurant not a toilet”. Their english is so bad that they didnt understand what was happening. Then I told them that I am a customer they didnt even apologize. I asked for ab ashtray and they looked at me like I asked their kidney. It was really disturbing the way the staff behaved. They are really disrespectful. And one other thing. We wanted to have pizza and this other waiter came to show us fish. When we said we want pizza he said “so you wont take anything from the kitchen???” in a very demanding tone. Like dude, ok maybe in your culture it’s different but for me pizza is also made in kitchen lol. And also another waiter hit my head with a glass by “mistake”. About the food: I had Simo pizza and it was meeh. So much juice and not enough pesto. There was no sauce. The dough was okay but overall I have eaten so many better pizzas during my trip. Final word Does not worth climbing up back to sorrento city center, do not worth the hype. I recommend eating...