Convivio — Restaurant in Sorrento

We had dinner at il convivio and would not recommend it to anyone else. The food was awful! We had a trio of bruschetta to share for a starter which consisted of one with an unidentifiable soggy meat (it’s smell was that of canned dog food), one with tomatoes that had turned a very pale pink and not at all fresh, and one with salmon which was not too bad. We then had two pizzas which were both wet and flavourless. I ordered a pizza with cheese, artichoke, tomatoes, and mushrooms. The tomatoes were not at all similar to the delicious tomatoes available in Italy but instead were bitter, while the mushrooms were so slimy and chewy it was like eating squishy snails. That combined with the floppy base and salty cheese made it inedible. The other pizza we ordered was just as bad even though it was a very simple salami pizza. It was both burnt on the crust and undercooked in the middle giving it the consistency of a puddle of phlegm. Aside from the awful food, the waiter interrupted our order to talk to a group of men who had gathered around our table. Very uncomfortable. The toilets were disgusting to say the least. When the time came to use the toilet I walked down its steep steps to what could only be described as an old pool/sauna room that reeked of mould and with dim lighting. Upon reaching the toilet and opening its door, I was met with a horrible smell, urine littering the floor in puddles, and a single toilet seat with no lid just the bowl. A hole in the ground would have been better or perhaps a litter box. Either would have been more sanitary anyway that is for sure. Do...

This lovely little restaurant is not in the main high street, and so when I walked past and saw it was so full, it caught my attention. There was a really good selection and very reasonably priced too. So I ventured in and was warmly welcomed and then seated. I chose the spaghetti carbonate followed by veal in mushrooms and some potato croquettes. Others have complained in their reviews about slow service and I agree it was not fast. However, this is a restaurant where there were only 2 people in front of house and they were changing tables, doing drinks, serving and seating. As on my visit, the restaurant was pretty full, I think it was clear that the small kitchen were cooking everything fresh and nothing was rushed out, and I think it was very "italian paced" and therefore not a problem (for me). The food was really good, my carbonara was rich and creamy with a contrasting salty pork (don't know that it was guancale but very tasty). Then my veal was a good portion of thick slices served in mushrooms and lemon sauce. Delicious and tender. Potato croquettes were crispy, hot, cheesy and creamy inside. All in all I had a very nice meal and the atmosphere (as a lone diner) was warm and friendly with a buzz of Italians chatting and eating. I think the staff were wamr and welcoming and were very busy but not at all rude or grumpy and I must say they were very encouraging of my Italian and helped out with their English. Pasta was €10, the veal was €12 and the potato croquettes were €5. Great meal and would definitely recommend the food and I would definitely go back...

The waitress told us to wait as she took the order of a big party who arrived after we did. Upon seeing my disapproving look, she actually disappeared altogether without taking our order. 15 minutes later she finally came back. The big party already finished their meal when we still didn’t even have bread. So obviously the waitress was teaching me a lesson…. When I asked the manager where our food was after 35 minutes of wait, our first courses came within seconds, meaning they have been left at the counter for some time already. Worse yet, the manager also brought us our second courses less than a minute after our first courses, at which point there was simply no space on the table to put our food. To top off such horrible service, the razor clams and 2 baby clams in the seafood linguini were rotten and tasted like sewage. We complained to the manager, at which he said nothing. When I told him about the waitress, he just shrugged it off, said “Well she’s new” and then walked away?! Two other couples next to our table apparently also received bad service, with a second course arriving before the first, and wines served wrong. Both of them had the bills wrong - one of them had an item charged twice. At the end we did receive a discount. But no...