O' Puledrone, Ristorante — Restaurant in Sorrento

Quick: unfortunately, I had a bad experience. Bad food, mediocre service.

I really wanted to like this restaurant with the beautiful views, great reviews and fresh foods but I did not. I came on a Tuesday at 7:45pm (19:45). I made a reservation but it was not needed. After 20:15, a line started to form. It did not seem like they were following a reservation system though as they were just trying to fill all the tables they could and did not reserve any. I saw a group come up with a reservation and had to wait since there were no tables.

Food was overall not good. Starting off, the Gnocchi wasn’t that great. It was soft and had a unique flavor, but it was very doughy. The dough stuck to the top of my mouth. The seafood risotto wasn’t really a risotto, in my opinion. It was too dry to be a risotto. The rice was also not cooked well. It was undercooked and many pieces were still very hard in the center. The seafood portion was good and tasted fresh. Moving on, the calamari and fried shrimp was not good. Many pieces were VERY overly salted. Furthermore, the texture was off and it just didn’t taste good. Disappointing dish. The fish of the day (red snapper) was wonderful. Tasted fresh and had a delicious tomato flavor. It was cooked nicely and was very soft. But, the scales on the skin kind of made the dish unpleasant. After each bite, I was spitting out splinters. This is where I prefer a sear or to remove the scales from the fish.

Service was also lacking. It seemed that they had one person taking orders and the rest of the people were taking food out and helping with basic things like getting more water. Maybe someone took off and they were understaffed. I would’ve taken the guy at front stopping people and telling them why they should eat here and make him help with orders instead. I could tell everyone was working hard but the service just wasn’t that great. I stopped one of the guys and he rushed to tell me to talk to someone else and gave me a name of someone I had no idea who he was. Later on we finally got someone to get our order.

Overall, I can’t recommend this place and had a bad experience. Mainly the food being the reason. Service was okay, and I can handle that but the food just...

Went to 'O Puledrone Fisherman Cooperative for dinner after a long day of sightseeing in Pompeii and Sorrento. We didn't have anywhere specific in mind so we just wandered down to the seafront where there are an array of charming alfresco options. 'O Puledrone was the humblest of all of the options but it was perfect. They'd placed the tables right next to the water's edge even though it meant a further walk for the waiters. The view was stunning - go at sunset, you won't be disappointed! You get an incredible view of Vesuvius across the sea while dining. We were there in August and the evening temperature was ideal.

As it's a fishmonger's cooperative, the menu changes based on the catch of the day. We ordered the seafood salad starter which was delicious - light and fresh with octopus and fennel and orange. For main we had swordfish steak in a tomato sauce (deliciously meaty fish), seafood risotto which was slightly too salty and an amazing penne with the freshest cherry tomatoes. Everything is clearly homemade. We had a good white wine; perfectly chilled and not too expensive.

Service was excellent - our waiter was attentive and friendly - no complaints. The inside of the restaurant is very basic, almost like a fish and chip shop or a greasy spoon but this didn't matter at all, in fact, it heightened the splendour of the setting after I returned from the bathroom. It also made the food seem very "authentic", to use a very overused word.

'O Puldrone was gorgeous - real quality food and...

This restaurant, like many surrounding it, is set on the smaller pier of Sorrento, which provides a beautiful view of the water. Although, if you go for dinner, a majority of your view is of docketed boats. While Bagni Santa Anne sits in front of this restaurant, the reviews of that place turned us off.

Our server was very nice and not pushy. The fresh catch of the day was seabass and deliciously prepared. The whole fish will be brought to you and you need to de-bone, but I prefer this, as you know that it is fresh. To de-bone, turn it on its back and seperate the 2 sides from the vertebrae and then pull the vertebrae out.

Please keep in mind, as with most restaurants in Sorrento, any land meat you order is not going to be that good. It usually is served like the fish, i.e. no salt or pepper or seasoning. For fish, that works because it is usually already salty and the crispy skin provides flavor. My partner, who does not eat seafood, was disappointed with his bland chicken breast.

While this place is touristy, I would not call it a tourist trap given the quality of the seafood and lack of other defining tourist trap qualities (ex. being rushed). Don't let the fish nets on the tables deter you. I would eat seafood here again.

*NOTE: the items on the menu with an * indicate previously frozen seafood. The menu is clear about this, but a few reviewers seem to miss this entirely and let it shape their reviews toward the negative. Just don't order those clearly...