Taverna Azzurra — Restaurant in Sorrento

Two problems: The waiter, and the food. First, the waiter seemed extremely impatient and unfriendly when we asked about certain dishes, what was in them. He didnt smile or show any warmth whatsoever, just very businesslike and hurried. We told him several times we were ordering dinner but wanted to enjoy our wine first, but he came back every 2 or 3 minutes, and we felt VERY rushed. He was rushing around in a big hurry, which may be management's fault, if he didnt have enough help. After he took our order, we never saw him again. He never came back to our table the entire meal, though a young woman waiter did. We saw him warmly greet some new diners outside that he knew with big hugs; guess he had time for locals. He was just so cold and impatient with us, then ignored us the entire meal. The food.: My partner could not understand the special, the waiter talked so fast and impatiently. He ordered the salmon pasta instead, which he thought would come with at least some actual pieces of salmon in it. It did not. Not that we could see. It was salmon flavored sauce, yes, but with no visible pieces of salmon in the farfelle, for $18. Why not put some actual pieces of salmon in it??? Farfelle in salmon sauce, very disappointing. But that is not the waiter's fault; his rude impatient attitude was. Lastly, we went to pay the bill, and with the SAME waiter standing right beside her behind the counter, the woman manager, very friendly, put us on the spot by saying: "Would you like to add a tip?" (We always tip, but not for no service). We said: "No, we felt too rushed." She seemed shocked, so did he, and she said "Really??" We just said "Yes," and hurried away. If you treat people like you're barely tolerating them, dont allow them to relax with wine when asked (15 minutes would have been great; we NEVER linger AFTER dinner as many do, so whats the difference?), then ignore them once served, what do you expect? A tip is for...

This restaurant should be closed out. They are arrogant, unprofessional, serving bad salty fish and making mistakes in orders: we were two couples ordering different fishes and asking twice at the beginning - for separate bills - to the manager and waiter. We wait forever for our meals. A young waitress brought our plates, it was not clear what she was serving us. We asked her which fish she was serving in front of us (we were only 4)….We were not sure since our friend who ordered mahi mahi with potatoes got a FULL FISH WITH BONES at 25 euros without any potatoes....but my husband got a FULL fish WITH BONES at 25 euros too with potatoes in the same plate + French fries separately!!!....It is what made us uncomfortable....I also was supposed to have some sauted seafood....I got it very salty in a red tomatoe sauce....they later explained they did a mistake with our other friend who had my plate of sauted seafood....but STILL HAD TO PAY AN EXTRA 5 euros for the dish she did not get (the seafood casserole!). When I asked another server why our friend was not having his side of potatoes, they realized that the waitress did a mistake (she was SO SURE of herself when she served us... not paying attention to my request why one person has two potatoe sides when the other has nothing!). Those people are terrible, not taking care of customers...they know we are tourist and won't be back...They know they are doing a terrible job and add on their invoice copperto (bread and forks/knives) + 10% gratuity that they do not deserve at all. Food and service are horrible. We stopped at this dump place only because Soul & Fish the good fresh fish restaurant next to them was full and refused us. I have to explain that the manager as the waiter wanted my husband to eat the plate of used fish served by mistake to our friend who already started eating it. We had to say NO TWICE....They really insist for him to eat after...

It was a dark and stormy night in August, unexpected in Sorrento when we arrived, cold and drenched, into the town. We inquired with a number of restaurants for a table for two - none would take us - the worst of the lot being the Trattoria Emilia, whose waitress was unsympathetic and very rude to my wife.

My wife, who suffers from gastric cancer, was distraught: all we needed was a good meal ahead of a long and much planned trip to Pompei tomorrow (we had a long trip from Naples to get here). We walked on and found the Taverna Azzurra, who instantly found us a table. It turns out that they had taken pity on us, and we were their last service of the evening.

They fed us brilliantly, with great gusto, despite clearly getting ready for closing on our arrival (which is our fault not theirs!) and their chef whipped up several superb seafood dishes and a lovely side salad followed by limoncello and a delicious meill-feuille to finish.

The owner and his sister were most pleasant and understanding. The whole restaurant’s staff, a family run business, were of the highest standard and were better than any of the so called 5* restaurants we’ve attended on our trip thus far.

In a world where it is easy to dismiss the plights of others, these lovely Sorrento folk saw a struggling couple and made their rather wet and sad evening a memorable one for all the right reasons.

This Taverna is the sort of place everyone should go - excellent local food, served professionally, and with much love for the custom of others. The Taverna Azzurra is the hidden gem of Sorrento. Go and visit - you...