Onda Blu Isola — Restaurant in Syracuse

Sadly the meal we had looked forward to all holiday did not live up to expectations. The view is stunning and the staff were actually very friendly and informative initially describing the various types of fish on offer. We chose a bream, lightly grilled with vegetables and a cicala di mare (slipper lobster). This was described as firm and buttery - as one would expect from a local, fresh caught lobster. The dish arrived and it looked fantastic the pasta was perfectly cooked and the sauce was delicious....However, the lobster was clearly overcooked, chewy and almost impossible to cut. Our waiter agreed and the dish was returned to the kitchen - only to be returned 5 minutes later with the message that this was how it was supposed to be! Not a wise thing to say to my wife who has eaten lobster all over the world! It was sent back once again with expectations that the dish would be replaced - this didn't happen and after I had finished my bream {which to be fair was very nice) we were informed that the chef was adamant that cicala di mare was supposed to be tough and if he warmed it up again it would be even tougher! We asked for the bill - it arrived and to our suprise, it included €78 for the lobster which we refused to pay. The bill was removed and discussed for 10 minutes before it was represented without the lobster. The explanation was that the waiter had misunderstood my wife and had assumed she was happy with just a side salad. The quality of an establishment is not just in its food, ambience and experience but also in how it deals with times when things go wrong. In this case, Onda Blu handled it badly, very badly and this behaviour was far worse than an overcooked dish. It totally spoiled our evening. The final straw came when a non-uniformed individual joined the waiters at our table and with a grin, told us that we would leave and the restraint would remain. Clearly he is as unaware of social media as he is of hospitality!

Purtroppo il pasto che avevamo atteso per tutte le vacanze non è stato all'altezza delle aspettative. La vista è sbalorditiva e il personale è stato davvero molto gentile e istruttivo inizialmente descrivendo i vari tipi di pesce offerti. Abbiamo scelto un'orata, leggermente grigliata con verdure e una cicala di mare. Questo è stato descritto come sodo e burroso, come ci si aspetterebbe da un'aragosta locale appena pescata. Il piatto è arrivato e sembrava fantastico, la pasta era cucinata alla perfezione e la salsa era deliziosa. Tuttavia, l'aragosta era chiaramente troppo cotta, gommosa e quasi impossibile da tagliare. Il nostro cameriere acconsentì e il piatto fu restituito in cucina, solo per essere restituito 5 minuti dopo con il messaggio che era così che doveva essere! Non è una cosa saggia da dire a mia moglie che ha mangiato l'aragosta in tutto il mondo! È stato rispedito ancora una volta con l'aspettativa che il piatto sarebbe stato sostituito - questo non è successo e dopo aver finito la mia orata {che per essere onesti era molto bella) siamo stati informati che lo chef era irremovibile sul fatto che la cicala di mare avrebbe dovuto essere tosto e se lo scaldasse di nuovo sarebbe ancora più tosto! Abbiamo chiesto il conto: è arrivato e, con nostra sorpresa, includeva € 78 per l'aragosta che ci siamo rifiutati di pagare. Il conto è stato rimosso e discusso per 10 minuti prima di essere rappresentato senza l'aragosta. La spiegazione era che il cameriere aveva frainteso mia moglie e aveva pensato che fosse contenta solo di un'insalata di contorno. La qualità di un locale non sta solo nel cibo, nell'atmosfera e nell'esperienza, ma anche nel modo in cui affronta i momenti in cui le cose vanno male. In questo caso Onda Blu l'ha gestita male, malissimo e questo comportamento è stato ben peggio di un piatto scotto. Ha totalmente rovinato la nostra serata. L'ultima goccia è arrivata quando un individuo non in uniforme si è unito ai camerieri al nostro tavolo e con un sorriso ci ha detto che ce ne saremmo andati e che la moderazione...

Nice Location but inattentive Service Staff which obviously tries to (in our case successfully) betray their customers. We were there 2 times this week at for Dinner and both times (especially the 2nd time) they gave us different dishes to what we've ordered and at the end it totally ruined the experience for everyone in our 10 persons group. For example we ordered besides other things a small branzino for 2 and 3 middle sized gambas and ended up with 2 huge branzinos and a whole platter of gambas which was on the first hand way too much and on the other cold at it was served. We also ordered pasta (which was okay) and some tuna steaks which were cold on the outside and still barely frozen on the inside. We sent back the tuna steaks 3 times at the end and then they were actually totally overcooked and almost unedible. Thats just a shame for such a restaurant and me and the rest of the group can not recommend the restaurant at all. A huge waste of money at the end. Could be really good if the staff (and/or managenent) wouldn't be so ignorant and greedy. Under this circumstances our really nice evening was ruined in that location and we payed a fortune for that....

Unlike other reviews we found the staff to be friendly but we feel we need to warn others against the recommendations by staff and accepting the fish cooked by weight as a substitute for an unavailable main course dish without asking the price. What should have been a meal for well under €100 turned out to be a lot more. I had chosen a Tartufi (Venus clams) starter for €10, they weren’t available so I chose the Vongole (small clams) for €16. I then chose swordfish on the menu for €16. This wasn’t available but the waiter recommended Dorado for two people as an alternative. My husband agreed to change his chosen main course (also €16) and we both had the Dorado. It was good but served without anything else except a simple olive oil, lemon and parsley sauce, no salad or vegetables. So our chosen main courses should have totalled €32 for two of us and the Dorado was €62! Our total bill for 2 simple courses each plus a cocktail, one bottle of wine and water, 2 coffees and a limoncello was €144. We don’t mind paying this kind of money for an exceptional meal but this was simple food in simple surroundings so we won’t...