Osteria Del Mare — Restaurant in Unione dei comuni della Versilia

A fine dining establishment with very attentive staff. I came for dinner during a quiet moment before peak season, and being one of the only local open restaurants, it was still rather active. That should be a tell for how popular this restaurant is. During peak season reservations are a must!

The food was delicious and varied, focused around seafood. Everyday you can ask them about their daily catches which will be tailored to how you would like them prepared.

Well done to the chef and his kitchen team, not only is the menu impressive, the food is tasty, but the cooks also look and act professional. They're not afraid of working with an open door to the kitchen - everything there looks organized, clean, and serious! Bravo!

Also bravo to the waiters and the in-hall team. Kind, attentive, and welcoming. They really keep their eyes up for anything the clients might need, even before we raise our finger to call for a waiter. Truly well done. They either truly are masters at their craft (the gentleman with the glasses in the suit knew I didn't know much about wine, so instead of overcomplicating the details to me, he made it simple, starting with just explaining the taste; thank you), or are really willing to help, and do everything with a smile.

As a bonus, I asked one of them to take a photo of my partner and I, and they went the extra mile going into portrait mode on the phone, getting a pretty angle, and legitimately capturing a wonderful moment in a great picture (photo not posted for the privacy of us both)!...

Delicious seafood let down by poor service and long queues to sit despite having a reservation.

The reservation doesn’t seem to hold any bearing (and non-Italian speaking doesn’t help) as the maitre D just adds your name to the list. We waited 25min after our reservation to be seated, so definitely come early

Inside our table was in a lovely setting, but was in a thoroughfare so was quite disruptive. Small things like our candle remained unlit, and we always poured our own water and wine ruined the experience. We would give service a 1/5. I had to ask for basics (water), olive oil, side plates multiple times.

The oysters were fantastic. Seafood risotto seemed undercooked (quite hard rice), and the mixed tartare was largely quite tasty.

We also found a mysterious charge of dessert (€10) to the bill that was never ordered. Seems to be a pattern for non-Italians. Even more so as the receipt is not itemised but written as plate (antipasto, primi, secondi, etc)

If service dramatically improved we’d love...

Clearly one of the many chi chi places in Forte. First time back in Forte in 13 years after having visited fairly regularly before then. The gentrification of the town is nothing short of jaw dropping. This cycle friendly town has taken its best aspects and exponentially improved on all of them. Osteria del Mare is predominantly fish but caters for the carnivores, too. Our Branzino (for two) was exceptional other than it was coupled with the next door table and somewhere along the line turned into a fish for four. God would approve! Obviously, the aggregation of the size to be grilled is at the discretion of the chef who biblically turned our order for two, into a fish for four! No objection, but don’t try and hoodwink us into thinking we were getting our own fish. Highly recommended though, if only for the simplicity of the food on offer. Understood why the queue to...