Ristorante Le Grotte di DeSo — Restaurant in Zungri

My wife and I went to Zungri a couple weeks ago with some friends to tour the museum and cave dwellings. To our wonderful surprise we found a beautiful restaurant with amazing territorial views. The servers seemed as delighted to see us as we were to see them. But the best part of the experience was the food. I told them I was a vegan and they prepared the most delicious plate of four high protein beautifully presented dishes with various types of greens and beans. I've been a vegan for over 30 years and the typical response is: "we might be able to modify this or that -- but you know we have salads!" The sign of a quality chef is when they can make something vegan off-menu that is absolutely delicious. My wife, who is not a vegan, had tuna, and she said it was the best she ever had. I won't say more about that since she may want to write her own review. I am writing this today because I neglected to write it sooner, and we are going back to the restaurant today! I know, I should have waited until after today's meal to write this, but I feel so strongly about my first experience at LeGrotte di Deso that I decided to take the chance. We are leaving Italy in a couple days and I might not have another opportunity to write a review. If you are ever in Southern Calabria, don't miss this restaurant. It is truly exceptional. ...

The wine and view was amazing, but that was sadly the only positive part of our experience. 2 of the 40 tables had customers, and this was on a friday night.

We ordered about 8-10 dishes and sent back 80 percent of them.

The melon with ham was good, no complaints there

The risotto with oyster was watery, too al dente and had absolutely zero flavor. I’m pretty sure they didnt use a stock or bouillon to cook the risotto.

The fried fish was ok but a bit boring and lacked flavor.

The ravioli was very very salty and had a sour and foul taste.

The hot and cold seafood mix/platter was ok.

The gnocchi was cooked well but also lacked flavor.

The beef filet looked like it was cooked in the microwave and lacked color and flavor. It also looked like the meat had been out decomposing for days.

The octopus was absolutely terrible, there is no way this was fresh, it smelled foul, sour and rotten.

After one of our friends threw up we shared our findings with the waitress, who went back to the kitchen to share this with the chef. We heard them fighting in the kitchen. After this the chef/owner? came out and walked up to us with a stern and intimidating look on his face, he was about to approach us but luckily got called back by the waitress.

We asked for the bill and swiftly left (sadly none of the dishes were...

Il Ristorante Le Grotte di Deso è molto più di un semplice luogo dove mangiare. È un'esperienza sensoriale completa, un connubio perfetto tra la bellezza della natura e l'eccellenza della cucina calabrese.

Situato in una posizione davvero privilegiata, direttamente sopra le affascinanti grotte di Zungri, il ristorante offre un panorama mozzafiato che toglie il fiato. Sia che si scelga di pranzare all'interno della sala, elegante e curata nei minimi dettagli, sia che si preferisca rilassarsi sotto il gazebo in legno, ammirando il paesaggio circostante, l'atmosfera è sempre intima e accogliente.

L'accesso al ristorante è comodo, sia in auto che a piedi, ma per chi desidera immergersi completamente nella natura e visitare le grotte, consiglio di acquistare i biglietti prima e poi raggiungere il ristorante a piedi. La breve passeggiata di circa 400 metri sarà in discesa ed è un'ottima occasione per godere del fresco della pineta e preparare il palato ad un'esperienza gastronomica unica.

Il personale di sala è estremamente attento e disponibile, pronto a soddisfare ogni richiesta e a consigliare i piatti migliori. Ho avuto modo di assaggiare lo gnocchetto verde mare, una vera delizia che ha messo in evidenza la qualità della pasta fresca. Il pesce è freschissimo e cucinato alla perfezione, i piatti sono abbondanti e presentati con cura.

Un must è il tagliere di prodotti tipici homemade, perfetto per due persone e ricco di sapori autentici. La varietà di specialità locali, tutte preparate con ingredienti freschi e genuini, è davvero sorprendente.

La qualità del cibo e la bellezza del luogo si riflettono nel prezzo, ma ne vale assolutamente la pena. il Ristorante Le Grotte di Deso è il posto unico e suggestivo,...