Sale e Pepe — Restaurant in Marco Island

We left feeling very taken advantage of. We stayed at the hotel here and decided to try the restaurant as a matter of convenience to celebrate my daughters 6th birthday. We ordered the special fresh catch of the day and were told that the portion was enough for 2 to share. And, we ordered another adult seafood pasta meal for our daughter. We had an appetizer, salads/soup, and dessert! I had worked for over 15 years in fine dining restaurants, so I’m familiar with etiquette of eating out at these types of restaurants. When we got our bill I was floored to see the fresh catch cost $120! This was not disclosed to us previously, as we feel there is a polite way to let people know that what they are ordering is double the cost of anything on their menu. The fish wasn’t even that good, had many bones and just tasted like the oil they poured all over it. We didn’t want to make a fuss at the restaurant, as it was my daughter’s special day and didn’t want to overshadow it with a complaint, so I decided I would contact the restaurant shortly thereafter, which I did. The manager I spoke to was rude and said because I didn’t say anything that night they wouldn’t make any adjustments or otherwise. Although, she did recognize that they should tell people the exuberant cost of the fish and that she has instructed the servers to do so for future orders. The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 was our server was very nice and the view was...

Somehow we end up here every Christmas. We have only been here on Christmas night, so have no context for their typical service. First the setting, location, and view over the gulf (if sitting outside) are very nice. Historically we've had the option to order a la carte as well as from their fixed price menu, but this year they seemed to have added tables and were fixed menu only. Where other tables were given the option to order from a kids menu, were were only given the option to order pasta for our kids of 4 and 7. Annoying, but not the end of the world. The fixed menu offered 3 options for each of 3 courses and 2 options for dessert. Everything was at best good, and at worst just OK. Nothing terrible, nothing you feel you just have to return to have again. Pasta dishes were probably the best part of the evening. Fish was properly cooked and seasoned. Service was very slow, but everything came to the table at a good temperature. Given that they had 1.5 to 2x as many tables as usual some service disruption is not a surprise. Given a choice between faster service and poorly done food and slow-but-correct food, for me they made the right compromise. Quite expensive for what it is. In the end I'd like to give them 3.5 stars, but given my options I'll round up given the extremely limited options on the island Christmas night and delivering good food despite...

This is a very nice restaurant. It provides a premium experience. Be prepared to spend at least $50 per person. It’s expensive but the food is good and the service is top notch.

My wife and I both got the Ippoglosso (halibut). It’s $52 so I was kind of expecting a little larger portion for that price. It comes with a parsley sauce and it’s definitely parsley. Haha. If you don’t like parsley, you better order something else.

I also ordered a bowl of soup, Vellutata ($16) and my wife ordered mushrooms, Funghi ($12). It’s roaster squash soup and it was really good. The halibut also comes with roasted squash. It was good but as you can see in the photo, there’s just not much of it. There’s a little ring of it under the Halibut.

Lastly, got to try an order of Cioccolato e Baileys ($13). The chocolate was very good. Highly recommend. If you like chocolate, you will love this desert.

Overall great experience with a great view. They ring a bell at sunset. My fish wasn’t over the top outstanding. Portion size and maybe just a slight overcooked is why I’m only giving it 4 stars. Still good place to eat if you’re looking for...