Kisté - easy gourmet

FANTASTIC! Just go, order anything it will all be great! Must order the fresh fish and the “red dress” to start with paired with some sparkling wine. The service is flawless. All of this comes with a price which is totally worth it.

EDIT: The restaurant owner decided to reply in a hostile and condescending manner to what intended to be a fair review. Just to be clear: our problem with the rations was not the “size” in itself, but the value for money. The problem was not that the dishes were expensive and small (contemporary restaurants have dishes that are like that but are great); the problem is that, on top of expensive and small, they were also dull. I tried to put it gently in my original review, but seen the condescending tone of the reply I decided to put it in more clear terms. I find it extremely audacious to say that “we should go for a more familiar place”, as we have indeed visited them through the trip, but also different categories of restaurants —bib gourmands, starred and other Michelin restaurants—. Believe me, it is not a matter of range (all categories of restaurant, from familiar to high cuisine, can be fabulous). But it is preposterous to charge Michelin-star-prices for a plate that, simply, does not live to that standard. Lastly, the quality of the service is self-portrayed in their reply to the review. Not great. I hope that next time you can handle criticism in a less condescending way. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I am sorry to give it 3/5. The atmosphere was perfect—a lovely medieval patio isolated from the noise of the center—but I am afraid a 3/5 is the best I can do. The pasta was delicious, but the other plates were unimpressive. The rations were small, not particularly original or tasty, and the service was relative slow. In short, I really wanted this place to work, but I left back to my hotel absolutely disappointed.

The food was beautiful in both taste and appearance, I went with my family of 3 and we shared 2 antipasti, 2 pastas, 3 mains and 3 desserts which was honestly too much food but was still easily finished due to its quality. My only criticism of the food is that a couple of the more decorative sauces were used more than once which slightly took away from the character of the dish, namely the mint sauce which was used in 2 of the antipasti and 2 of the desserts, but even with this all the dishes and wines were well explained and tasted great.

I visited Kiste with my girlfriend on our vacation to Sicily. I want to give this place a 5-star review. The service was good and friendly, and the location was nice (minus the sound from the ventilation system). However, given the price point, I think some of our courses were too bland; I expected more for my money. My primi piatti was really good, a seafood pasta, with nothing to complain about. My girlfriend's primi was tortellini filled with duck and goat cheese, but you really had to try hard to taste these ingredients. My secondi was duck, and while there was nothing to complain about, it was maybe a little bland. My girlfriend had lamb racks, which cost 40 EUR, but the portion size was more like a primi. The desserts were good, but I would have preferred a traditional tiramisu. However, I can understand that they wanted to try something different. Overall, we had a good experience, although it was a bit pricey for what you got.

Very good restaurant, but for me it was a little bit overpriced. While the service was friendly, there were multiple occasions where my celiac wife was served a different dish than me (this part is normal), but the different dish was still not gluten free. Their gluten free options were, however, quite good when she did get them eventually. The wine pairing had some tasty wines, but we were never really told much about them. The outdoor patio was nice, but also full of bugs. If I went back, I would probably not do the tastings.

We made a dinner reservation by email and chose the four-course menu with dessert, the complimentary bread and olive oil was delicious. The starter of raw fish was fresh, the pan-fried fish was just the right amount of heat and the accompanying sauce was great with layers of accompaniment. The main course was also delicious. the dessert came with four different kinds, each one very special and a blend of local Sicilian sweets with a modern twist. Overall an excellent standard The wine list is extensive and the sommelier can give many suggestions

Learn from others’ misfortunes: avoid restaurants that charge for reservations. I had an extremely disappointing experience with this restaurant, and I believe it’s important to share it to warn future customers. I had booked a table for a special dinner with my wife, daughter, and friends. However, on the day of the event, my wife unfortunately suffered a severe and debilitating headache, which forced us to cancel our attendance. For the restaurant, however, this reason was not considered valid. They claimed that cancellations were only accepted with 48 hours’ notice—even in the case of an absolutely unforeseeable medical emergency. In a completely unreasonable and insensitive manner, the restaurant charged €400 to my credit card for a service that was never provided. This practice is not only morally reprehensible, but also legally questionable, as it violates fundamental principles of Italian law that protect consumers against abusive practices. It is unacceptable for an establishment that presents itself as high-end to adopt such petty and bad-faith behavior. Turning a health issue into a profit opportunity reflects a business philosophy that disregards basic values such as respect, humanity, and professionalism. In light of this, I strongly advise anyone against trusting this restaurant. My recommendation is clear: avoid this establishment.

We had the 4 course fish taster plus dessert menu with the wine pairing. The raw fish dish first course was explained well, and was good, but neither of us were fond of the Amberjack, but that was down to personal preference. The pasta dish was my favourite, dessert was good too as were all the wines.