Cova Dei Saraceni (Gourmet Chick in Italy)

Cova Dei Saraceni is part of the only five star hotel in Positano and it is a hotel restaurant in every sense of the word, complete with a piano player. However, on the bright side the food is quite good and unless you ware sitting on a beach chair it is hard to get any closer to the beach front in Positano while you eat.

As you would expect in such a location, the choice of seafood on the menu was plentiful. A trolley was wheeled to the table from which you could select your fish or lobster. I was there with a large group and we opted to order several serves of the baby calamari for everyone to share as an entree. The calamari was delicious comprising tiny tender portions which were lightly salted although I did worry about the sustainable aspect of such a dish.

As my main course I had selected the sea bass from the earlier trolley. It was cooked in white wine with potatoes and olives and then filleted at the table. The flavours did not really permeate the fish and it was somewhat insipid. I suffered food envy upon seeing MTV boyfriend's spaghetti marinara which was chock full of mussels, claims and prawns.

The popular choice at the table for dessert was gelati which came in an array of flavours including some more unusual ones such as banana and pistachio. Having eaten enough gelati over the course of my stay in Positano to single handedly sustain the gelati industry, I opted for the wild strawberries. I had never seen wild strawberries before and I was intrigued to discover the difference between these and regular strawberries. The difference was that they were absolutely tiny. It took a spoonful of the strawberries to create even a mouthful, and indeed this was the best way to eat them.

For a hotel restaurant, Cova Dei Saraceni was quite good, however to say this is somewhat damning the place with faint praise.

Details: Via Regina Giovanna, 5
Damage: Reasonable
7/10