Italo - FORMIA

Let’s start with a remark: this is not a joint where you grab a bite. This is a very serious restaurant. The waiters arewearing tuxedo’s and the ambiance is chique. But that doesn’t mean you have to be dressed like that (although you might feel uncomfortable , a guy in a cycle outfit was dining there and was perfectly served. We were casual (polo, shorts, women casual dresses . So this is an Italian restaurant, so no English menu’s. The waiter saw us struggling with the menu and politely suggested to help. Very friendly and correct. We started with a drink: Prosecco. Them we ordered a first: a seafood pasta and our daughter prawns with rocket and parmesan. As a main course we all took Veal massala with roasted patatoes and grilled vegetables. I dislike clams, but this was the first time I had to admit I liked them. The seafood pasta was finger licking. The main course was delicious. The veal very tasteful and the size of the portion just right (classy restaurant sometimes serve very small portions . The grilled vegetables were all eaten, soooooo good. We ordered the most expensive Rosé wine (to dutch standards quite cheap, price lower than the cheapest wine in any restaurant , that turned out to be another good choice. As dessert we took a selection of the tray that was rolled by. Like I said, this is not a tourist place. But we certainly would go there again, if given the chance. The food is very, very good and the service too

Fabulous food, excellent relaxed atmosphere, doesn't look like much from the outside, but a fantastic little Italian plus restaurant. Even the nachos and quesadillas are great!

We wanted an upmarket dinner and chose Italo because it looked good and was walking distance from our hotel. Midweek and late in the season (end of September), we were the only customers a lot of places we visited were in a similar position. The service was excellent the fish of the day were brought to the table and they were bright eyed and shiny. We chose a sea bass to be baked in salt which took about 25 minutes to cook. Before that we had a seafood risotto (a bit salty) some smoked salmon (very good indeed) and a prawn cocktail which was also good. The salt baked bass arrived, it was served at the table, cooked to perfection and expertly filleted. And totally delicious. We stayed for deserts which were nice but not quite a wow. For me, because it is quite an expensive restaurant, I’ve graded it quite harshly because of the salty risotto and the average deserts. But their main course fish was outstanding and the service was lovely.

Altough the location of the restaurant is a bit unromantic, it is worth a visit. We selected the restaurant because of the mention in the Michelin Guide which is mostly adequate. The restaurant offers a private car park, which is an advantage in the area. Food is good traditional italian, mainly focused on (very fresh) fish. Excellent wine list, trolley with desserts (if you like that) and trolley with spirits (grappa, cognac, whisky). The restaurant itself is very big, you will not easily find it fully booked. This makes the atmosphere a bit distant. Service was nevertheless excellent, with nice chatting on food.

Certainly one of the better restaurants in Formia. If you want to dine in style, this is where you should go. Lovely dishes, good wine and great service ‘butler’ style. We were treated like VIP’s.