"Sasima is a local agriturismo near Costa Smeralda in Sardinia. Located in a renovated old farmhouse, this restaurant has famously served local delights in a beautiful setting for more than 20 years. The restaurant changed hands two years ago. And today, it has become a sad version of its prior glory. Today, it would appear the owners are attempting to elevate the local food and service to that found in a Michelin star sort of restaurant. Gone are the days of a 1L house wine caraffe on the table prior to a guests arrival. Now, guests are presented with a wine list that offers selections well in to the hundreds of dollars. On June 24, four friends and I went to this restaurant as we’ve done for at least once a year for the past 20 years. This year was different. A new bar awaited us at the entry, as did a glass of Rose. A nice touch. However, no food was offered. And, In Italy, that’s bad taste. We asked for some food, and Received some stale bread. After our glass of wine, we were showed to our table. We were greeted promptly and our order taken. We chose the least expensive local wine 30€ for a bottle. Dinner is standard fare at an agriturismo so only allergies were discussed. The bottle of wine arrived within a minute, however it was warm perhaps as much as 20C. I asked for a different, colder bottle, but, I was given ice for the glass of wine to cool it down! Who drinks ice with wine? And in an elevated restaurant???Unfortunately, since they didn’t give us a new bottle, we largely stuck to water… oh well. As for the food, the Zuppa gallurese was amazing. And the desert was good. But the star is supposed to be the suckling pig and sausage both were a total disaster. Both items tasted like it been cooked a week ago. Overcooked, chewy, and bland. In fact, both were being sent back by seemingly every table. And that leads me to my final observation. The restaurant was running at just 1/4 of its usual capacity. And it wasn’t because of covid, or because it was mid week other local restaurants were full. I guess the new owners of this restaurant wanted to do something different: Raise the prices, change the service, and elevate the food. In other words, food for a different clientele. One that values high prices, bad food, and poor service. For that, they succeeded. When I contacted the restaurant afterwards (the manager wasn’t initially available), I was told “I’m sorry for your little inconvenience. We hope to do better next time.” While there certainly will be a next time, for me, it won’t be at Sasima. And, unless something drastic changes, I don’t expect this restaurant to survive much longer. Ps: Anyone know a good agriturismo in Costa Smeralda?"
Verdure Al Vapore
