Officina del Gusto in Olbia

Dinner on Friday 14 October 2022We had read great reviews of this restaurant so we made reservations without a second thought.I felt uncomfortable as soon as I entered, not because of anything the restaurant had done wrong but because it looked so sophisticated that I felt totally out of place.First of all, I checked out the wine list.No house wines, only bottles ranging from €25 (Im too embarrassed to order the cheapest bottle of wineup to €250 (What? You have got to be kidding me! Were these bottles jam-packed full of solid gold flakes?)Anyway, the food turned out to be spectacularly good, but sometimes rather expensive and, in one instance, served as a rather small portion.We ordered one large bottle of water at €3, only a mere two glasses of excellent red wine (sob, sob, were functioning alcoholics and dont know how to get home soberat €6 each, one starter of Verdure Griglia (grilled vegetables,5/5 for quality and 5/5 for valueat €7, one starter of Tortino di Melanzane (aubergine flan, 5/5 for quality and 4/5 for valueat €13, one main of Zuppa Legumi (vegetable soup, 5/5 for quality and 3/5 for value as it only just covered the bottom of the bowl!at €15, one main of Salmone Scottato (lightly grilled salmon, 5/5 for quality and 4/5 for valueat €19 and two coffees at €2 each.The food was truly wonderful but I dont want to remortgage the house for the second cheapest bottle of wine on the menu!We walked home sober but (incrediblydidnt lose our way once.However, I walked home hungry and we both walked home sober.Conclusion ...This is the perfect restaurant for you if(1you have money to burn and/or(2youre not very hungry and/or(3you dont drink alcohol.

Utterly poor.I chose this restaurant for my partners birthday based off the positive reviews, but I think I should have paid more attention to the negative ones. Wrong dishes brought out only to be replaced with more wrong dishes. No check backs, a general feeling that you are below those serving you and not even asked if we enjoyed the wrong meal! Top it off with the fact that everyone else around you is getting great service and paying the same prices. I would sooner be turned away at the door than waste my money.It’s a real shame when a supposedly higher end restaurant lives up to the snobby stereotype. I work in hospitality and rule one of any restaurant should always be fair and consistent service. There are Michelin guide signs up everywhere you look, but I’m afraid those days are long gone. Good luck!

Very poor service for inflated prices. Please do not go to this restaurant. Actually if you want poor service and pay through the nose for it then please go there!!!Not a good advert for Sardinia.

We visited this restaurant and we were very satisfied and impressed❤️The food is very tasty, the service is also excellent. Thank you for the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful view of the fountain during dinner❤️

Everything was delicious, staff is very friendly

Truly delicious food, great value for money and impeccable service.We visited other restaurants in the North East (from Porto Cervo to Porto Rotondo), nothing compares to this.Outstanding!The staff is really impressive: they’re friendly, elegant, knowledgeable. Honestly the best experience by far.I’d definitely recommend to anyone visiting Olbia

Lovely setting across the square, authentic menu. Top tier food but watch out no beer (if that’s your thing!)

A really lovely meal! My son has a series of allergies and they were fantastic enough to deal with them. The pastas were really delicious as were the fish and meat dishes. Also, a delicious local Sardinian wine. Overall a wonderful dining experience in the square. Highly recommend if you can get a reservation.

Extremely nice & helpful stuff!!! About the food… it was awesome, very tasty and exquisite dishes, in the most beautiful square under an olive, with a cute view of an antique carousel. We didn’t like the city that much, but for this restaurant we would definitely come back.

Really nice place and the experience is a bit more on the "posh" side, but the food was just okay.

Excellent service and one of the BEST dining experiences of the entire trip. Make a reservation or show up early to eat. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes are equally delicious!

The service was good, but I found the food a bit underwhelming. I would have liked to find more vegetarian/vegan options.

Location and ambiance is great. Food is very average. Wild boar stew with polenta was under par, the seabass was blend and the garnish (boiled vegetableswere tasteless.

Best local Sardinian restaurant. Taste and history combined plus excellent service..you need to book in advance to get a table for dinner..

Definitely worth a visit whilst in olbia, food was fabulous 😊

Superb food - a particular highlight was the aubergine starter. Welcoming, efficient and generally top-tier service and the environment is perfect - beautiful restaurant all round

Lovely dinner with great service! The pasta dishes were fantastic!

The must GO place in Olbia. Service was excellent, food delicious, we tasted local Sardegnian wines by recomendation by really kind waiter. Youmust try tuna tartar! And all this for fair price. We’ll come back!

Excellent food, kind service.

Service very good, food: we say if something is salty, then the cook is in love. In my case he might be living in divorce, it was all tasteless like a diabetic eating. Too bad about the nice atmosphere and the food. Price-quality ratio not ok for me

Booking in this restaurant is a challenge. I called them and they kept asking me to call the next day. Luckily and finally, I got a reservation. When I got to the restaurant, my reservation did not appear anywhere. No apology, either solution was offered. So, I would say, if you do not want surprises, go for another restaurant, there are plenty good options around.

Nice food, tasty, but stressed waiters.

We had the fregola with seafood. A delicious stew and one of the 10 recommended dishes in Sardegna!

I had dinner at Officina del Gusto twice and both were great

Great service and nice seafood.

Amazing food on a beautiful spot and great service by very sweet people

Everything was super delicious!

An address to keep if you are looking for a dinner in Olbia. The prices are correct and the food is very good too. I recommend your thé octopus as a starter and the fregola with seafood.

Perfect experience, delicious food. The fregola (must order min 2is fantastic! Highly recommend.

Nice location in the middle of the town. Good food, a bit expensive compared to other restaurants next to it.

This place is located in a small square, and the restaurant put some tables in it. So the atmosphere is very nice, but plate at night you might need a jacket or pullover. The starters tastes better than the main courses, in my opinion.

Good food and excellent service, ordered dish not from menu was amazingly prepared. Table reservations required

The location was great, indeed. But that was all. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend this restaurant due to the terrible service and looooong waiting to order, get served, get the check and even get the change! The food was only average. For these reasons, it was way too expensive and not worth a visit.

Service terrible, staff was rude and arrogant, food was Okey but not worth the price.

Nice location..but overpriced, tiny portions and staff is very unpleasant and arrogant

It’s good food, but I can’t help but feel like the main courses we had were a bit bland for that price point (salmon and the “Filleto di pesce cotto a pelle con cipolla di Tropea, pinoli, uvetta sultanina su crema di patate”. Especially this last one, it has so many delicious sounding separate ingredients, but put together, the dish somehow managed to be incredibly bland).Location is excellent and there is an outside terrace. Service was speedy and polite.

Just DELICIOUS: the one place to go in Olbia - true Italian food with a sophisticated touch! Bravo and thank you!

Everything was delicious! This place is deserving of a Michelin Star. The price is actually really reasonable, too. There were fresh mushrooms when we visited and they were the most delicious Ive ever had. This place fills up quick so we actually got turned away the first time. Would definitely recommend getting a reservation. They open at 7 but we were able to call at 6:30 for a reservation at 7.

Great restaurant in olbia. Great food, nice outdoors. A bit more upscale. In the summer it needs reservations unless you are lucky.

We have been on better places where 5 stars is given. What we found here was a busy place Saturday night. She managed to give us a table if we finished within an hour. The rosé she recommended was very good. Local. Nice flat bread to start. We enjoyed our hour. Nice to sit outside on the piazza. No parking. Wheelchair friendly.

Early in the afternoon in mid of May we did not expect too much. We have been the second customers there.We ordered something that we thought could taste good.And then we were surprised how excellent they are cooking there!Its not a big restaurant but the food there is really amazing and of high quality.As we never drink alcohol we also did not order wine - maybe for wine enthusiasts they probably have some good stuff.In fact it was so good that during our 4 days visit of Olbia we were passing by 3 times.But of course its not cheap there but for the quality its really ok.

Very, very basic food. Small portions. Extremely slow service

Excellent food for a reasonable price. Nice to, at last, taste Italian food with a twist

An absolutely awful experience. Horrible food and outrageously expensive for “frozen foods” calamari and fries both frozen and no tartar sauce. Grilled vegetables were catastrophic for a restaurant that proclaims to be of high standards. Veg not even worth eating, just left them after the first taste.Avoid of any presentation, and all that for a ridiculous price of 35£!!!!! Scandalous.

Food here is amazing. Flavours and presentation are great. I had the beetroot soufflé and ricotta, pear and walnut ravioli for anti pasti. Then fish for main. The staff were happy to recommend dishes as well as wine. Service was very friendly, a little slow at times but they were extremely busy. I would definitely visit again :)

If you have a lot of money to spend you are welcomed in this restaurant! Me and my girlfriend had to wait 30 min because some free places were reserved for longer time. Further 15 min left to give our order. The main waiter took the order and just rolled his eyes when we decided NOT to drink a wine to tagliatelle. After eating the food, which was by the way not bad, we ordered for the bill. We didnt have small money for tip so we left 50 Euros to get some change back for the tip. At the end the main waiter brought us 14 euros in COINS with the excuse that they have no Euro-bills left!!! No asking about the food, no good bye, nothing. Sorry but this behaviour is unacceptable for a high class restaurant. It should not matter how much money you spend but we left the restaurant with the feeling that we were not welcomed! 1 star is for the food, one for the fancy presenting of the restaurant.

This is the best restaurant in olbia.The food is out of this world, service is good and the outside serving is very nice and cosy. Dont miss this sardenian pearl.

Perfect service, delicious food! Among other dishes we shared the mixed seafood appetizer and had the fish-of-the-day in saltcrust with a local whitewine from a vineyard just outside of Olbia.We spent nearly three hours enjoying the friendly atmosphere and the great food.Absolute recommendation, would absolutely come again.

Good food at a good price. portions perfect. strongly recommend the best restaurant in Olbia and take a desert:)

The best restaurant in Olbia with fresh food and awesome staff!!! Just love it!