Bar Caffe’ Porta Reale

This bar is named after the Porta Reale, or the Royal Archway, to the small city of Noto. Noto, in southeastern Sicily, is the cradle of Sicilian Baroque architecture and, accordingly, is a UNESCO recognized site.
This bar has a captive audience. It is prominent as one approaches the city along Corso Vittorio Emanuele, after finding parking for the car, walking past the municipal gardens, and walking into the historical center. It is on the left and stands out before the big archway, as opposed to looking like just another business establishment.
I could give the food, which could be snacks, drinks, coffee, and even a light lunch, about 3.5 stars. I had an arancino and a soft drink, and was still hungry. The arancino was good, but it was not a Savia arancino.
For service, it’s somewhere between 0 and 1 stars. At the first go through the cash register, the typical Sicilian indifference is on display. After finishing, I was going to get some gelato. The guy behind the case got really testy and barked out a price, repeating it several times. He was not a curmudgeon, but a younger guy. In Italian, the word would be «sgarbato,» or rude. This place has plenty of gelato, but so do many other places in Noto. So I got my gelato somewhere else. Do the same, avoid this place, and head for popular Caffe’ Sicilia. I got my gelato in yet another unknown place, and the guy there and I agreed that Porta Reale had tossed out «un prezzo Veneziano,» or «a Venetian price.»
Noto, if in eastern Sicily, is really interesting and worth visiting. Bar Caffe’ Porta Reale cranks out edible items, but the service is bottom of the barrel.