Occasion: A Sunday evening dinner
Initial Impressions: This restaurant is on the Michelin guide, so we went to try it out. The restaurant is pretty big. It was about 1/2 full when we arrived and 3/4 full when we left. It was easy to maneuver around, because there was a lot of real estate and space in the restaurant. I did not see outdoor seating (its winter), but I was very happy I didn’t have to sit near the doors as it was a bit cold. This restaurant is wheelchair and handicap friendly. We made a reservation which was acknowledged by the hostess and honored, although there was no reserved marker.
Once Seated: The main part of the dining room was decorated nicely. I enjoyed the ambience. This is very reminiscent of an American restaurant, complete with a bar. The lighting was a warm dim and I didn’t feel I was eating in the dark. There was a restroom, however I did not use it. Our order was taken in a timely manner. The menu was in Italian and English. There were enough items on the menu. The wine list was standard. However, they had a cocktail list, which further reminded me of an upscale American restaurant. Honestly I felt like I was on Knox street in Dallas.
The Food: The food was mixed. It started off very well. I was very pleased with the first two courses. The final two…left more to be desired. We ordered crocchetta di bollito con salsa verde (beef crocchettes with a green sauce), gricia; fettuccine con regu d’anatra, fichi Specchi e crumble Arancio e rosmarino; tagliatelle di manzo, oil al rosmarino e sale al vino Rosso; and to finish Pera al cesanese, cioccolato Bianco e cornflakes fondente.
5/5 Crocchetta di bollito con salsa verde: My gosh these were so good! I wasn’t so happy at first when I saw that this was 10 euro and only two small ones. However, it is a must try. They were very good. Perfectly fried, not oily. The beef filling reminded me of shredded short rib and was flavorful and juicy.
4/5 Grigio & Fettuccine con regu d’anatra, fichi Specchi e crumble Arancio e rosmarino: The Grigio was alright. It was salty, but not very bad. I liked the bacon bits they put on top. However the plating was weird. They served it to me in a pan. This did not match any of the plating for the rest of the night. The pasta was a al dente but not bad. It could have been served at a warmer temperature. As for the Fettuccine, I’m not a big fan of fig or duck. However, this pasta was really good. Not on the level of Sora Lella, but meh fine. The only critique that we had was that the pasta was not cooked enough. So the docking of one star for both pastas. Al dente is good, undercooked is not good and food temperature was subpar.
2/5 Tagliatelle di manzo, oil al rosmarino e sale al vino Rosso: We asked for this to be cooked medium. It was cooked medium rare. So, they don’t know how to make a steak or they don’t know that medium does not mean medium rare. Either way this is cardinal and a restaurant on the Michelin guide doing this makes me question the integrity of the Michelin guide. Also, despite being cooked to medium rare, the steak was tough. It was also 30 euro. So no I was not happy to be served a 30 euro steak that tasted like they bought it from the cut price section of a Walmart. Salad was just the leaves didn’t taste any of the rosemary oil or red wine. I did taste salt. So basically they failed a plain steak lol. Even if you used a cheaper cut at least cook it and season it correctly please. It was bleeding everywhere while trying to cut it.
2/5 Pera al cesanese, cioccolato Bianco e cornflakes fondente: This was literally a 10 euro pear. They soaked it in like a wine and added a lot of cinnamon. I don’t really have words. the white chocolate had the dreaded soap taste. also I didn’t appreciate the plating. You can see the pear bled a bit onto the sauce and eating it was a mess. It wasn’t uneditable (hence the 2/5 rating) but also if you’re going to sell me a ten euro pear for dessert, everything better be perfect, but it wasn’t. Actually this dessert and the service confirmed that I would need to see some major changes before thinking about coming back.
Service: Not atrocious, but borderline. When serving the pasta for example, the woman rudely announced the dishes and when we said “for me/for him/for her” she stared at us blankly and we repeated it. Same with the steak. A fork was in the way (another server placed the fresh silverware on the table for us) and the server came out and rudely gestured with his chin for us to move it. We are not dogs, but certainly by the service they treated us as such. When another server came to ask if everything was “bene” after the steak, I straight up, “So. So.” Flatly. He was a bit more alert when we said this compared to his colleagues but it was too late. The timing of the orders was also too long. The antipasti and dolci was fine but between the antipasti and pasta and then the pasta and the steak. It was not consistent. Honestly for a restaurant that attempts to be upscale, things like knowing how to greet the table, knowing who ordered what so you don’t have to ask the customer, and checking in if not after the antipasti then after the pasta should be basic. Don’t ask me if everything is going well after I finished the last course.
Payment: The bill total was 124 euros. However, there was a random discount to 120 euros. The hostess came to our table and placed a black tarnished looking gift box box on the table. I was confused. Then opened it. They put the bill in this little rectangular box and expected me to know. It was not cute. it was not trendy. Just put the bill into a normal check presenter. If they were a serious restaurant, they would present the bill in a leather check holder. I wasn’t playing around by then. I checked the charges. They took the liberty to charge us twice for bread. We did not ask for the second bread basket (that was cheaply made out of paper by the way). Actually we didn’t even order the first bread basket. It just appeared. Ok fine. You discounted me 4 euro that was the cost of the second bread basket basically. I was fine paying 10 euro for the croquettes and however much for the pasta, but you lost me at 60 euro for two terrible steaks, and 10 euro for the singular wine soaked cinnamon pear too. For these prices in Rome there are too many mistakes. Sorry Michelin guide, I don’t want to trust any of your other recommendations. Maybe I’ll come back for a 20 euro cocktail and the croquettes. I rated this place three stars because it is worth a visit if you want to have a drink, antipasti, and pasta. However, I would skip on the secondi and dolci. Perhaps you can check my desserts page (once it’s more established) and try there instead. If you are looking for the full experience for pasta and steak, Piccolo Arrancio. If just pasta: Sora Lella. Happy dining! Oh! P.S. Check Paolo’s version for a second opinion (you can use the translation function to the language of your choice on apple products, but I allowed it for all devices).
Nicole in Rome 