Occasion: Saturday Afternoon Aperitivo/Aperitif
Initial Impressions: I was introduced to Maio by my sweet sales associate Ke Li at Chloe in Rinascente. I liked the ambience very much and decided to come back with Paolo for an aperitivo after we were left very hungry from an event that promised lunch. We did not make any reservation but arrived sometime around 4pm. The hostess did not really make sense to Paolo (they spoke italian) but we were seated and the waiters were very nice and allowed us to move tables because it was a bit too sunny where we originally were seated. The glass is kept so clean at the entrance that 2/3 times I have been here someone has walked into the glass. It was about 1/4 full when we arrived and completely full when we left. It’s a decently sized restaurant. I would say that it is very accessible to dine here for handicapped people and those with wheelchairs. In my opinion it is maybe the most accessible that mirrors American accessibility standard, with not only many elevators throughout the building, but spacious ones to fit several people along with the wheelchair user. Also they real estate is generous so one can shop with relative ease. They do accept reservations. During the wintertime, there are heaters.
Once Seated: The ambience here is beautiful. I would say this is a very very good place to go if you are on a short stay in Rome, but want a more relaxed feeling of the city. The view from the sixth floor is very nice and I enjoyed that it was half covered but also allowed the sunlight to naturally progress as sunset approached. The seventh floor is also nice during sunset, but they do not accept reservations for the rooftop and many influencers are usually in line. If there is no line, I say it is worth it to sit there, but if there is not you are not missing much. It’s a trendy place, you can dress up for it if you want but I would say it’s fine to wear more of your cool daytime out clothes or summery aesthetic. The lighting was natural sunlight! Bring sunglasses. The menu is scanned from your phone available in both English and Italian. However, I think they have physical menus available upon request. The restroom is inside and there are signs.
The Food:The food wasn’t bad. You are more coming to this place for the relaxed ambience. It was pretty quiet and peaceful when we arrived. It did get a bit more loud when there was more people, but not overbearing. We ordered hot tea, two mocktails (I think they were called summer vibes and the mint mojito), caesar sandwich, and toast all’italiana. Complimentary chips and olives are provided!
4/5 Hot Tea: Paolo ordered this. It wasn’t bad. I liked the touch of cookie on the side. The waiter also brought out the tea chest for Paolo to choose. I just took a star off because the cup was literally gigantic lol. A slice of lemon or something would’ve been nice too. Not a bad option to order for if someone in your party wants tea, I’m just being nit-picky.
5/5 Summer Vibes: I don’t know if it’s actually called this but I’m going to call ti this because I cant find the drink menu online. This was so refreshing and good. I wanted to order it again, but I wanted to try other things for this post. It was like a mix of strawberry and pineapple juice. Whatever it was, it was so perfect with the weather and the view. I also liked the touch of flower.
4/5 Mint Mojito: I liked this one too. I would order it again depending on my mood, but I suggest if you are only going to have one to order the Summer Vibes mocktail. I gave 4 stars instead of 5 because if you can see the photo the glass was not filled all the way. Bruh. I did take way longer to drink this compared to the first drink though lol. Mostly because I was more sipping at it and letting the ice melt. With the other drink it was both so refreshing and I was kinda thirsty I drank it pretty fast.
4/5 Caesar Sandwich and Toast All’Italiana: I got nothing bad to say about this combo lol. I don’t have a photo of the Toast because we forgot lol. After not eating at the event for three hours, we ate all that up. I liked the chips and dipped with the avocado on my dish. I think Paolo got chips and more olives. They added a touch of lemon which was very nice and kept the avocado from browning. The bread was soft and the chicken caesar salad filling was good. they were generous both on the chicken ratio as well as the portion in the actual sandwich. I will say there was a hair in Paolo’s Toast, so I took a star off. They immediately rectified the situation and went ahead and took the dish back to have it remade it and the dish came back with a few more toast sandwiches. I liked it, if you guys don’t know what spec is, just think of like a prosciutto/ham and mild white cheese toast. Super good and it would’ve been 5 stars if not for this mistake.
Service: Service was very good. The servers were kind. I would say the servers are kinder than the hostesses. Perhaps this should be kept in mind and hostesses should be retrained. They were not explicitly rude, but they were not exactly showing other customers that they were happy or given a warm welcome. I think we left like an hour and a half or two hours later and they were still very kind when we ordered the second round (my mint mojito and Paolo’s small bottle of water). We never felt rushed.
Payment: The bill total was about 54 euros. I was paid for, but they do accept American Express, I just don’t know if they accept Apple Pay Amex. Overall I would say for the spectacular view, ambience, and food and drinks, and service Maio is a great option. Things can be improved to make it a 5 star establishment, but I would say that the price and quality is just about justified and you get a value for your money although it is slightly premium (for most dishes, some I would absolutely say don’t order that).
Other Things:
5/5 Cappuccino Freddo: So I was comped this my first visit by my sales associate and it was good. I liked the cookie and the coffee was not burnt or sour. I would say it was well made and I only put about 1/4 of the brown sugar packet when I typically put 1/2 of the packet. However I would warn you all that this cold cappuccino costs 9 euros. Therefore, this is not something I would recommend ordering unless you are “we ball” mode. There are cheaper cappuccinos all over the city, use this opportunity and order from the bar or something because cocktail bars are not so common in Rome.
Nicole in Rome 