Il Ritrovo - Cucina Casalinga Popolare — Restaurant in Berlin

I have been a regular customer of this restaurant for about a decade, but I recently had an experience that makes me seriously question if I will go back because I was treated with such immense disrespect by the staff. My pizza was burned to the point that it didn't tase good because the burnt carbon flavour was that obvious. The bottom was thoroughly greyed and blackened. I couldn't eat the pizza because the burn flavor was so strong. It was just ruined. We called over the waiter, and he was so incredibly rude to me and told me that the pizza was not burnt, that this was completely normal in a stone oven and that he would take the pizza away and take it off the bill but I would NOT get another one. It wasn't just the fact that he said these things, but he did it with such an air of arrogance and rudeness that everyone at the table was flabbergasted by this mans behavior. I myself was a waitress for many years and I worked in numerous pizza restaurants, also as a pizza chef. I am always a kind customer because I can empathise with being a food service worker. As a cognisant adult, I am able to tell when something is burnt beyond the point of it being ok. This man acted as if I was just some silly floozy who is too stupid to tell if something is burned or not, and he was of course the great and knowledgeable pizza gate keeper who not only denied the experience I told him, but also punished me by being very clear that I would not be served at the restaurant. It was sad because I have been a customer for many years and I was planning to treat some of my friends to the place for weeks. I was so excited to go here and this experience was just really bad. I have a big problem with businesses who completely deny the experiences of their customers as invalid. I know that in a business some customers will complain unecessarily, but some of these businesses deny complaints completely, even when they are valid. The essential problem is that when you tell your truth, the other totally denies it because they have this mentality that the customer is essentially always wrong.

We did talk to the manager at the end because my friend was so angry with the way we were treated that she felt she had to say something. I can give him credit that he did listen to her and he gave us some limoncello, although he essentially defended their position, he just wasn't a total jerk about it and I do appreciate that he listened without being totally mean to us and interrupting. But the fact remains that at the end of the day this evening that was supposed to be a super fun treat with my friends ended up with me being served food that was too burned to eat, and and then not being allowed to have something else to eat. You know what guys? Double middle fingers up, I am OUT. That's how you burn a bridge with a loyal customer of over 10 yers: you treat them like *T. I just don't feel like putting up with that kind of behavior anymore, it is so tiresome and boring and...

I've been here many times over the last ten years but sadly out of principle I will not go here again - even though I'd got used to the often poor service (especially at peak times, from wrong order to wrong bill to rude to not helpful) I won't accept being ripped off. Last night we ordered a still bottle of water for 5EUR to share and when it arrived at the table the cap had already been broken even though the water wasn't poured for us - I didn't complain immediately but gave all 6 guests some in their glasses. Everyone agreed it tasted like tap water because of the chlorine and metallic taste we all noticed. When I asked the waiters to try it themselves they refused and accused me of trying to scam them because the bottle wasn't full anymore "You must like it if you drank it". Well I took a sample of the water home of what was left in the same bottle (I coincidently had a water test from my travels) and it turned out that the metallic ion content was too high for purified drinking water. So it could not have been bottled water and it was also bad to drink.

I'd also like to mention that the portion of risotto my friend ordered was not enough to call it a main meal even though it was charged as one - they cleverly cover a wide shallow dish so it looks like more. The same goes for the pizzas - look at the number of salami pieces or ham pieces you get on your Salami or ham pizza. They're filling you up on the bread dough of the pizza so they can justify their prices PEOPLE! You have a choice of traditional Italian restaurants in Berlin ... It's not necessary to support a scam business. Local economies change and a restaurant business has to hustle to survive but NOT by scamming their loyal guests. Shame...

Since we moved to Berlin about 18 months ago we have been dining fine pizza in Il Ritrovo many times. So far the visits followed a similar pattern of questionable service but amazing food that made us ignore the service experience and come back often. Even bringing friends and business partners.

So far the usual stay in Il Ritrovo worked out like this. On arrival you get seated with a 90 minute timeslot to eat until the table is reserved by someone else. This has always worked out well since taking the orders and delivering the food is fast and efficient. Unfortunately there was very little friendliness added to the service and we usually ended up not tipping at all. This was well rounded by honestly amazing pizza every single time.

Pizza so good that on a recent trip to Sicily we ended up comparing the many Sicilian pizzas to Il Ritrovo’s and deciding at the and of every one that the best Italian pizza we had so far was made in Berlin.

On December 26th everything changed. We had friends over from Ireland and wanted to treat them with amazing pizza in Il Ritrovo. We prepared them not to expect great or rather any service but really great food. We arrived and we were greeted more friendly than usual and my wife and I were slightly surprised. The waiter follow up on the experience and everything was great. Everyone was amazingly friendly and we ended up tipping for the first time ever in the place. After that we got an additional free Schnapps by our waiter which even surprised us more.

Since we go here often we can say it was no change of staff for sure. Same faces but completely different (better) service and still the same amazing pizza. Keep it up like this and we will come back...