Trattoria Pomo D'Oro — Restaurant in Budapest

Review - An evening with highs and lows

First of all: this restaurant delivers culinary delights at a high level. The kitchen understands its craft and impresses with authentic dishes and clean cooking. But the service - and I say this with regret - was below all expectations and massively spoiled the overall impression.

The food - convincing craftsmanship

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the food. There were six of us and we ordered various dishes, including pizzas and lasagna. Everything was very tasty, freshly prepared and served with high-quality ingredients. The pizzas were baked to perfection, the dough was pleasantly thin with a crispy edge. The lasagne impressed with a harmonious balance of sauce, meat and pasta - just as you would expect in an upscale Italian restaurant. There is really nothing but praise here. The kitchen works with precision and tangible passion - a big compliment to the team behind the scenes.

The service - a real nuisance

Unfortunately, the praise ended with the service. Although we had made a reservation for 6pm and arrived on time, we had to wait over 20 minutes for our first drinks order despite being clearly ready. We were seated in the slightly elevated middle section of the restaurant, where there was apparently only one service person responsible for at least seven tables that evening. Despite repeated eye contact and an obvious willingness to order, we had to speak to two different people before one of them - with the explicit permission of the waitress in charge - finally took our order.

However, this was just the beginning of a series of shortcomings: After we were asked at the beginning if we would like to see the wine list and we said yes with the request to come back to it later - nothing happened. There was no request for the wine, apparently simply forgotten. Then bread with oil arrived, but for six people, just one plate and five slices of bread were served - a detail that simply should not happen, especially not in a restaurant in this price range.

The waiting time for the food was also particularly annoying: It took around 45 minutes after ordering. This would have been acceptable if the dishes had at least been served at the same time. But while the lasagne was already at the table, it took another ten minutes for the pizzas to arrive - an uncoordinated approach that simply shouldn't happen in a restaurant with high standards.

However, the low point of the evening was reached when the first plates were cleared while other guests in our group were still eating. One of the service staff even leaned over a person who was still eating to clear a plate - an affront to hospitality and respect.

The restaurant was recommended to me by a colleague who is very knowledgeable about local cuisine, and yes, the food deserves the recommendation. But the service - especially that evening with larger groups - was simply a disaster. Perhaps this service works better with tables of two or with guests in evening dress - but that should not be the benchmark. Every guest who comes to enjoy and pay deserves the same attention and appreciation.

Conclusion: excellent cuisine, but service that ruined the whole experience. And unfortunately, it is the service that sticks with the guest. Despite our praise for the kitchen, this was our last visit for...

Dear Restaurant and opinion Readers, First of all, I would like to point out that we have celebrated every event here with family and friends, and it is no coincidence that it has been more than 5 years. Most of the dishes are sensational, just like the service. However, I think the most recent service and reception cannot be left without a word in a restaurant of this level. We reserved the table for 4 people 3 months before. When we arrived, they searched for our name for 15 minutes and said that they could provide us with a maximum of one and a half hours. We said it was fine. (what other choice would we have?!) Although it is interesting, if we booked our table so long in advance, why can't we stay for 2 hours. It doesn't matter. The lady at the door welcomed us in a jogger, which we have not experienced before. Let's put it aside, maybe the dress code has changed. We ordered a bottle of wine and water and then the main dishes. The waiter didn't even ask if we wanted this side dish for the main course, we also didn't get a steak knife, we had to refill the wine ourselves, so the bottle was placed on another table, we didn't get a spoon/fork for the dessert, so it was from another waiter you had to ask whoever was there, because our waiter had no idea where he was. (Once he didn't ask if we were satisfied with the food.) At the end, he came over to fill the wine and jokingly commented that he could fill that little, we said yes, we had already filled the rest... Another waiter came over and we told him that this service was a disappointment for us and obviously we are not leaving with a good experience after this. The waiter couldn't help apologizing and gave us a 10% discount, hoping to compensate for our disappointment. When we left, all you could hear was one of the doormen saying "calm, calm" to the lady who welcomed us. I ask: is this normal behavior in such a place?! If I tell you that the service is bad, do I have to appease the person who couldn't even take our reservation normally?! It's sad that the staff has changed so much in the wrong direction! We will not be celebrating our next event here.The food is still 10/10 and the service depends on what kind of waiter and doorman you get. It...

Last time we went here it was one of the best meals we had ever had. This time however, extremely disappointed doesn’t quite cut it. The staff were unwelcoming to start with and did not greet us but rather tried to find a spare table despite us having a reservation. We asked for some garlic and chilli oil to enjoy with our starter and bread only to discover half way through there was a large dead insect in the bottom of the oil. We complained and immediately the manager apologised and tried to remedy the situation by ensuring new sauces etc were brought to the table. He finished off this sentence with ‘this is not good…but sometimes it does happen’. Sorry but that is not an acceptable standard for a restaurant famed for being in the top 70 Italian restaurants in the world with a pizzeria. We were offered free drinks by way as an apology while we deliberated whether we would stay or not, we declined the drinks as we are not big drinkers. We then asked for a considerable discount off the food in order for us to stay which the manager agreed (no percentages were agreed, big mistake). Bearing in mind this had happened, you would think our order would be prioritised etc, one of our meals that arrived was completely incorrect and we then had to wait for a new one to be delivered to the table. Then at the end of the meal when it came to paying the manager advised us the card machine had stopped working at 6pm (we arrived at 9pm), we should have been made aware of this before seating us at our table. I then had to go to a cash machine to draw money out to pay the bill. A small 20% discount was applied to the bill which in my opinion is not a satisfactory amount, especially when we only had pizzas, bread, coke and a small glass of wine, but I did not contest this. But I declined to pay the 15% service charge as the service was poor. The manager tried to argue with me to say the service was not bad to which I replied ‘but it certainly was not good’. We did not pay the service charge because of our beyond disappointing meal. I would not be returning here in a hurry unless new management were in place. So disappointing as the visit before this was one of the best meals in Budapest.

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