Roberto — Restaurant in Bologna

Wow. This place was bad.

I came with my family of 4 for a dinner (we hadn’t looked up places too eat)

Immediately we were sat in the most uncomfortable seating area possible but we dismissed this as this is minor.

Then some big head waiter Came to serve us with his snobby attitude . again, not so great.

Eventually we ordered our expensive food , and what came was an average, quite cold tiny amount of ragu pasta for all of us and a squid appetiser. After this average course , we felt like we wanted desert (as this dwarfs portion wasn't enough). Our selection of desert was some of the worst pudding i have ever had the misfortune of tasting. One fruit desert thing was a stale digestive biscuit type “tart” with custard which had the taste of a liquid anti biotic and there was some weird selection of unripe fruit .it could have been made by a dog (it might have been). the other a sickly crembule, too sweet snd liquid, the pannacotta was nice luckily.

During this entire meal there was a horrible mismatch in ambience because of the jazz music blasting in a busy city centre which seemed like some cruel oxymoron, and to make things worse, the yelling of homeless men, beggers and sellers approaching your table and street performers.Needless to say the ambience was poor and was giving headaches at times.

To our horror this sub standard waste of a night came to an end with a bombing this city hasn’t seen since 1944!.

The150€ bill!

This bill included a 6€ Pricing for 250ml coca colas!!!!! which were not even priced on the menu, there was the expensive “house” wine which was poor in quality , and a 15 Euro hidden service charge for guess what …not so great service. The just average pasta was priced at 14€ each and our appetiser was pricey too.

After, It was not a shock to see that this place has similar bad reviews as it is a disaster.

And to the owner “Roberto” who will undoubtedly read this stinker of a review...

Very disappointed. Looked at the menu and went inside and sat down but then told they were out of lobster and that was why we went in there. The first waiter was very arrogant and provided a recommendation for a seafood ravioli special was was OK at best. The shrimp were like so small there was very little meat. My wife asked if they could substitute an Alfredo type sauce for the red sauce for the tortellini dish she wanted and he told her the Chef is very defensive about his dishes and did not like substitutions but would do his best to make a change but then said she should try another dish so he would not have to anger the Chef with any change. Her dish was quite dry and not very good. We asked for some bread and were brought some bread but no oil and our server was rarely seen after that near our table. The second waitress who brought our food was Ok but then we were passed off to another waitress with not even an introduction to who she was. We were hoping desert would be better but after 15 minutes my wife went to ask about the deserts and were told they were coming. After at least 5 more minutes I went up to the waitress and asked her about the deserts and she said I should go upstairs and talk to the Chef ??? At this point I said I want my check and paid the ransom. As a past owner of multiple restaurants I feel a need to warn others about this place so they will not make the same mistake I did.when I went in there. Stay away...

The restaurant manager was not the slightest bit interested in my eating experience, immediately claiming that all other diners found their meals perfectly satisfactory. She threatened me with the police, and made the call, when I rejected her €5 discount and called on the restaurant owner when I rejected a €10 discount . The owner immediately responded with a comment that his wife found the food excellent. A large discount was negotiated. The problems started with the starter. A classic potato with bolognese ragu. This tray bake turned up slightly warmed and very bland. Food you might expect at school. Then the recommended riserva wine was not delivered. Upon urgent request the wine was delivered. It was overpriced so I called for a montepulciano, which turned out to be pleasant, and €10 cheaper. However. The management failed to revise the bill. Next came my partner's salmon on a bed of black rice. I tasted it. Again, lukewarm and bland. The management completely blanked my request for consideration, running out a stock line on quality. I discovered this story to be far from unique. Do not spend a euro at Roberto's! It is set up to deliver poor quality to tourists who will never return. Luckily there are enough unaware...