Bistrot 34 — Restaurant in Civitavecchia

My wife and I are in Civitavecchia staying at the Hotel San Giorgio as we wait to board our cruise ship. This restaurant is attached to the hotel and was recommended by the staff as we checked in. So, being exhausted from traveling and wanting a quick bite followed by sleep, we went ahead and made a reservation.

As we entered the restaurant we were immediately greeted by the extremely friendly staff (all of them were great!). We were escorted to our table and provided menus. One thing to note that our waiter clued us in on is that the tap water (at least where we're staying) is not drinkable, so have to go bottled. As we perused the menu we immediately noticed how reasonable the prices were (the 5 euro cocktails really surprised us, but that's coming from Americans). We went ahead and ordered a couple drinks and quickly received a bread basket (tasty).

The menu has a lot of pages, but everything sounded good. We started off with the cutting board (meats, cheeses, breads with various spreads, jams, etc) and it was amazing, everything paired well together. We were pretty full after the appetizer, but decided to soldier on and try some pasta. She got the O'pacchero and I had the Carbonara al cubo; both dishes were awesome. The Carbonara is a trio that you eat in a specific order. As you progress thru you get different flavor profiles, neat experience!

After finishing our entrees we were on the verge of having to be rolled out of there. Another thing we learned is that the check is typically prepared for you at the bar, so you just walk up when you're done eating and pay. We sat around for a while waiting, finally flagged someone down for the check (which they brought to us) and they told us to pay at the bar.

Really like this restaurant. I'd recommend stopping in if...

Worst experience ever. I ordered a burger menu that was supposed to come with fries, but only the burger was brought out. No one warned us that they were out of fries – we were just left to figure it out ourselves when the plate arrived.

The waiter who initially took our order vanished and never came back. We ended up being served by a bartender who could barely understand or speak English, which made everything more frustrating. We also ordered dessert, but it simply never showed up.

When the bill came, they only took off a small amount, offering some odd explanation about portion sizes – it didn’t really make sense. And we still had to pay the cover charge despite the bad service and incomplete meal.

Honestly, with the number of tourists in Civitavecchia, you'd expect at least some level of customer service and basic communication. Sadly, this place offers neither. I wouldn't return or...

IT: Esperienza assolutamente deludente. Abbiamo ordinato un menù burger + patatine, chiaramente indicato a 16 euro. Tuttavia, senza alcun preavviso, ci è stato servito solo il burger, senza patatine, perché “non ne avevano più”. Nessuno si è degnato di informarci prima. Se l’avessimo saputo, avremmo scelto altro.

Il barman che ci ha portato il cibo si è limitato a dire “yes sorry no more”, senza parlare una parola d’inglese. Il nostro cameriere iniziale è sparito in pausa e non è mai tornato, lasciandoci completamente ignorati.

Avevamo ordinato anche un dolce che non è mai arrivato.

Al momento del conto, ci hanno scontato solo 3 euro dal menù completo, giustificandosi con la scusa che “la porzione di patatine nel menù è più piccola rispetto a una porzione singola”. Una presa in giro totale.

E ovviamente abbiamo anche pagato il coperto obbligatorio, per un servizio clienti scandaloso e un pasto mediocre.

Un'atteggiamento scortese, arrogante e totalmente irrispettoso nei confronti del cliente. Non lo consiglio a nessuno. Se volete solo rovinarvi la giornata, questo è il posto giusto.

Benvenuti a Civitavecchia: città turistica dove nessuno parla inglese e il cliente non viene minimamente considerato.

EN: Extremely disappointing experience. We ordered the burger + chips menu, clearly listed at 16 euros. Without any prior notice, they brought only the burger – no chips – because they had run out. Not informing us before serving is unacceptable. Had we known, we would have ordered something else.

The barman who brought the food simply said, “yes sorry no more,” and didn’t speak any English. Our original waiter just disappeared on a break and never came back, leaving us completely unattended.

We had also ordered a dessert that never arrived.

When we paid, they only deducted 3 euros from the menu price, claiming the chips included in the menu were a smaller portion than a regular side – a weak excuse.

And of course, we still had to pay the coperto (cover charge) for what was honestly terrible service and underwhelming food.

Hostile, rude, and arrogant attitude towards paying customers. I would not recommend this place to anyone – unless you're looking to waste your money and leave angry.

Welcome to Civitavecchia – a “tourist” city where no one speaks English and customer...