Al Pompiere Roma — Restaurant in Rome

Al Pompieri? Il Pomposo! Authentic Roman fodder, all hype, no class. Unbelievably bad experience that soured our taste of Rome after many visits. Rude staff and average to inedible food. Il Pompieri was recommended by one of our favourite stores in Rome. We are foodies and have sampled amazing cuisine across Italy from agriturismo to Michelin and including authentic Roman dishes. we arrived excited. At first the waiter was attentive and we ordered our courses: I ordered a Fiore Di zucca Ripieno antipasto (pleasant but nothing special and the batter was quite dry) whilst my husband and daughter both chose a prima piatti of ‘Tagliatelle con Carciofi. ‘. The sauce was uneventful but the pasta was made/cooked to perfection as one would expect as a basic. Our secondi piatti were Parmigiana di Melanzane (again, pleasant but nothing special) and two dishes of the Braciolette di Abbachio al Forno con Carciofi, supposedly lamb chops with artichokes, (see pic of the latter dish). We started to plough through this unattractive pile of mutton, searching for actual meat amongst the gristle and fat. Any meat that could be found was fairly tasteless and I stopped even trying fairly quickly. My husband kept going for longer, hungry and determined to make our evening a success... but he too gave up far earlier than he would have liked. When the waiter (who I’ve noted mentioned in other negative reviews) took our plates, I politely mentioned that I couldn’t eat mine, gesturing uncomfortably that it wasn’t good. He dismissively gestured around the room saying that it was their best dish, as though ‘well everyone else is eating it’. I was shocked at his response. After waiting far too long for a better response from a manager perhaps, my husband specifically asked at the desk for my meal to be removed from the bill. After yet another long wait, an unfathomably arrogant front of house woman came and asked where we were from. When I answered politely in Italian that we were from England, she gave a sarcastically knowing smile and disdainfully slapped the bill on the table. You can make your own mind up what she was suggesting. They had, obviously begrudgingly, taken one of the lamb dish off the bill but that wasn’t the point as our evening had been spoilt by then. We’d rather have paid a lot more and enjoyed good food and hospitality! After waiting to pay the bill (being ignored by all staff) we went to pay the the desk. I asked this woman again in Italian, why she had asked where we were from? With such an arrogant expression she had the audacity to look me straight in the eye and simply say ‘arrivederci’. From a restaurant? Really? Outrageous. My response was that ‘Quando il cibo non è buono, il cibo non è buono”. When the food isn’t good, the food isn’t good. Across the globe. It’s as simple as that.

So my advice is to AVOID THIS PLACE like the plague... unless you enjoy overrated food and being...

We came here because a dear friend of mine recommended this place but our visit was not enjoyable. We ordered: carciofo alla giudia (starter), baccalà alla romana e pacorara(mix of fried lamb parts). Everything was remarkably good but unfortunately the baccalà was not well cooked. I spoke to the waiter on behalf of my partner (due to a language barrier) with the intention to have it cooked again but his reaction was a total surprise. He started to loudly say that that was the recipe and if I was unable to understand the chef could explain it to me better. He also remarked that if the other customers didn’t complain, I don’t have any reason to do so. I don’t think that this is right and I suddenly felt so upset and disappointed to be attacked by the waiter. I continued my dinner sharing my pecorara with my partner (which was amazingly tasty). However, we the lamb abbacchio was not cooked (and this time I took a photo -attached). I made it present to the waiter who, still got mad and took the plate away. I felt so bad and unwelcome. I asked for the bill (they removed the price of the baccalà only) and went to the cashier. I just pointed out that I was going away from there very upset. The cashier reacted the same way as the waiter and cancelled our bill completely. I felt even more upset because my dinner was going to be refund from my company anyway, so it wasn’t an issue of money.

Very noisy place. The place is located in the middle of the ghetto area. The tables were upstairs so, I don’t think that the place is...

This restaurant was recommended to us by our guest house host. It's disheartening to read some of the reviews here, including from locals, on how this restaurant has apparently changed, but we really enjoyed our experience, especially as we had given up for the night trying to find something good and authentic and available in nearby Trastevere. We started with the fried artichoke, which I thought could have been a bit more fried, but was still very good. We also had the battered cod, which was a surprisingly large portion, perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious. As a main we shared the chili chicken, with some roasted potatoes and a green salad, and this was also excellent. For dessert, the panna cotta — which is not my favourite to be honest — but this one I enjoyed, as it was fresh and firm and flavourful. We accompanied everything with a surprisingly inexpensive (€22) and perfectly acceptable bottle of Syrah, and some limoncello as a digestif. Service was smiling and attentive throughout and, although the woman at the cash was somewhat 'businesslike' as others have mentioned, we didn't find this at all unusual or out of place for Rome. An older gentleman, who I assumed was the owner, was also present and was very pleasant and appreciative when we complimented him on our meal. So, while I naturally defer to the opinions of the locals, our own experience was very enjoyable, and in a quiet and relaxing location without the crowds and hassles of Trastevere. And for all of that,...