Antica Taverna — Restaurant in Rome

This review is an awful pity, because we visited this restaurant twice and had 2 completely different experiences. The first night (Wednesday) we had the most fantastic outing, with great wine, delicious meatballs, friendly staff. We enjoyed it so much we left a large tip and vowed to come back before the week was out.

So, along we came Friday, and I had to double check I was in the same place. I was, the only problem was the owner was on the floor (and serving customers, unfortunately). First he insisted the 20 euro bottle of wine we had the previous evening was no longer available, and insisted on the 40 euro bottle. I refused and went for an 18 euro bottle instead. Then I ordered antipasto, but instead of going to the kitchen, he picked (with his unwashed hand) bits and pieces from some "all you can eat" buffet that was going on in the corner (complete with flies). Main course was fine, but rosemary potato side dish never arrived, so I asked again (it finally arrived after we were finished). Meanwhile, the family beside us were arguing about the bill, as they were charged for items they never ordered.

Finally when our bill arrived, the rosemary potatoes were charged for twice and I felt the overall cost was an awful lot steeper than our previous visit. We left without argument but left no tip and vowed...

Me and my wife went here. Personally, we didn't rate it that well due to the number of other restaurants in the area that could be so much better. There is a service charge of €3 per person - what's it for we do not know. We somehow had 3 waiters, 2 were good 1 at the end when we asked for the bill, said yes no problem then basically forgot, so we waited for approx 15min and got another waiter to get our bill. It's not a major problem we all forget. Our main thing is the food, we're in Italy! We both went with ravioli, mine in tomato sauce, the wife with mushrooms, and a cream sauce. Mine was fine, but that was all. My wife's had no flavour, I thought she might be over exaggerating, but I also tasted the sauce and had to agree bland very bland. We both had a glass of white wine, and that was lovely. A couple next to us had cacio e pepe and carbonara, can't be 100%, but I got the impression they were a little under whelmed. Don't get me wrong when they were brought out they were both a good size and looked great, so I could be wrong. There was a large American group inside the restaurant, and they were celebrating a birthday and were having a great time... this is just our experience. Hopefully, others will have a...

After 7 nights in Rome we ate at this restaurant for our last dinner before moving on to Florence. We were staying in an Airbnb directly across the road from the restaurant so blame ourselves for taking the easy option. We should have followed the Hosts suggestions in their guidebook for guests, and avoided eating there. However, we were sucked in by the restaurant’s online video advertising their cooking/kitchen. Believe me, the meal we ate did not come out of that kitchen/chef. There is an open water drain running outside which is smelly. The restaurant plays Indian Bollywood music to dine by…. fine but not exactly what you want to listen to when eating in Italy. The pasta was tipped out of a packet with meagre seasonings. The tuna with sesame was over cooked and slapped onto a few bits of chopped lettuce. Staff were disinterested in everything except for trying to lure customers into the restaurant. Most people were smarter than us and walked on by. In a back ally lacking any lustre, they then charge €2 per person to sit and smell the drainage. Recommend that you pass on by - there are plenty of other places to go where you’ll have an enjoyable meal...