Baccano — Restaurant in Rome

I cannot suggest a visit based on our experience. There are many other much better restaurants that will provide better food and better experience.

Note: we dine out a lot from hole in the wall pizzerias to Michelin-3 starred restaurants, so this is not an "American in Rome complaining that the service was slow"... this is an relatively educated assessment. I also recently retired as a c-level executive of a restaurant company with 13 locations in vacation destinations so I'm well versed in the business and standards of restaurants. I am not just being a grumpy customer, but I am nonetheless.

First, I will not comment on the price. This is a nicer / white tablecloth restaurant so we expected it to be on the higher end of the price scale. Know that going in.

The food. It was edible but not enjoyable. Starters were Foie Gras and Steak Tartar (two of our favorite starters). The Foie Gras was served sandwiched between two very thick pieces of bread. We ended up scraping it onto one. The taste was uneventful. The Steak Tartar was prepared table side and the meat was high quality, but the dish was almost completely void of any flavor. It was so strange we each had to try it several times to confirm that it tasted completely unseasoned. Total waste of ingredients. To add to bad experience the server left the prep station next to our table and walked away. It remained there for the remainder of our visit.

The main courses were not good either. The meat and cheese tortellini were the smallest tortellini we've ever seen, which is odd but the really odd thing was they were so small there was no room inside for the filling. We could not taste any meat at all, and tasted several in succession with no joy. The cheese sauce was good, but very overpowering. The eggplant parmigiana was "ok", but there was no sauce, no garnish, no pizzaz whatsoever. Just a big piece of eggplant parmigiana like you could buy at any takeaway market. Again, edible but not enjoyable.

All of the above could have been overlooked for a 3-star review, but the service was truly abominable. The service system / training / staffing at this restaurant is a complete and total mess. People running every which way, no personal connection with the guests, no eye contact, know explaining the chef's specials (if there were any). We had a constant state of confusion around our table... "may we have some more bread", "there is a floater in my wine", etc led to discussions, running, more discussions, all collimating in nothing actually happening. Each individual was very nice (with the exception of the hostess who seated us who seemed very annoyed that we visited the restaurant at all), but they were stressed, confused and not assigned to any one table leading to a feeling that we were eating at a big American chain restaurant like The Cheesecake Factory (tip for restaurant management: this is not meant to be a compliment).

Finally, don't plan to visit the toilet unless you bring your wallet as tipping the staff member stationed there is clearly expected. This is a practice we have not seen anywhere outside a busy nightclub. Very off putting.

I don't like to criticize without constructive input so in summary, the management of this restaurant should start form scratch.

1. Location, they have in spades which is a big plus for them. 2) Food: chef's palette should be checked for COVID damage... seriously not kidding totally tasteless. Something is way off here... 3) Experience: I'd advise they scrap their current system of "separation of duties" and get back to the basics where a server interacts with the guests to curate an enjoyable dining experience.

Hope this helps other diners and the...

Went to Baccano which was meant to be an engagement dinner for me and my partner. Thankfully, it was just a normal dinner evening instead as I was severely disappointed in the service. The carbonara and pulpo was good, generally food was good but I would not recommend this just based on the service you receive and the price point. The restaurant appears to want to serve a higher clientele but is lacking in terms of service and etiquette. We can in at 7:30 pm, it was not busy our waitress was an older lady that was nice until she started to get larger tables or what I assume is more worth it table for her with more money spent. We were forgotten. Took 30 minutes for us to order, she then proceeded to forget to put in our order. Came back 10 minutes later asking me to clarify our order again. From there it was just down hill. Wrong order placed on our table. No apologies and it was disgusting that they asked us if we touched the food to re-serve it for another table. From there we asked for another bottle of water (mind you, it’s not free which is fine) but our waitress took away our old bottle and then proceeded to walk around us several times without bringing water back. We then after another 10 minutes had to remind her again. From our appetizer, she took away our cutlery and never replaced it. Our mains came and then we were left with no cutlery until a better waiter noticed and brought it for us. Again food was good. But no one came to check in on us once despite tables next to us being checked in when they didn’t even have food yet. From there we tried our best to enjoy ourselves but waiters and waitress kept bumping into me when they rounded the restaurant, we had a reservation but somehow got the worst table in the house. I had on 5 different occasion which includes our own server run into my chair knocking me around and even almost falling themselves without any acknowledgment or apologies. You would think that it just my seat but nope my partner had the same experience less than me but still. Finally we were done, asked our waitress for the bill, she asked if we wanted dessert or coffee, we honestly just wanted to leave. 20 minutes later still no bill. She then came again asking us coffee dessert- we again said no bill please. Another 10 minutes no bill. Another waitress then proceeds to slam into our table dropping a bottle of oil and then runs away. She comes back later says sorry and ask us again if we needed anything. I told her we asked for the bill several times. She apologizes and goes away. We wait another 15 minutes and still no bill…I then see a hostess bring a bill for another table. Then she comes to us after 10 minutes. Felt like most of our evening was waiting for a bill to leave- I wanted to just go pay at the front but you can’t tell where. I was so upset and frustrated by the treatment we received and it almost seemed racial because there wasn’t any other tourist around us. For a seemingly high end restaurant, I had expectations with service at least but I would not be back. Went to so many restaurants during our stay and honestly this is the only bad...

I had high expectations for Baccano, having received personal recommendations for their tiramisu and torched strawberries, both of which are priced at a premium (€12–14 each). Our intention was simply to enjoy these signature desserts alongside some beverages — a modest but meaningful visit that would have resulted in a €40–50 spend.

We arrived at 2:30 p.m., requesting a table for four (two adults and two young children). Despite the restaurant being approximately 80% vacant, and my clear assurance that we would conclude our visit within 30 minutes, we were ultimately turned away. Initially, the staff appeared accommodating, even making an effort to find a table, but then abruptly refused us service, citing that it was “lunch time.” Given the ample availability of seating and the limited time requested, it was evident there was no genuine operational constraint that would have precluded our short visit.

The experience was deeply disappointing, not only due to the lack of hospitality shown but also because of the discourtesy with which it was handled. Regrettably, Baccano has not only forfeited our immediate business but also any future patronage or recommendation from me. A most unfortunate and disheartening encounter.

Three easy to implement recommendations to conclude and for the restaurant’s consideration:

1. Clarify policies: Clearly state any lunch service restrictions on the website and at the entrance to manage guest expectations.

2. Align staff communication: Brief staff to reference these policies upfront to avoid confusion or wasted time.

3. Exercise flexibility: When occupancy allows, consider reasonable exceptions to enhance goodwill and guest...