Bar Cottini — Restaurant in Rome

My partner and I went for some lunch as it was our last day in Rome before going home to Ireland. My partner ordered bacon cheeseburger and I ordered a Caesar salad. My partners burger came completely raw, we perhaps misunderstood that this is how burgers are served in Rome, we are used to a well done burger back home. We sent back the burger to the kitchen and apologised for our misunderstanding, they were sending it out again supposedly ‘well done’ the burger came back, with a napkin on the raw bite my partner had taken from the burger. Same burger, still completely pink and blood running from it. We were told by the young waiter that it was not their issue it was ours! We immediately just wanted to get the bill and go, the attitude and food were both absolutely awful! My salad was fine, nothing special but at least it was edible! We wanted to pay for the salad and water however not happy to pay for the burger, considering my partner had literally eaten none of it! Multiple staff members approached us asking did we want another burger ordered however the attitude and the service had been so bad we decided we wanted to pay and leave. They finally agreed that we did not have to pay for the burger, so we paid €30 for a Caesar salad, a focaccia and some still water! Absolute rip off. Do not recommend...

Dear Bar Cottini,

I would like to express my dissatisfaction with the experience I recently had at your restaurant.

Unprofessional service: When I tried to communicate with one of the staff members, I asked if he spoke Spanish, to which he replied no. However, when I switched to English, he finally responded... in Spanish.

This attitude created confusion and demonstrated a lack of transparency, or at the very least, a reluctance to properly serve foreign customers. Food quality: We ordered a pizza and were extremely disappointed.

The dough was of poor quality, flavorless, and had a processed texture. The ingredients were clearly not fresh and far from the standard expected of an Italian restaurant.

Considering the price charged, the quality was absolutely unacceptable. We expected much more from your restaurant, both in terms of the atmosphere and the prices charged. Unfortunately, the experience fell far short of the reasonable minimum.

I thank you for your attention and hope you take this feedback into consideration for future...

My family and I came to Bar Cottini for gelato since it was close to our hotel and also since 2 of the family members had been there earlier. After ordering, sitting down, and being served, my son noticed his "salted caramel" tasted a little like peanut butter, which he is very allergic to. We'd been going to gelato places over a large area in Rome with zero places having peanut butter in salted caramel gelato, so naturally we didn't think anything of it. When my son confronted the server about it he tried to make it seem like my son's fault and that peanut butter just comes in salted caramel gelato...which it freakin doesn't.

This is mostly the review of a concerned parent. What I had there was decent and the rest of their baked goods looked good, but if your kids have food allergies just remember to ask. You never know if, I don't know, peanuts are going to end up in...