Caffetteria Sonnino — Restaurant in Rome

This review serves as a crucial cautionary tale about the disappointing quality of food and subpar service at this establishment, owned by Befana, an elderly woman in her 80s with a distinctive prominent nose, curly grey hair, who often smokes cigarettes and lacks friendliness. Despite positive Google reviews, our experience left much to be desired.

Upon arrival, we were initially greeted with kindness, but unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse. The overall quality of the food was average at best, with the cakes being the most disappointing. It was evident that they were not made in-house and had been sitting there for days, greatly affecting their taste.

However, the most concerning issue arose when it was time to settle the bill. The owner resorted to blatant scams, attempting to charge us for items we never ordered and making up prices on the spot. We were forced to pay exorbitant amounts for food that they claimed was fresh, only to discover later that it was frozen and had been stored for days.

In conclusion, this establishment is far from what it appears to be. Don't be deceived by positive reviews. I strongly advise avoiding it and seeking out the numerous nearby establishments that offer superior quality and fair service.

Here are the specific issues we encountered:

Service: The service was slow, rude, inattentive, unprofessional, and disorganized. The staff seemed inexperienced and lacked basic customer service skills.

Ambiance: The atmosphere was noisy, cramped, and uncomfortable. The seating arrangements were inadequate, the lighting was poor, and the overall cleanliness was lacking.

Food and drinks: The taste of the food and drinks was subpar, as they were tasteless, bland, overcooked, undercooked, and had poor presentation. The lack of attention to culinary detail was evident.

Menu: The menu had limited options, lacked variety, and featured outdated choices. Considering the quality, the prices were unreasonably high.

Waitstaff: The waitstaff appeared to be inexperienced and uninformed about the menu. They lacked knowledge about allergens or dietary restrictions, which is concerning for customers with specific dietary needs.

Hygiene: The overall hygiene was substandard, with dirty utensils, unclean tables, sticky floors, and unpleasant odors. These issues detracted from the dining experience.

Pricing: The prices were exorbitant and did not align with the quality of the food and service. We encountered unreasonable charges and hidden fees that left us feeling taken advantage of.

Atmosphere: The establishment lacked charm and had an impersonal feel. We were seated on a heavily trafficked sidewalk, the decor was lackluster, and attention to detail was noticeably absent.

Management: The café was poorly run, with a lack of accountability and responsiveness to customer feedback. This indicates a disregard for improving the overall experience.

In summary, our visit to this establishment was thoroughly disappointing and unsatisfactory. It was a waste of both time and money, and I cannot recommend it to others. Constructive criticism can be valuable for both the café and potential customers, so I hope these specific examples and feedback will help them improve...

we came to this place due to the very good reviews on Google after our visit in the Vatican Museums. In the beginning we were very surprised by their kind and welcoming service (acted like every guest is special to them and took their time to have short little conversations). Also in total the food was ok. We had Pasta with Ragout which was really good, the pizza was ok, but very small and in the end a cake with Nutella which we didn't like that much.

However, when it came to paying the owner changed their behavior completely. First they tried to charge us drinks and food which we didn't order. When we said that the bill is not correct, they started making up prices from their mind (bc they don't show a menu to the customers in the beginning!). In the end we paid 6 € (!!) for a small piece of cake, 4 (!) for 0,33l of Ice Tea from the plastic bottle, 12 € for pasta menu which we did not order (we only had the pasta they didn't bring drinks, Cafe etc. besides that) and 10 € for a Pizza menu (also here they didn't bring the others things that were included in the menu!).

So don't trust the good reviews, the owners are searching every way to scam (young) tourists and charge you as much money as possible! Also funny that their English was quite ok in the beginning but after we started arguing about the prices, the only possible language was Italian.

So definitely would NOT recommend this place. Search for another one, there are many good quality and fair...

My fiancé and I were looking for food after a full day and right before our last tour of the day at the Vatican. We walked near the area of our meeting point with just 30 minutes to spare. We were looking for something quick to be on time for the tour and we stumbled across Caffetteria Sonnia!

The son suggested we have a meal and further recommended a couple of his special made cocktails. We let him know how much time we had and noted he could have the food ready within 10 minutes no problem. Since we were hungry and given it seemed like a small family-owned business we didn’t want to pass up the opportunity of authentic Roman Italian food. So we took the risk.

IT WAS WORTH IT! The Espresso Martini was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! My fiancé’s Negroni was also absolutely delicious with the notes of citrus, sweetness, and bitterness of the cocktail. But what really sealed the deal of our trip to this restaurant was the Cacio e Pepe packed with so much flavor and perfectly al dente spaghetti noodles. Moreover, the ravioli was the best we had in Rome. Everything was perfectly made and it was obviously authentic and homemade.

This restaurant is small, but the family truly treats their customers like family and the food is some of the best in Roma, Italy! A true must try! We wish we had more time to try all of the pastries and have...