DA'MARE — Restaurant in Rome

I am very disappointed in myself for choosing such a terrible restaurant on my second day in Rome. I had very high expectations because a friend of mine who had lived in Italy for 10 years had told me that she loves all restaurant except only two.And yet I had a terrible experience on only my second day. I had a very good lunch and dinner yesterday and lunch today. There were less than 50 reviews of this restaurant but the reviews were high and since I like seafood I decided to give it a try.

First of all, when I went to the restaurant, there were only four or five customers, which made me nervous. Because other restaurants were full..Still, I was sure it would be fine. First, the server was very pushy about the lobster. I felt bad at that point because he was so pushy. Then I asked for Prosecco, but he offered me champagne strongly,so I went with the champagne, but I didn't feel very good about it. At that point, I should have left the restaurant. Some of the foccacia was salty and questionable. Then there was the appetizer of white fish carpaccio. It looked beautiful, but when I tried it, there was no flavor, and something was wrong with the fish, as if it had been frozen a long time ago, or maybe it had been thawed improperly. I put salt and olive oil on it but it still tasted bad and I stopped eating it.

Still, I thought the pasta and risotto would be fine. The sea urchin in the pasta,I guess it had been frozen and was definitely not fresh. My son, who loves sea urchins, was spitting them out. With a strange texture. The pasta noodles were not al dente and were dry. The sea urchin sauce was also tasteless, almost flavorless. I couldn't believe it because I was so impressed with the al dente pasta at different restaurant yesterday. The squid ink risotto was still not tasty because something was wrong with the salt. We left more than half of our food. I'm the type of person who always feels guilty about not finish food and I do my best to eat as much as possible, but the food tasted so bad that I couldn't eat it.

The restaurant offered to serve us something else instead,but I refused because I knew that anything served at this level would never taste good. But I thought the cocktails would not be so wrong, so I ordered one, which was also watery and tasteless, probably too much of ice... ??The restaurant staff forced me to offer dessert. He was kind to offer for free but I don't like sweets much but he offered me strongly to try it and I did, but it was still too sour and unbalanced... I left more than half of the food and cocktail, but they charged me the normal price. I appreciate the free dessert offer even I didn’t like.But I should stop to eat and left as soon as I first realized it wasn't good food.I was really sad to see such a bad feeling on such a special trip to Rome for a few days. Either way, I think this restaurant will go out of business soon. The restaurant staff may have thought I was a picky taster, but I have never been in a restaurant that taste so bad.I am very careful not to get scammed while traveling, but I felt so bad that I was...

*Long post - read it to the end

We selected Da’mare based on the recommendation of the concierge at the Intercontinental Rome Ambasciatori Palace. We were looking forward to a nice dining experience.

Once we were seated and before we ordered, Marco came by our table and offered us assistance at any time. There was only one other couple in the room.

Before ordering, Marco and another male service staff member stood under the arch, looked at our table and started laughing. Hoping this wasn’t intentional, I watched both of them. After several minutes, they were both standing in front of the bar partially hidden by a serving rack. For a second time, they were looking at our table and began laughing again. At this point, my husband asked the female service staff member if there was a problem with us being there. She asked another staff member to come to our table. Both ladies responded there wasn’t a problem. After several minutes, Marco came to the table and stated that their laughing was not directed toward us. Since we were the only ones sitting in that area, we felt he was not sincere in his response. Additionally, he never returned to our table offering any assistance with the food or wine.

Needless to say, our experience was not positive. It is never right to make people feel uncomfortable especially when we are visiting your country and your establishment. In the future, I would hope your male restaurant staff members would be more considerate and more in tune with their behavior and how it might affect your guests.

It is very unfortunate that the two of them made us feel very unwelcome and that we did not enjoy a meal that we were hoping would be...

We recently had the pleasure of dining at what has truly become our favourite restaurant in Rome. So much so, we went back three nights in a row! From the moment we stepped inside, we were invited by a warm, welcoming atmosphere that made us feel like family.

The highlight of our experience was the incredible staff. We had the privilege of meeting Marco, the owner, whose kindness and passion for his restaurant radiate in everything he does. Gianluca, our server, was an absolute gem, attentive, thoughtful, and wonderfully accommodating, especially with my dairy allergy. He made sure I always felt comfortable with my meals, which is something I’ll forever be grateful for.

What sets this restaurant apart isn’t just the staff’s infectious charisma but also the dedication to fresh, seasonal items. The menu changes daily, based on the day’s catch and what’s in season, so every meal was extremely fresh & delicous. The seafood is INCREDIBLE. The octopus, long green beans with cherry tomatoes and seafood pasta they created for me were my favourite dishes of the night. Each dish was beautifully crafted, full of flavour, and bursting with freshness, truly some of the best food we’ve ever tasted.

I couldn’t recommend this spot more highly. If you’re looking for not just an unforgettable meal but also genuine hospitality and heartfelt care, this is the place to go. Thank you, Marco and Gianluca, for making our trip to Rome even...