Da Nazzareno — Restaurant in Rome

What could have been a lovely start to our trip, ended as a disappointment. We arrived just an hour before close and respectfully asked if it was okay to dine, to which they gladly accepted. Our waiter was very enthusiastic, making rapid suggestions which we thought was helpful and out of generosity.

He suggested the grilled mushrooms appetizer with so much energy we ordered them. (Almost felt forced to order, but so be it). The food came and it was fine, nothing special. What really derailed the night was the final bill. Our group of 6 people was charged for 3 portions of grilled mushrooms for $54 euro. We never asked for 3 portions, and it was obvious we were taken advantage of. We have traveled all over the world and know immediately when we are being taken as fools. I asked three times to clarify what the $54 euro line item was on the bill, and he confidently said “the mushrooms, three portion”. No one expects mushrooms to be that much when the rest of the food is significantly less. Shame us on for trusting him without confirming the price/quantity, and shame on our waiter for taking advantage of us.

Not sure if this is normal operating procedure, or if they wanted to stick it to us for coming late, even though we asked if it was okay… we could have easily gone elsewhere if they didn’t want us there. We ordered immediately and ate quickly to be respectful, so I can’t imagine this was the reason.

What’s sad about this, is we were very happy they accepted us so late so I planned to tip our waiter generously as a thank you. When we got ripped off for mushrooms, his tip was reduced to almost nothing. What could have been a positive experience for everyone, turned out to be negative - all because of $54 euro mushrooms.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this restaurant due to their dishonesty. If you love overpriced mushrooms, maybe this...

I am not one to typically write restaurant reviews, but after our recent visit, I felt compelled to share our experience. The establishment in question seemed to have a promising allure of good food and warm hospitality, but unfortunately, our experience was far from it.

Our waiter for the evening, an enthusiastic individual who seemed to be lost between the realms of Italian and English, was eager to say the least. Perhaps too eager. His vigor crossed boundaries, turning the evening into a muddle of confusion and distress. His speed, though perhaps indicative of his enthusiasm, was unsettling. More often than not, we found ourselves served with dishes we hadn’t even had the chance to affirm.

A peculiar moment that deserves mention was when he hastily brought out vegetables to our table. Before we could protest or reject the unexpected addition, he had already rushed off, leaving us to contemplate the sudden turn of events.

However, the final act that left a bitter taste was not related to the food itself, but rather an unfriendly surprise that came with dessert. The waiter presented us with a dessert and a serving of amaretto, assuring us it was on the house. Before we could react, he went as far as spooning some dessert into one of our party's mouth. However, the shock came when we were presented the bill and found that we were, in fact, charged for the ‘complimentary’ dessert.

We felt cornered, forced to pay for something we never ordered, let alone had a chance to reject.

This restaurant, though seemingly charming, was an unexpected tourist trap. In a pursuit to provide an 'authentic' experience, it ended up delivering an uncomfortable evening full of confusion, miscommunication, and unwarranted surprises.

I'm sorry to say, but based on our experience, I can't award more...

Scam! Avoid unless you speak Italian. Throughout our dining experience we witnessed our server strong arming guests into what to order and then accosting them to tip a certain amount before he would even let them pay and leave the restaurant.

One table was trying to leave for a full hour and he would bring the credit card machine to the table, debate the tip, then leave the table without running the card as the guests exasperatedly pleaded for the check. He then followed them outside the restaurant and accosted them after finally “letting” them pay.

We got our check from a different server then paid at the counter - with no issues or protestation from the manager. When our server saw us paying out he gave a death glare, told the tables next to us we were trouble and then called me a name as I walked out the restaurant.

It’s a shame because the food is quite good (though we would have liked to order what we wanted and not what he had arbitrarily decided on and ordered for us) and I don’t even entirely understand the scam he was running. But we’ve been dining in Rome for four days and Italy for the past month and never experienced anything like this. This was not a cultural difference or language barrier - this guy is actively taking...