Dar Poeta — Restaurant in Rome

TLDR; This place uses manipulative tactics to get people to pay in cash and serve 6.5/10 pizza.

This place left a lot to be desired.

I read a lot of older reviews saying this place had been great. I read more recent reviews that stated that the food and service declined. We ended our 17 day trip of Europe to find the latter.

The service leading to dinner was so-so. The food was objectively fine. I had heard of number of people say it was the best pizza they had ever eaten. It was fine, probably a 6,5 at best. The house red wine was great; get that, you’ll need it to deal with the payment.

To the fun stuff. As our pizza came out, our waitress asked if we had been told that their credit card machine was down. We had not been told that and did not have enough cash for dinner on us. We said we could go to an ATM and figure it out and she did a nod to the food runner and the guy brought out the pizzas (before wine, water, salad and silverware — They were not slammed by any means with multiple tables open. Please get it together). We then saw the table next to us get up and go up to the counter and pay with card. I knew something was up and went to pay with card at the POS. The owner was caught off guard about me wanting to pay at the POS and told me to pay at the table. Only to return and say that I would need to come back inside to pay, likely to ensure that other patrons didn’t know the card reader was up and running.

The management needs to stick to cash only payment if that’s what they desire. Manipulation is...

I don't know is it because this is the very first restaurant in Rome I've been to, or because of an awesome pizza, but I have nothing but praise for this place! It is maybe a bit hidden off the standard tourist pathways, but it's very casual, laid back and a traditional place. That also means that it is tight and crowded, where you sit and eat next to a complete stranger, but that is a part of the exeperience! The pizza is probably one of the best I've ever eaten (I ordered one with gorgonzolla, rocket and salmon). I got it in front of me in less than 10 minutes after ordering. The size of it was just perfect for a grown man! It went great with a traditional Italian lager (Birra Moretti). We had a live performer, singing Italian songs and playing a guitar, going round the tables unobtrusively, while we were eating. The guy was worth a tip. The staff was nice, polite and always smiled, the waitresses were lightning fast and also very cheerful. If I ever get back to Rome, this is the place I'll be eating at. Worth every euro, and a great value for money ratio! Absolute...

One of my friends recommended this place telling me it was the best pizza in Rome. I looked it up and saw the amazing reviews by so many people so I decided to go with my wife and try it out. We were disappointed with the pizza and personally didn't like. I ordered the Carbonara Pizza because it was recommended and I did not like it one bit. The first thing I didn't like was the "white" pizza. The flavor was very strong and felt very salty and to my liking it needed the tomato sauce. My wife ordered one that had zucchini, tomatoes and sausage. She enjoyed it a bit more than me but didnt finished it. She said it was an ok pizza. Now I am not saying these are the worse I am just saying I personally didn't like those 2 pizzas. We also ordered 2 suppli and I salad as appetizers and those were delicious. I would like to go back some other time and try the margherita which looked delicious and see if that changed my perspective of this place but so far this pizza just...