Due Ladroni — Restaurant in Rome

EAT YOUR OWN DOG FOOD Please, take everything here with a "pinch of salt". Sorry guys, but it was a bad experience! I just can't bring myself round to it. This is a top-notch establishment. Well, it used to be. The owners (super chic) must have gotten so much into their own (ingredients?) selves that they seem to have totally lost sight of where the kitchen lies. Let alone the ingredients, not to mention how they (don't) combine them together. I was there for a "no expectations" business lunch. You cannot complain if they all close shop and get replaced by big macs and the like. At least you know you'll get exactly what you ordered and expect. And we were there with a regular, invited, to be precise. Orders go in one ear and straight out the other, with truly little or close to nothing except total void, to act as friction and a minimum of attention, in between. "Make sure the prawns peeled, please", said my host. "Why yes of course!" replied the waiter, well guess what. Then there's this wonderful, typical salad one orders only in winter and nearly only in Rome: puntarelle. They are tricky to eat. When you get back to the office (this time of year), you will get snide remarks like "had puntarelle for lunch, eh?". But this is such a savoury salad, it is truly very difficult not to like or appreciate. Here, downing a glass of natural mineral water, had more sex appeal! So sad. Our host, again, even said "make sure it's well seasoned pls". In one ear out the other. But this was so bad, I have absolutely no doubt as to the cause of this ignominious flop. Not only do they not have anyone worth calling a cook, let alone a chef, in the kitchen, anymore. But I have a distinct suspicion that the owners don't even eat their own dog food anymore. Either that or they've all been victims of COVID and never recovered their senses of smell and/or taste. We did order a coffee (espresso). Well, I'll skip that part. That's how and why I justify my 2 stars. I sincerely hope they just...

We came with a large party and ordered drinks while we waited for the last few people to arrive. I immediately noticed my aperol spritz had a live worm crawling across the raspberry and called the waiter over. He seemed completely unbothered and said “okay, I’ll get you a new one.” The new drink arrives and I immediately noticed that the mint now has brown spots that look suspiciously like bugs — different bugs! I point them out to the waiter and he says “I checked, there are no more bugs.” So my sister pulls out the mint from the drink and, as we suspected, several small bugs jump off the leaf and start running around her plate. We call the waiter back over and ask for the check, politely saying we’ve decided to eat dinner somewhere else. The manager comes over to try and intervene, and when I tell him what’s wrong, he goes “okay so I’ll get you a new drink.” We calmly explain that it’s okay, we’re happy to pay and leave, and he keeps arguing that we didn’t even try the food and says “you’re going to walk away over that?”. We ask for the check and he starts yelling at us “GO THEN, GET OUT” while shooing us out and making a scene. He even accused us of getting upset over “a language barrier” while he was kicking us out so that the other diners would think we were in the wrong. And don’t even get me started on the flies trapped in the raw fish case, which were crawling all over the food! This is by far the most disgusting dining experience I have ever had! Avoid...

This restaurant came recommended by a Roman friend. Problem is that this place is for locals and habitués only, so as a visitor you will be welcomed with a smile and thereafter ignored (they would even forget our beverages and come back to ask what we had ordered as food).

Also, the food is not at all compatible with the asking price: the “bis di carpacci” is basically the size and weight of a free sample of orata and gambero crudo, two forks and it’s gone. Then I ordered a grilled orata for two and it had no taste, was dry, and filled with bones (counted total 11 bones left). They didn’t even bring a lemon wedge to squeeze on top. Last week I had a wonderful orata in Sardinia for a third of the price. However, to give this place at least a credit, the potato chips were delicious and basically what fed me that night (together with the focaccia). Finally, the crowd is 70+ mixed with some nouveaux-riches and the location not attractive at all (outside it’s just a dark empty square). Overall, if you are visiting Rome I’d...