Gran Caffè Giuliani — Restaurant in Rome

Saw this place on the way home and wanted to try it out since it was the only place with pizza close that was in our budget. We were seated quickly outside and our order was taken quickly too. However, our experience quickly went downhill. We waited over 40 minutes to get the pizzas that we ordered and when they came out, the quality was subpar. We still ate it considering we had been left starving for so long but didn’t feel good after. When we went to pay, we were told there was an additional service charge that made our bill go from €7.50 each to €9. This was surprising considering this policy was nowhere to be found on the menu when ordering. However, we weren’t too stressed about an extra €1.50. The real game changer was when we were told that they didn’t accept card and we had to get cash out. We didn’t have any cash so they told us we had to go across the street to get money out of the ATM. We asked why they didn’t tell us this when they sat us down and questioned where the honesty and transparency was. She told us she didn’t know how we were going to pay but that seemed like a really poor excuse to defend her poor customer service with. When we went to the ATM, they watched us and made the whole experience even more uncomfortable. The money I spent then jumped when it was a minimum of a €20 withdrawal and an extra €5 charge and other conversation rates. In total, I had to take out $31 USD. I went back and said I wanted a discount considering that I had to pay extra to get the money out for them. I said I wanted the bill to go from €18 to €10 due to the poor quality we had received. The lady said the best she could do was €15. When I tried to explain how much additional I was charged and showed them my bank statements too, they accused me of lying despite having proof of the time and date I withdrew the money. Eventually they adjusted it to €13 but it was still appalling. Complete tourist trap and microwave food and servers that need to actually learn how to do their job and not be arrogant to customers after causing serious additional charges that could have been avoided from...

Many things wrong about this place. Do not waste your money here!!! I rarely write reviews but this needed to be shared. Old reheated food, expensive, and charged coperto!!

The menu board shown outside is not what is offered when you open the menu book at the table. Their "updated" food menu at the table is a piece of paper taped over the original page, only showing maybe 20% of the food options listed outside. I overheard the table next to us ask about the risotto that was shown outside only to be told they don't serve that anymore and so the couple left. We should have left too at this point but we didnt want to be impolite.

The food that is served for dinner is the leftovers from earlier in the day! The food sits out in big trays on the counter and gets plated and just reheated. My husband had his lasagna arrive on two plates stacked because the top place was too hot from being reheated in the oven. I watched this all happen in view of my table. The pizza we ordered looked like it was frozen from the supermarket with some slices of ham just thrown on top.

Our bill was expensive for the quality of food we received. 3€ for a 500ml bottle of water??! I knew we were going to pay for water but didnt expect it to be double the price of other restaurants nearby. Plus they charged coperto which is illegal in Rome. This place is a total tourist trap! Do not waste your well earned vacation time and money here!

Lastly when we paid in cash we were given all their small change in return. I was given 11.50€ back but 0.50€ of it was 10 x 0.05€ coins. I find it hard to believe they didnt have any larger coins...

I’m not one to normally leave bad reviews but this place was terrible. We popped in for a quick espresso to hide from the rain and decided while we were there that we’d grab something quick to eat, regrettably not looking at reviews before we did so. Decided on a couple of pizzas. Service initially was friendly and relatively quick, and the espressos were fine, but the pizzas were atrocious. They literally look like a supermarket frozen pizza that I could get in the UK for £1.50, my friend ordered the prosciutto one and it was basically the same margherita as mine but with processed sandwich ham slices on it. We both ate a small slice to see if looks were deceiving but they were not. After 5 minutes or so the waiter comes over to ask if we’re finished - we explain that they weren’t good and would like the bill for the espressos only. About 10 minutes later the bill arrives (scribbled biro on a scrap of paper) for the full amount plus espressos being charged at €4 each instead of the €3 displayed in the menu. When we tried to sort this out the staff became rude and refused to listen, saying it was our problem because the table next to us had no complaints? It wasn’t until I called my Italian friend to help us translate that they agreed to let us just pay for the coffee. Atrocious food, appalling customer...