la buvette — Restaurant in Rome

In every city there seems to be a cafe loved by Americans. In Paris, in my Paris, it was Breakfast In America. I imagine the same must be said for La Buvette. Only this is a very distinguished little cafe and still very Italian. But On the menu though is breakfast for Americans and breakfast for the English.

The Italians stand at the bar, they move quickly. I asked waiter about tea after having become wired from my Doppio. It was my fourth coffee for the morning. The waiter responds “ about tea I cannot help you, because, I never drink tea, only coffee.“ The other staff smile and laugh politely.

The banquette is the best part. From where I am seated near the door I watch them come and go. In packs of four. It’s empty, and it fills with 4 to 6. Four leave. Two more arrive. You catch my drift. The banquette is a safe refuge from the clackity clack of the espresso machine, The rising of Italian voices over the din, the deeper voice of said Waiter and his barista counterpart.

If you were to come to Rome and look for that Italian cafe that attracts Americans and what not, this is your place.

It’s charming. Intimate. The food is good. It’s quick. I wouldn’t say it’s a must see in Rome but it certainly has an appeal far greater than the other local cafes I found. The omelette was great by the way. So too...

An incredibly insulting experience. We came in due to being refused for our reservation at La Dilla. Immediately we felt that we were an inconvenience to the staff as they were huffing and puffing and rolling their eyes as we were brought over there.

We ordered the ravioli carbonara con guanciale. What we got is ravioli with scrambled eggs and bacon. When we told our server we didn’t like it, as it was curdled and egg like, he said - no this is cream - as if he assumed because I’m a tourist, I wouldn’t know that carbonara is made of eggs and pecorino.

We asked for our check, the server took his time and so I got up and went to the counter to pay. At the counter they asked if everything was okay, I said no. He essentially acted like he didn’t hear me. I proceeded to ask about their carbonara and how that is made. He said it was made of eggs, cheese, salt, pepper, and bacon. I told him, oh your server told me it was made of cream when I complained it was too curdled and eggy. He said no, there is no cream. And I reiterated what the server told me, that it was made of cream. He took out 10 euros off my bill and not even the cost of the dish. It’s not even about the money, but don’t try to gaslight me because I’m a tourist.

Please be wary. You will not have a...

We were quite disappointed with our experience at the restaurant.

It took around 15 minutes for someone to take our order after we were seated.

We specifically asked for well-cooked eggs for my pregnant wife, but they were served undercooked. Even after asking again for them to be well done, they were still only medium-well.

The American breakfast was served without bread, and when we asked for it, it only arrived after we had finished eating.

We ordered an iced Americano but were served a hot one, as we were told they don't offer it cold. Eventually, they brought us ice to cool it down ourselves.

We asked for the bill twice, and only received it about 20 minutes later.

Lastly, the food lacked basic seasoning like salt and black pepper, and overall tasted quite bland.

They have high quality coffee.

We hope the restaurant takes this feedback seriously, as there’s definitely room for improvement in both service and...