La Fontanella Sistina — Restaurant in Rome

Whatever you do, DO NOT visit this restaurant. What an awful place. The exterior looked quite inviting and I thought it'd be a nice italian experience for our last meal of the holiday. The man at the door (with hat and overcoat) was fishing for customers which we stupidly fell for. He was quite forceful in his approach telling me and my girlfriend what meal was best for us, typically the most expensive meal on the menu. We sat down and asked for tap water as we were pretty hungover, and the waiter brought bottled water, which we knew we'd be paying for. Another waiter put bread on our tables which we assumed would be free until the bill arrived. The pizza was burnt and rock hard with few ingredients. My carbonara was a slimey mess, which was so bland and unseasoned. The man in the hat and coat waltzed in and out of the restaurant countless times, like some sort of headteacher during assembly. We asked for the bill and it took ten minutes to arrive, after the waiter and what appeared to be the man in the hats son did god knows what with it. The bill arrived with a cover charge of 3 euro, 4 euro for the bottled water and a 2 euro city tax. I asked why we had to pay a cover charge and a city tax on the bill, the waiters reply was because we have to. When I pressed him further, he said the cover charge was for the bread!? Please do yourself a favour and try anywhere else to eat in Rome, where they actually care about...

We had a wonderful dinner here. I know the reviews have been mixed which was so shocking to us because his food was some of the best I’ve had in Europe and especially the best in Italy! I normally don’t ever leave reviews but his was so good that I felt compelled! We initially stopped in for drinks because of how hot it was (It’s middle of June so it’s 38 Celsius/100 Fahrenheit) and then Francesco, the owner explained the history of his family owned restaurant and brought us his family photos and invited us to come back for dinner after we finished our Crypt tour!

We were so impressed with his family’s story and his customer service that we came back after our tour! He reccomend his favorite which was the sea bass and it was delicious and so different— flaky sea bass covered with crunchy potatoes! As well as brought us complimentary Suplis (which was amazing btw) and even better eggplant parmasan, along with great focaccia bread! Authentic classic Roman Italian! He introduced us to a new beer too (not Peroni—although it’s my fan favorite!).

However, in my opinion— what was his showstopper aside from his 10/10 customer service, was my mother’s dish. He customized her dish and made her prawns that were the best shrimp I’ve ever had! Tasted like lobster, we will be coming back when we are back in Rome.

Thank you Francesco— your restaurant has been the highlight...

My husband and I have traveled to Rome a couple of times and have probably eaten at this restaurant 5 times. The owner is very friendly and welcomed us warmly. We were treated very well and even offered a complimentary appetizer when he realized we had made made a point to visit the establishment numerous times. In previous reviews, there seemed to be displeasure about being charged to sit, even going as far as to say they were ripped off. This is customary in Italy. Every restaurant charges this. Also, reviews made comments about bland flavor. Americanized Italian is nothing like authentic Italian food. The flavors do take a bit of getting used to but once you have eaten their dishes a few times, you realized how much better the food tastes. Their limited ingredients allow you taste the real flavor of the food. It is not covered up in salt and spices. On our last visit to this restaurant, the owner ran from the back when he realized we were leaving, hugged my husband and shook hands and kissed my cheeks when telling us goodbye. We told him we would be back and he very humbly stated that "This is your house forever". Amazing memories and we will continue to go back...