Nerone — Restaurant in Rome

TOURIST TRAP. Our first dinner in Rome and we were severely disappointed. Our mistake though, as there was just about every red flag imaginable waving vigorously at us: in the city center less than a block from our hotel, pictures of food in the menu, separate language laminated menus (complete with respective country’s flags), salt and pepper on the table (authentic Italian places don’t do that), food was served suspiciously fast, they couldn’t cook the beef to medium rare (just rare, medium or well done), terrible American pop covers playing loudly.

We ordered the house wine and it was sour like vinegar. Undrinkable. The bread that was served was unquestionably mass produced, defrosted rolls, yet when served to us they assured they were “House made and fresh.” The pasta was chewy in an undercooked way. Our mains were two different beef tenderloins served with grilled vegetables. The beef had grill marks that were too perfectly uniformed and had the texture that said, “I was in the freezer, pulled and microwaved to temp.” Which would make sense after the “we can only cook to rare, medium or well done” comment. Borderline gummy in texture and repulsive in flavor. The veggies all tasted the same, that flavor being freezer-burned.

The only redeeming quality was the very hospitable and attentive staff. They were very friendly.

We respectively asked for the check after we took a few bites of the main course. When asked why, in the moment, we could only report that the food was “It’s just bad. Not good.” We didn’t want to be bad tourists, so we happily paid the full amount of the bill to be able to leave as quickly as possible.

Lastly, after our experience here, we’re absolutely perplexed by the 5 star reviews from other people. No shade but, have y'all had actual Italian food? Particularly comments saying they have eaten here multiple times? I suppose we can give the benefit of the doubt that we came on a bad night, but my gut is telling me this is the quality the serve regularly.

TLDR: We felt like we were in our own episode of Gordon Ramsay’s...

My partner and I enjoyed a very tasty meal at this restaurant. My partner had a chicken dish, which was okay. I had the salmon special, and it was delicious. Staff here are amazingly friendly and engaging. The place is interesting as there is shelf after shelf of alcohol on most sides of the room. We found it EXTREMELY noisy, and a bit unpleasant as it was difficult to have a private discussion. Unfortunately, while there, a woman, sitting alone at a window location, began to talk…louder…and louder…and louder. It was unclear if she was speaking with someone on the phone, or having a conversation with herself. This incident made it uncomfortable for us, and several couples as observed by body language and subtle comments among tables of guests. When she finally departed, one of the staff commented she consumed a bottle of fine. I felt sorry for the staff at the restaurant who were trying to be extremely understanding. Unfortunately, this made for a rather uncomfortable and unpleasant dining experience for us, and others. The food, however, was VERY good indeed. The desserts were also very tasty and good. The waiter brought us a taste of meloncello, at the very end of our meal, which was amazingly good, he then brought us a taste of lemoncello, which was also good, but my favorite was the meloncello…so much so, that I am in the process of creating a batch, after arriving home, since I am unable to locate a store in my area that sells it (if interested, watch YouTube for recipes and instructions). Thank you to the staff for preparing us a...

5 Stars – Elite Service & Exceptional Food There are many restaurants along this street in Rome, but Nerone truly stands out. From the moment we sat down, the staff made us feel welcomed and valued. They were incredibly attentive, warm, and professional—the kind of service you rarely find anymore.

My husband accidentally ordered my steak rare instead of medium rare (with no blood). It was an honest mistake on our part, but when I kindly asked if they could cook it a bit more, the server—who was outstanding in every way—returned to let me know that the chef and owner wouldn’t just reheat the steak. Instead, they insisted on preparing an entirely new tenderloin dish from scratch because they didn’t want to compromise the quality by reheating the steak in the green pepper sauce.

That level of integrity and care is rare, and I was deeply impressed. The new dish arrived perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious—truly one of the best steaks I’ve ever had. The pepper sauce was rich and flavorful, and every other item we ordered was equally superb.

If you’re hesitating between restaurants on this street, don't and just Choose Nerone. The service is elite, the food is phenomenal, and the experience is unforgettable. Out of all the places we dined during our time in Rome, this was hands-down our favorite.

To top it all off, we were offered a complimentary limoncello shot and a pistachio shot at the end of our meal. The pistachio shot, in particular, was absolutely fantastic—such a perfect and generous touch to end an incredible...