Osteria degli Amici — Restaurant in Rome

Terrible service. Rude staff! Will neve go back here. Vegetarians beware!

I went to this place with 5 friends for Sunday lunch. I asked if I could have the gricia without pork cheek as I am a vegetarian and they said it was no problem. When I was almost finished my pasta, I found a piece of bacon in it. I moved it to the side and tried to forget about it. Honestly, it made me feel a bit sick but I didn’t want to make a huge fuss about it. When the waitress came back over, I told her and she took the plate away and said she would tell the kitchen. Nothing was said after that. We ordered coffee and two of us has dessert. The food was all ok. Some of my friends enjoyed their meal but noone was blown away. When the bill came, my dish was still on it so I told the waitress and said I’m a vegetarian so it’s a bit horrible for me to have that and she said she’s a vegetarian too but the plate was empty. I told her it hadn’t been empty.

This was when it got really bad. Another waiter or manager came over, with an attitude and basically insinuated that I was trying to get a free meal. We tried to explain you him that I’m a vegetarian. He said that I should have said straight away if there was bacon in my dish and anyway it was just one piece. I told him I’ve been a vegetarian for 20 years and I don’t eat any meat. My boyfriend tried to explain too, as did another friend. My boyfriend was told not to gesture with his hands. In Italy! I explained that it’s disgusting for me to get meat in my food and then I was told I’d chosen the wrong restaurant so. The waiter shouted at us, never once apologised for the mistake and still insisted we it for the dish. I will never go back here....

Ahhh look, I don’t know if it’s just how waiters deal with customers in Rome and if I’m being over sensitive or whether we (as tourists) are bothersome?

We were directed to sit in the front section of the restaurant, zero atmosphere, while the back of the restaurant was full of Italian families and other locals enjoying themselves and thus creating exactly the atmosphere I would have thrived in (I hasten to add that I’m very aware there was plenty of room for us in the back but perhaps all tables were pre booked?).

We had the ham and mozzarella to start, 10/10 would recommend. My significant other had the cacio e pepe, 10/10 would recommend. I ordered the Abbacchio a scottadito (lamb cooked on a hot grill) 0/10 would recommend. Overcooked, beyond well done, dry as a chip (I ate it all though because growing up in Australia in the 80’s I’ve had overcooked lamb plenty of times at family BBQ’s).

My main issue (other than the lamb) was feeling like I was an...

We were exploring the local area and hadn't decided where to eat lunch, but when we walked past Osteria degli Amici it looked clean and tidy so we decided to eat there. What a great decision that was!

Truly excellent Italian food with great ingredients and a fantastic combination of tradition and imagination. The antipasti were tremendously good, and the pasta dishes we ordered - cacio e pepe and pici with artichokes, guanciale and pecorino - were possibly the best pasta we've had in one week in Rome. Desserts were also excellent, both the pistachio semifreddo and the tiramisú. It is insane that for food of this quality, plus two glasses of wine, we only paid around €70.

Also kudos to the waitress who spoke great English and was always quick and happy to help us, but also let us eat in peace without checking on us every few minutes. Truly great service on top of the...