Pan Bernardo — Restaurant in Rome

Oh, where to begin with this… This Italian restaurant in the heart of Rome served up a colossal disappointment. We came expecting a decent meal after reading all the raving reviews; we left with an experience better suited to a horror story.

Let’s start with the lasagne, which arrived with the warmth of a Roman winter—cold and lifeless. We mentioned it politely to our waitress, hoping for some basic courtesy. Instead, our lasagne came back in a form so pitiable it seemed like an outright insult. When we laughed, the waitress delivered the pièce de résistance: an attitude colder than the original lasagne. “You wanted it hot, that’s hot!” She resisted.

Utterly speechless, we decided to bring it up with another server, who, to her credit, was kind enough to apologize and offered to replace it, adding a faint glimmer of professionalism to an otherwise dismal service.

Now to the food itself. The burger? Let’s just say McDonald’s could give this place a masterclass. Their burger, a true testament to indifference, managed to earn a measly 1-star rating, setting a low bar that the lasagne did little to raise. Taste-wise, it just about scraped a 3-star, though its miserable presentation deserves a single star at best. And the pizza—arguably the only redeeming factor here—was at best a 3-star affair, but Rome has no shortage of places doing pizza far better.

If not for that one gracious staff member, this establishment would be lucky to scrape by with a single star.

Response to the reply:

Thank you for your response, but I must address the inaccuracies and unnecessary personal attacks.

The Lasagne Was Not Left for 5 Minutes - My daughter tasted the lasagne immediately and found it cold. Please do not fabricate events to shift blame. We Did Not Laugh at Your Waitress - We laughed among ourselves at the lasagne’s sad presentation, not at your staff. Your claim is both false and misleading. Hostile Response from Staff The waitress’s aggressive reply—“You wanted it hot! That’s hot!”—was unprofessional and uncalled for. Declined Replacement Out of Courtesy - We declined the offer to replace the dish because the experience had already soured, not because we were satisfied. Unnecessary Personal Attacks - Your remarks about “malice” and “hatred” are unwarranted. Critiquing the food and service does not reflect on my character, and such comments are unprofessional.

Instead of dismissing criticism, I suggest focusing on improvement. Accepting feedback graciously would show more care for...

Buyer beware. Counter charge is half of what it is sitting down. Yes the price is displayed in the menu, but we ordered on the counter and did not see the menu until later. I got angry at the staff when I realised that I would be paying double to simply sit. The waitress also insisted several times to sit. The owner is a scammer and the whole setup is to scam unknowing tourists. I hope the worst for the business as it relies on a model of scamming people who are ignorant of the two tier payment model in Rome. They also said it is common here but it has not happened at any other restaurant we have been to.

Edit: I'm sorry if you find my calling of the business a scam, but I do not agree with pricing being literally double for you to simply sit at a restaurant rather than stand at the counter. If it was clearly indicated on the board this dual pricing system at the counter where pricing was displayed then at least a new tourist to Rome would know that this is the situation, but that simply was not the case.

Only after reading other reviews did we look at the paper menu and work out how much we were being charged. We see that you insult the customers giving bad feedback rather than change your strategy so as to be more clear as to how you price things.

For any customers reading my review, go through my google history and see that I have very rarely given a bad review (3 1 star reviews in my history), I am not a serial negative reviewer, and consider if you want to support a business that relies on the ignorance of tourists to increase their profits in this...

Stopped by here several times for a quick bite to eat during our recent stay in Rome, it is just a short walk from the hotels on Via Firenze. The risotto con funghi was excellent, and the beer (Tre Fontaine) was as good as any that I've had in my travels. When I picked the beer, my waiter's eyebrows went up, and he asked if I was familiar with it. I told him no, the pick was because I assumed it was local and it sounded interesting. He indicated that he would stop back.

When my food was gone, and the beer nearly so, he came back, and asked what I thought of the beer, and I replied that it was wonderful. He grinned and sait that if you had three of them, you would see the Trappist monks. I agreed, and ordered another!

I enjoyed the location, the food, the beer (!) and the repartee, and have since recommended Pan Bernardo to two friends who would be going to Rome in the next few weeks. Thanks for a few...