Piccolo Arancio — Restaurant in Rome

This was a dining experience that I really didn't want to share but eventually felt some people might benefit from so here it is. For the owners, so it can be helpful feedback and for the customers so you all know what to expect.

First, the arrival. It was a little difficult finding the restaurant as it is located in a quiet side alley. However, the welcome we received was conditional. It was warm until we ordered our meal with no alcohol.

Second, the seating. As a result of making a reservation, we got seated immediately. However, no choice on inside or outside seating. Frankly, not even sure if there is inside seating but the experience of sitting outside was one we wanted to experience.

Third, the food. I think this is where the visit quickly went south. We didn't quite know what were the house specialties and started our ordering. My kids ordered what they've already enjoyed at other Roman restaurants (gnocchi and tonnarelli), while my wife and I ordered lasagne, seafood pasta and strip steak. We also ordered the mozzarella ball and fried zucchini/artichoke for appetizers. I asked for recommendations but obviously we didn't order what was considered acceptable by the owners because we were given our food but ignored from that point forth.

As for the food, apart from the gnocchi and tonnarelli, which my pasta loving kids soundly rejected and refused to eat after a couple of bites, we liked the others. The strip steak was very good and seafood pasta flavorful. The lasagne was light and tasty. We ordered another but received a confirmation of the order with a snicker of derision. That negative response immediately stopped our decision to order additional entrees.

Finally, the actual review of the experience that I want to share with the owners. My family and I are tourists. Obviously, we could afford to to visit Rome in the middle of a pandemic. That means we have the means to order your best dishes if you have solid recommendations and take time to explain. If we screwed up our order, excuse us but next time enlighten others who are like us. Our dining experience wasn't ruined by the quality of your food, it was ruined by your dismal service. I'm sure others have previously ordered and received fabulous meals at your restaurant. My family did not. I really wanted to write a good review but I cannot. Please continue to serve good food and be more tolerant of tourists...

The dining experience at this restaurant was truly a disaster from start to finish. The lack of a proper welcome set the tone, and once seated, the waitress appeared disinterested and even disgruntled while taking our order, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere.

The starter, a plate of melon and Parma ham, brought mixed feelings. Although the melon was good (congrats to the chef) the Parma ham was hard and lacked flavor. To compound the negative start, the main courses arrived almost immediately after the starter arrived, leaving no time to « savor » or finish it. I witnessed that the restaurant just agressively counters negative reviews so I attached a picture showing that my plate of carbonara was there before even finishing my ham and melon. Don’t be fooled by the picture, there was also still a lot of ham and melon on the plate of my girlfriend that she took from the bigger plate that you see on the picture (This is not visible on the picture). The lack of timing and consideration for the meal's pacing was an absolute joke.

As for the main dishes, the carbonara and cacio e pepe were a letdown. The carbonara looked good but had an excessively greasy taste with little resemblance to the expected authentic flavor, while the cacio e pepe was dry (see picture) and devoid of any real tast. Hilariously, we had tried the same dishes at another place the night before (cantina e cucina) and it was shocking that this restaurant managed to be even worse. I wanted to proof my girlfriend that we got tourist scammed the night before and that that couldn’t be our image of an authentic Italian carbonara or cacio e pepe. Jokes on me :-)

It's disheartening to pay for a meal that disrupts the entire evening. The lack of service, coordination between the arrival of dishes and bad food compounded the disappointment. Save yourself the frustration and bypass this establishment altogether. Never again will we endure such an abysmal...

Family was looking for a restaurant for dinner Tuesday July 18,2023. Our hotel was 3 mins from trevi fountain. I searched restaurants near trevi fountain with booking available online. Piccolo Arancio came up and was 6 min walk from hotel. We looked at the menu. Few things caught our eyes. Some of us was in the mood for seafood and typical dishes of Rome. We arrive at the restaurant a few minutes before our reservation. When arrived people are standing waiting to get a table. I’m so happy I made a reservation. This little restaurant sits in a quite little alley. There are a few tables outside as well as inside. Waiter asked if it was okay to sit outside. It’s a very hot July summer night. There where fans with misters going. We decided to sit outside. We started off with traditional fried Jerusalem artichoke & fried zucchini blossom, melon wrapped in prosciutto and mussels in a white wine sauce, to die for! Moved on to lasagna, sea bream & prawns from Sicily. One family member needed a little beef. He ordered Steak with red peppercorn sauce. Again sauce to die for. We ended our meal with a chocolate lava cake. Worth the 10 minutes it takes to cook after you order. Waiter tells you up front it’ll take 10 minutes . Gave us enough time to finish our bottle of wine. I’ve been to many Michelin Star restaurants even a few 1 star Michelin restaurants. Piccolo Arancio is by far my favorite restaurant in Italy. I can’t say a negative thing about this restaurant. I have to apologize for some of our pictures. We started trying and then someone remembered we need photos. Food was...