Pietro al Pantheon — Restaurant in Rome

Walking down the many alleyways that weave in and around the Pantheon, visitors and locals alike will find the narrow streets bustling and near bursting with options for food. If your nose doesn't lead you, the eyes that spy the many colorful dishes will certainly help give you ideas for mealtime. However, for me and my stomach, it wasn't the food or the smells that helped me make my decision; it was the tableware. Immediately, I noticed Pietro al Pantheon's staff serving up mouth-watering pasta dishes using large and well-loved paella skillets! Such a unique feature among a sea of food choices caught my attention and then just as quickly earned my love and loyalty after only one visit!

To start, the owner, who introduced himself as Mimo, was a fantastic and kindhearted host (all of his staff were wonderful as well, but Mimo stole the show!). My first dining experience led to three more in part due to his charisma and honest appreciation of my attempts to order and converse with him in Italian. He made you feel like you were a welcome regular and spoke with you like you had been friends for decades. Around him and his restaurant, the views and atmosphere were like their own enjoyable feature! Dining alone as I was, it was fun to people watch while sipping on a glass of wine and hear all the different languages flicker in and around the hungry crowds in search of their own meals.

Speaking of, let's talk about the food, which on its own is worth all the praise and many return visits! From eggs to apples, as the Ancient Romans used to say, there wasn't a single lackluster dish. Everything was either its own fantastic version of rich, savory, fresh, and/or sweet. From the antipasti to the dolci, everything on the menu is worth a try! I say this especially after my third and final visit before my flight back home, as it was during this meal that Mimo himself recommended and picked out each menu item, from the burrata salad to the homemade maltagliati pasta! Each dish was perfectly prepared, and each bite savored and enjoyed alongside a glass of red house wine.

In conclusion, whenever I manage to return to Rome, I will make it a point to revisit Pietro al Pantheon (and the lovely Mimo!), hungry for more of their hearty food and...

Tourist trap. To be avoided!

We had high hopes for this place given the reviews and glowing articles we found. This place may have been good a few years ago but it was the worst experience we have had in Italy so far.

Firstly we ordered two glasses of sauvignon blanc, the waitress went out of the restaurant and came back with to glasses of cheap tasting watery white wine, she did not show us the bottle or ask us to taste before she poured.

We then ordered still water, which came warm in an opened bottle and tasted distinctly like tap water. The ice that we asked for was also tap water. Fine, no big deal. But the experience gets worse.

We ordered stuffed zucchini flowers which came as heavy greasy fritters, any cheese that was supposed to be inside had melted out or had not been out inside in the first place.

We then ordered a carbonara which was ok, a bit too salty and definitely not fresh pasta (fine but nothing to write home about) as well as oxtail rigatoni in tomato sauce. The sauce was fine but basic but the ox tail was rock hard with no meat on it, just hard fat as if it had been boiled for only a few minutes.

For our mains we ordered the lamb ribs on the waitresses recommended (after we waved away her suggestion of 30 Euro truffle pasta - v overpriced considering its truffle season and we had been eating the same dish elsewhere for a third of the price). We also ordered pork in white wine sauce.

The lamb was tough, unseasoned and mainly hard fat. The roast potatoes that came with it were so dry they were inedible.

The pork was incredibly bland and anaemic, as if it had boiled without seasoning or any cafe at all. You couldn’t even taste a hint of wine.

As a side the waitress recommended porcini mushroom, which were nice but cost 16 euros for 4 or 5 mushrooms (an obvious ploy by the waitress to get more money from us as they were not in the menu)

The restaurant looks lovely but was very hot with no working air conditioning, it was so hot my wife nearly had a panic attack.

Best to avoid at all costs, total rip off and really underwhelming food...

Worst restaurant experience ever. Family dinner for four on a Saturday evening and it started with a fly in my red wine glass. No problems as that was changed without fuss. Everything else was going fine, lovely looking place and comforted by locals dining next to us. Orders were taken and starters were served swiftly. However, it all went downhill from there. Mains took over 25 mins to arrive but I was only told then that they had run out of the lamb that I ordered. By then I was hungry and disappointed and was forced to make a decision on the spot. Was further disappointed when told the alternative dish I wanted will take a long time and was directed to order something quick - the chicken with tomatoes. Ordered the chicken grudgingly and it did arrive very quick. A bit too quick to my liking as it seemed the dish was cold and meat was very tough; it was prepared much earlier and was not fresh. I was not alone in disappointment as the other three mains were also cold and not fresh at all. Very puzzled as we had chosen this restaurant based on the positive feedback given by others online. Do not be fooled! I understand if they had made a mistake and forgot to inform me that they ran out of lamb, but the only response given was a shrug and a casual light hearted sorry. This left us all very disappointed after the 2 days of amazing food we have had elsewhere in the city. It could be possible that it was a busy Saturday evening and they were unable to keep up, but the service was not there either. I don't normally put reviews but given there were positive reviews on this place, I thought to warn others. You're better going off...