Pizzeria Remo A Testaccio — Restaurant in Rome

Ok so here’s the deal. If you want to taste an incredible pizza go here. If however you want to feel relaxed whilst doing so, do not go here unless you are up for experiencing hostility and literally being prodded and pushed.

On entering at the opening time I walked in through the open door and politely asked if they were open. Several staff were there and they all just stared at me and my wife. Not a great welcome. I asked 3 times and was eventually and quite bluntly told to walk in. It was quite clear they didn’t really want non locals in.

You then get a thin piece of paper with menu items on and a biro. Joining the dots we put a mark next to what we wanted.

One of the waiters then came over and spoke loudly in my ear whilst simultaneously jabbing me hard in my ribs. My jumper was on the chair next to me and he wanted it moved so he could squeeze two more people in next to us with a 6 inch gap. (it was originally two tables joined together so no big deal leaving my jumper on the chair as we didn’t expect anyone to sit next to us ). This didn’t warrant physical contact or being shouted at. Bit out of order tbh and normally I would’ve said something or reacted but as it was our 30th wedding anniversary it kind of added to the bank of memories and made it mildly amusing.

All said and done the food was incredible. The atmosphere hostile, the vibe more than rough and rustic and just what you want for an authentic experience of local dining and a story you’ll tell your grandkids. Don’t come here if you want a warm, friendly vibe. Do come here...

Walked up to Remo at 10:15pm on a Friday, after a LONG day walking through Rome. It was next to our AirBNB apartment in Testacchio and the AirBNB person told us the pizza is great. We were shocked that is was totally packed and "bumping", full of locals having beer, wine, and pizza. We were the only Americans there. The staff speak little English and service is what you'd expect from a busy pizza restaurant (think a packed NYC restaurant where your elbows are touching other customers). The scene was electric, we hailed down waiters who brought food out quickly, provided abundant wine (a huge carafe of cold and flavorful pinot grigio) and local beer. Appetizers -- fagiole beans, insalata mista -- spot on -- and the eggplant (melanzane) parmesan was in a cast iron skillet, obviously made in the flaming pizza oven. Once of the best eggplant parms we've EVER had and we've had a lot.

Now the pizza -- thin, crispy, perfectly black/brown on the edges, and piping hot. You gotta eat it fresh. Each of us, including our 11 and 7-year old kids, almost at an entire pizza, it was that good.

We finished with coconut gelato that was served in actual coconut shells (not sure where those were imported from!), kids were licking the shells clean.

The bill for 4 adults and 2 kids -- 89 euros -- including a to-go pizza.

If you're in Testacchio, you MUST go here, if even for the eggplant parm or a...

Not my best review, here's why: The food was amazing, but the service was not good at all. Probably the best pizza I've tasted in Rome but is it worth all the wait? Is it worth the stress and the tension of the waiters? I don't think so. A restaurant is not only about the food, it's an experience. First, you have an average wait of 45 minutes to get a table (we were only two), which I find extremely annoying and disrespectful for a customer. Do not normalize such behavior, maybe the restaurant should expand at this point. Second, we waited an endless 30 minutes minimum between the first service and the second (between the starters and pizzas), at this point it became too long... Third, our friend joined us at 10h45pm and the waiters didn't accept to add a chair to our table (although the restaurant was half empty because all the people that left). The waiter became violent and verbally attacked us. We explained that it was not our problem if the dinner took longer than expected because of their endless service (based on the concept of ignoring their clients) and we were supposed to leave and meet our friend at 10h30pm. Thanks to my sister that confronted the waiter, we got our extra chair, finished our meal and left the stressed and tense staff. Bad experience apart, the food was amazing. Everything was extremely well prepared and the ingredients are fresh and...