Retrobottega — Restaurant in Rome

“The emperor wears no clothes”.

We found this place in a blog, then a review, accidentally went in not knowing we needed reservations, and made reservations. The soonest they had were over two weeks away, so we booked the end of the trip around this dinner thinking we’d end our trip with an amazing dinner experience.

We read all the reviews. And anyone that gives this place 5 stars is out of touch with reality or… has more money than taste buds.

The one thing that saved anything at all was our server. We don’t even know his name but she was warm, accommodating, made us feel welcome and took care of us in perfect English. We had already paid for the dinner. She chose vegetarian and I chose the carnivore menu.

We also chose the wine flights to accompany the dinner.

It started with a nice dry Prosecco and an amuse bouche. Perhaps our taste buds are not developed enough but they all tasted roughly the same.

Getting into the actual first courses, we were really underwhelmed.

I’m going to skip a lot of drama, but suffice it to say the main course for her was ridiculous. This place is supposed to be a Michelin starred restaurant.

For €378, her main course was a meager stalk of steamed broccoli in a beer yeast sauce with chili oil, topped with a couple of fried sage leaves and some shaved fried garlic.

We were really hoping for foraged things as described on the menu but honestly not sure what was foraged except for maybe the “greens” they topped things with. On multiple courses for both of us and well as our main dishes, they were covered in a barely dressed weed. Dandelion maybe? But it was pointy and sharply enough that the 2 times I tried to add it to my dish (everything on your plate should be edible) I had it stick into the roof of my mouth with Its little thorny ends, and or hang in the back of my throat with the same thorny ends until something waged it down.

At this price I would have expected a nice filet. It was about 1.5-2 ounces of sirloin. It was cooked perfectly and the side was great, but covered I. Those thorny foraged “greens”.

We were hoping that dessert would somehow redeem the whole meal, and while it was decent, it wasn’t enough to save the meal, especially at the price.

The atmosphere was nice, we liked the chefs, very nice and cordial, the service as mentioned was impeccable. But when the menu says €6 for water and you go through only two bottles of Aqua Panna™️ and it’s €24 for even that? Count me out.

We have no problem splurging for a nice meal or wine or whatever was long as it’s worth it.

Giving them 5stars for service and wine pairings. Value is zero. Food is...

This quiet, understated, stark, and modern restaurant is mostly considered Rome's "it" restaurant right now.

If you're looking for Rome's foodie experience of the moment... which is easily booked online if you plan far enough ahead... Book the chef's table dining experience. When I visited, they called it "20 bites" and basically let you watch the chef's plate every single dish on the menu right in front of you in a special, private seating area. You should go for the pairing, so every 20 plates also get paired with a special beverage that ranges from sake to Stout to cocktails to Champaign to Cabernet... Each perfectly matched with the bite in front of you.   The only oddity of the menu was the fact that the proteins and the pairings jumped around from light to full-bodied and back all over the menu. I'm sure this was part of their more modern approach,  but I may have appreciated a more traditional lighter to full-bodied menu rollout.

The interaction with the chefs explaining each piece of the played in detail and actually see them compose the dish in front of you is a special opportunity and a memorable night for sure.

When you place your whole menu in the chef's hands... along with what you're going to be drinking... it is a little bit of a risk. I think that is part of the fun if you ask me. The menu we tasted that night included some very interesting things that there's no way I would have ordered otherwise... but each and every bite was delicious and I really appreciated them expanding my palate. Donkey tartar, anyone?

Because you're interacting with the chef... able to ask questions and watch them plate... the experience is very communal and interactive. Service was top-notch and the quality of food was impossible to beat.

This restaurant is modern and much different than most typical Roman spaces... if you're looking for a different, high-quality evening out and love to experiment in a Michelin-star type experience... this place...

Booked and dined in 4 pax. It's a shared table experience and the food is modern Italian. Ordered a from their alocarte menu. They had a chef's tasting option 5 course for $75 euro which we didn't select as it was a surprise menu.

Atmosphere and Seating: 5/5 even though it was a shared table experience, the atmosphere was pleasant and lively. Right next to the kitchen you can see all the staff playing up the dishes in front of you. The decor was quite modern and hip.

Service: 4/5 overall the service was excellent and it only misses 1 star as I gave feedback about a dish which wasn't feedback to the restaurant.

Food: 3/5 we ordered 5 dishes, unfortunately there where 3 okay and 2 were misses. The 3 okay dishes were the Cold Noodle with Uni, their special that night the roasted pigeon, and the sharing plate duck salad. The 2 misses were the gnocchi with truffle, and sharing plate Beef Heart Tartare. The Beef Heart Tartare was too chewy and a bit tasteless. The sauces and reduction was ok. Mint was a bit overdone. The Gnocchi was by far the worst. We ordered 2 servings and none of them were finished. It had a really strange taste where even the truffle couldn't cover.

Service: 3/5 I think they make a real effort to make a great dining experience. Unfortunately I did tell the wait staff twice whilst I was paying the bill that the gnocchi was not nice and to please let either the kitchen know or the more senior staff on duty which he did not. So we just left a little disappointed.

Price: 3/5 I think given the experience they are trying to deliver the pricing seems reasonable. Unfortunately let down by food which should be above average as a minimum.

Overall, I would not recommend this, unless you are there more for the experience and wines and ok with fusion type tastes as the food and flavours are a bit...