Ristorante Da Marcello — Restaurant in Rome

We chose the restaurant due to the good reviews but honestly I don't get the reviews.

We arrived around 12:15 and got sat right away as the restaurant was still empty.

We ordered the following: -Saltimbocca alla romana con patate (fritte) -Filetto ai ferri con patate (fritte) -Tagliata di manzo

When ordering the filetto the waiter didn't want to swap the potatos for fries at first but couldn't really tell us why that wasn't possible so in the end he made the swap anyway. Thanks for the swap but why so complicated.

The Tagliata arrived on a grill platter which wasn't mentioned on the menu or when ordering. As the meat was thin and already cut into pieces we had to ask for a seperate plate so it wouldn't dry out or burn on the hot grill.

The Saltimbocca (made with Pork btw) arrived cold and the fries were hot. Sent it back and recieved a warm meal after around 10 minutes. The Saltimbocca was baked/drenched in oily cheese and was salty enough to compensate for the fries that didn't have any salt on them.

Reminder: A real Saltimbocca is made from Veal and panfried with a piece of Prosciutto crudo and Sage. Which is what I expected and what the picture on the menu implies.

I don't know if you're luckier trying out their pasta dishes, but I don't recommend the meat dishes and won't be recommending...

FAKE pasta No crispy guanciale (pork cheek) The bacon is not fried, no pig oil in the source No al dente No real cheese, only fake instant cheese powder from supermarket you can see on the photo.

The italian (or euripean guy) was indeed friendly outside the entrance, however, the 2 indian guys were not friendly inside. Although they have a lot of empty seats at around 4 o'clock, they insisted to assign me and my wife next to a grouo of 4, which was super closed and super noisy. We ordered three plates and the table was too small. The indian waiter just wait for us to relocate our plates and forks and knives so that he can put down the dish (he made a look that seems like it was our fault, and it was extremely ironic that this was the table they assigned us (even they have plenty of empty 4-person, 6-person or even 8-person tables)

However, there is a lot of good reviews say that the waiters are friendly. I just dun understand. Maybe we were served by different guy. But I dun think the pasta is good, it was easily observed that they used fake cheese and did NOT put effort to deep fried...

After all that sightseeing, you need some proper Roman fuel, and Ristorante Da Marcello, tucked away in Trastevere, is the perfect spot. It has that classic, cozy vibe—the kind of place where you feel immediately at home.

While they have a full menu of Roman classics, I highly recommend two things. First, their Margherita with Mushrooms Pizza. The crust is perfectly thin and crispy, the tomato sauce is bright, and the fresh mozzarella melts beautifully. Adding the mushrooms gives it that earthy, satisfying chew. It’s simple perfection. Second, you absolutely must try the Gnocchi Pesto Pasta. The gnocchi dumplings are incredibly soft and light, practically melting in your mouth, and the pesto sauce is vibrant, fresh, and perfectly balanced—not too heavy, which can be hard to find with a pesto base.

This is honest, unpretentious, and unforgettable Italian cooking....