RISTORANTE No.1 — Restaurant in Rome

It appears that all the immaterial and glowing reviews, perhaps fuelled by the free (watered down) limoncello mention Dave...  And I'll tell you a story.

I dropped by on 06 Jul (and have a bill to prove it) thinking, due to the glowing reviews, this is a great place.

Red flags: Older short man hunting passers-by on the street. No (or minimal) Italian speaking people at the tables.  And when there were, they were only in for aperitivo and reading. Confused menu - a bit of this a bit of that.

Food: I had an Aperol spritz - can't mess that up.  There is a recipe for that online.

Then I had bruschette al pomodoro.

Then I had bucatini all'amatriciana.

Then I had polpette alla nonna.

And somewhere in between I was offered a "focaccia" which I accepted.

Bruschette - no issue, except a little under-seasoned. Bland as an English toast.

Amatriciana - about 20 bites of food, which is good for primi piatti, but starting with a suspicious sweet tinge, rapidly degrading to an unpleasantly salty taste.  The "guanciale" there ranged from burned crisps of leftover something that wasn't guanciale, to squishy strips of something that resembled guanciale.  What other meat was there?

The bucatini were ok - except they tasted like were from a DeCecco pack (nothing wrong with DeCecco - I use it when I get lazy - and I love Abruzzo) or fresh ones that were pre-cooked a really long time ago. Please don't ask me if I want some Parmigiano grated on top. I'm not American. It just doesn't belong, and there should already have been a good amount of pecorino in the sauce.

Polpette - the meatballs had no texture to them and started falling apart from the moment they were delivered. We need to have a word with "nonna" or the head chef. Either case, the head chef was struggling enough, so no need to add to his stress levels.

The funny thing is that the sauce was the same super salty condensed, textureless tomato mush with puddles of oil in the polpette and the amatriciana. Minus the sprinkle of cacio, of course.

Then the "focaccia" finally arrived.  Sadly I had no more food left to eat it with, so I took it "home".

Btw, it looked like a naan that someone left on the stove while taking a nap - but here in Rome, there is such thing as focaccia crocante, which is a really tasty thing just 100 meters away from this place and it is oozing with olive oil and flavour and goodness.  This one was just sad.  That's why the feisty naan comments from other reviewers I reckon.

Back to Dave.  He is a great server.  He will entertain you.  He will try to speak to you in your language. Hence, the first question: "Where are you from?"

He will tower over you at the end of service though demanding that you tell him how much tip you will include.  Unheard of in civilised Italy.

Also unheard of is Dave asking you to open Google maps and taking over your phone, highlighting his restaurant, ticking 5 star and while still towering over you, asking you to write a few comments about how great he was.

Hence my original 5 star (under duress) is now becoming a 1 star with a few thoughts:

After seeing the head chef being frogmarched in front of the customers no fewer than 4 times within the space of 2 hours on 06 Jul, I think it's time for the short man on the street to ditch Dave, ditch the menu and let the head chef do something sensible and do it well.

Granted, this restaurant was obviously not designed for repeat business but as a tourist...

We must have tried this place on a bad day or chosen the wrong things on the menu.

The ravioli was good 4-5 star. But the rest. Meeeh…

This place is also a bit more expensive. We managed to find better and cheaper places in Trastevere.

POSITIVE:

1. On a site street. More silent street. But still not romantic or cozy Italien vibe.
2. The ravioli

CONS: the risotto was so disappointing. Not much flavour. Watery. All in all, not worth the money. bruchettas. Dull. The tomatoes lacked punch and flavour. 12 euros for Parma ham and melon (to expensive) the house red wine. Served as warm as the weather (tasted like 32 degrees). Very simple and a bit borring wine.

DON’T order the “Creme Brulee”.

I know - it is not an Italian dish, but then they should rather not serve it. The taste was off… Was missing real vanilla. The consistency was not creamy but more like scrambled eggs.

Unfortunately this wasn’t a “hidden gem” experience for us - and they are not no. 1 on our list in Rome.

We had: Bruschetta Parmaham and melon Ravioli Risotto w. Pancetta Creme Brulee 1/2 L House red wine 1 coke zero 1 bottle of sparkling water

76 euros. (Expensive)

*this was the first place, were we experiences the “cardterminal tip”. I hate this. Forcing the tip on the customer with either 5-10-15 euro. This awkward moment, where the waiter awaits your choice - but they didn’t really earned it or the fixed amount.

Do it the classic way - leave the bill at the table or add it automatically like other...

I never give restaurant reviews, but Dave (the waiter) begged me to give one. He specifically instructed us to locate the restaurant on google maps and give him 5 stars plus mention his name. Notice how Dave’s name is one of the most mentioned words in the reviews. He entices his audience by giving them limoncello shots in hopes we forget and forgive this awful experience. Dave also greeted us rudely and in a condescending tone.

After putting in our drink order, my friend ordered a Diet Coke, and if she didn’t ask for it again she would’ve never gotten it. While waiting for our dinner, we were looking forward to our bread basket appetizer. While we were waiting, Dave decided to sing, dance, and interact with people on the street. He purposefully denied to give me the bread I ordered. Halfway through my dinner he asked if I wanted the bread. Obviously, I said no because it was too late. Dave said, “I figured” which is a crazy response because that means he remembered the bread.

I was fuming after this disappointing experience. This is a tourist trap, and I was misled by the 5 star reviews. I hope this restaurant fires Dave for his lack of...