Ristorante Pizzeria Ai Cocci — Restaurant in Rome

During my first visit to Rome, I chose this Italian restaurant based on its good reviews and close proximity to the Orange Garden, where we planned to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, our experience did not live up to the expectations. We walked in around 6:30 PM for dinner and were greeted by a friendly server who spoke good English. They mentioned they only had one table left but assured us we had an hour before their next reservation, which suited our schedule since we were planning to catch the sunset in an hour and a half.

We ordered three dishes: mixed fried specialties as an appetizer (the courgette flower was very good), carbonara (which was overly salty), and a seasonal special mushroom pasta (which was good). The appetizer arrived after 10 minutes, but the service went downhill from there. We were left waiting for our main dishes without any check-ins from the staff. After 30 minutes, we had to call our server to ask about our main dishes. Instead of apologizing for the long wait, he claimed he was waiting for us to finish our appetizer first, but assured us the food was ready.

Another 20 minutes passed with no sign of our food, so we asked them to pack it to go since we were running late. It took another 15 minutes to bring the to-go boxes, but they didn't include utensils. When we requested utensils, the server disappeared inside for another 10 minutes, only to return and tell us they didn't have any to-go utensils. We insisted we needed utensils, so he went back inside. By this time, the next reservation party had arrived, and another server was trying to rush us out. We explained we were still waiting for utensils.

Finally, a man who seemed to be a manager came out and gave us two real forks since they didn't have to-go utensils. He at least apologized for the wait but asked us to return the forks if we were in the area.

Overall, it was not a good experience, especially considering all the positive reviews. While the restaurant was busy, the service could have been much better. We were in a rush and ended up missing the sunset. Unfortunately, due to the poor experience, we didn’t even take any food photos. Not the evening we...

Disappointing experience. When we are in Rome we love to meet up with some old friends for a pizza; sometimes we try out a new place. Ai Cocci had great reviews and we went for it. I wish we hadn't. Or that we'd ordered the pasta? We had 8 pm reservations for 4 pax. Upon arrival there was one other table, a two-top. We ordered wine (there is no house wine; this isn't that kind of pizzeria). The wine came immediately. I will say this--the wine service was impeccable and the selection was good. We ordered fiori di zucca appetizers and then four pizzas. And waited...and waited...and waited. A couple of more tables were seated. Food was ordered and served around us. All pasta. At one point I went to the restroom and passed the pizza station. There were TWO guys at the pizza station, standing in front of the large oven. But there were no pizzas being made. (And, FWIW, the oven is not wood-fired.) Perhaps after 30 minutes the appetizers came, then the pizzas came after maybe 40 minutes. The wine was gone at this point. The waiter had come back several times to refill our glasses but never remarked on the wait, or apologized. Our pizzas were not cooked properly. The dough was too soft and not crispy. I ate enough to no longer be hungry, maybe a third of it. The others at the table ate more than I did but clearly without enjoyment. I would never return. I felt that they treated our little group as though we weren't wanted or welcome, the pizza was poorly prepared, and other guests were served well before us. I regret a wasted meal in Rome. I regret trying a "new"...

A restaurant close to Pyramide station that boasts some strengths and areas of improvement.

Pros: -excellent cuisine; we ordered numerous dishes and all were cooked and seasoned, apart from the cod (a bit overdone) -price point: very reasonable prices for Rome, which prompted us to order more than usual -waiting time for a table; our group was given a table instantly, compared to other restaurants in the neighborhood who just curtly told us to wait in line or go away

Cons: -although seating time was fast, wait time for our food was disappointingly slow; appetizers took 30 minutes to arrive after order, mains took 55 minutes; one guest in the vicinity sat down 15 minutes after we arrived, ordered and ate a main course, paid and left before we even received the house bread -tap water isn't free; however, a table of locals got a bottle on the house -although the dining area outdoors is partially sealed, guests (and random people on the street) are allowed to smoke close enough to have it permeate the area and leave some of the dishes smelling of cigarettes. Not pleasant.

Mixed bag: -We had two waiters who attended our table. One spoke perfect English, handled our orders smoothly, and apologied profusely for the wait times. Another waiter kept giving us bizarre looks, dropped a utensil on us without apologizing, and just seemed lost in general. If there are standard of service at Ai Cocci, please model them after the former.

If Ai Cocci makes changes, it could unquestionably be a 4 or 5...