Ristorante Pizzeria Forno A Legna 12 Apostoli — Restaurant in Rome

Absolutely ruined my last afternoon in Rome. My partner and I had just done a 4 hour tour of the Colosseum and were starving. This is a very short distant from the Pantheon and the Colosseum and this may be why it has been branded a tourist trap. It is my mistake, I did not listen for the Italian language from the locals, therefore I should have known this was somewhere they would avoided like bubonic plague. We were aware of the non optional service charge per item and maybe.. if the food had been up to a good standard we might have been prepared for that...

Unfortunately this was not the case.

We ordered a spritz and a lemonade. Our server "Shaker Ahmed," asked if we would like small or medium Aperol...something we hadn't been asked...my lemonade also had no price next to it. Every drink I'd ordered since we landed on Monday, had a price next to it. I should have realised this was strange.. we ordered risotto with shrimps for me and my partner was really looking forward to trying the beef carpaccio, but he was told very bluntly they didn't have any. But for some reason they were able to cook him a steak.

When our food arrived, I cannot describe the pure and utter disappointment. We had been so spoilt with incredible food through out our stay and this was our last full day in Rome, we were expecting to be blown away but I have genuinely never been so upset over a meal.

The risotto was €16 and I tasted very little shrimp. Instead it was mainly shells and for some very bizarre reason , crab claws. The food came out piping hot which immediately gave me the impression It was frozen and microwaved. It was vile. Utterly vile. I honestly could have made better myself. My partner's steak arrived with a salad and some potatoes. He said the potatoes were ok but the steak was absolutely inedible. We were appalled. We felt the food did not display the authenticity of Rome and we had studied very carefully where we wanted to eat, so choosing this place on a whim was a huge risk and one that did not pay off.

I would not leave such a scathing review had it not been the lazy and arrogant attitude of the Directorie "Shaker Ahmed." But we were in for a bigger shock when our bill came. €50 for Two main courses and a drink each. The bill was scribbled all over with such nonsense but we were just so disheartened by our meal we just wanted to leave asap. Another server got our bill and Shaker Ahmed demanded to know who had been to get our bill, he was clearly very concerned about who his service charge was going to. We have not been to any restaurant in Rome since we got here, where service charge is put upon each item and we have never seen a bill that didn't even display what you had. This restaurant is an absolute scam to hard working tourists who deserve nice food, good drinks and good atmosphere, and an absolute insult to Rome.

Close it down immediately. They should be running a kebab shop in Benidorm for loud, drunk and rowdy tourists as that's exactly how we...

THIS IS A COPY OF MY REVIEW POSTED IN THE OTHER RESTAURANT THAT FIGURES IN MAPS UNDER THE SAME PLACE (IT'S THE SAME RESTAURANT, BUT DUPLICATED)

CAUTION! DON'T GO! LIARS!

At the door there are big panels where is written "Service included"... At the end of the meal, they charged us 5 euro for Service. When we asked, they told us it was because eating inside with air conditioned (they didn't say it beforehand, evidently). Also, they charged us 6 euro for 2 bottles of tap water

(Here, they replied to us that the water "is machine water" and that "they don't charge service")

REPLY: First of all, I want to say that there was no way to post a reply or edit via smartphone. But you are unlucky as we have a laptop in home ;)

Secondly, don't try to dodge the issue. In the bill there were 2 extras with no sense. 6 euros for 2 IKEA 1 litre bottles of cold tap water (what did you try to say with machine water?). We asked for this too and the waiter explained that "That is the price for 2 bottles, 3 and 3 euros" 5 euros with nothing written, no explanation. When asked to the waiter, he says that "It's service". We pay resigned and when we leave the local we see the panels with "Cover and Service included". In that moment, we come back inside and ask the waiter for explanation. He says that "It's because the air conditioned inside". Both extra charges were not warned anywhere and in no way.

Try to explain what happened. Don't try to drop the scam you made us (and other people, as we can see in the comments). We are thinking of going to the police with this. Maybe today justice won't prevail, but wait for two or a few more cases. You are scammers.

PS: 1 year ago, 2 friends of mine went to this place and they recommend it to us. Nothing bad happened to them, and the food was excellent. All the...

TLDR: Bad service, bad food, tried to charge for something we didn't eat or order.

Truth be told, I'm not sure how this place has as many 5 star reviews as it does. My wife and I ate here while exploring Rome on our honeymoon. The staff were quick to seat us and take our order, though we were told by two different staff to sit in two different places. The staff were smartly dressed save for who I assume was the manager who was dressed in casual clothing with a yellow polo. We both ordered the Diavolo pizza and a coke. We were given Pepsi (which I prefer though did order and were told Coke) and had a plate of bread placed on our table. Thankfully we checked if this was charged and we were told it was €1 each so we sent it back as we hadn't ordered it. When the pizzas arrived the crusts were burnt, the sauce was watery and greasy, and there was less cheese than we had come to expect from other restaurants we had eaten at and enjoyed while in Rome. While eating the manager spotted a man walking across the road with his family and shouted after them that if they come in he'll give them a free bottle of prosecco (much to the annoyance of the couple sat next to us who I presumed paid full price for theirs). When the man politely declined the manager shouted after him "you don't love your daughter". With this display we did not wish to stick around so immediately asked for the bill. Waiting 5 minutes we asked again. And again. 4 times in total. After waiting at least 10-15 minutes I had to track down a member of staff for my bill only to find they had tried to charge me for the bread we didn't order or eat. Once this was taken off we paid and left. We won't be eating here again and advised the person who asked what it was like on the way out not to eat...