Ristorante Puntarella — Restaurant in Rome

Ristorante Puntarella was a fabulous dinning experience. The staff was very friendly, and knowledgeable. Everything was priced very reasonably and it was 100% worth it. If I could only eat at one restaurant while in Rome this would be the one. With inside and outside seating there was room for everyone. I arrived without a reservation and was still able to find a place to sit. I ordered the Croquette of beef braised in Burnello wine, garden vegetables and green sauce as an appetizer, and Tagliolini with Mediterranean leaf pesto and braised monkfish seared with bread crumble and pine nuts as my entrée. The hostess/waitress recommended a local red wine that was very good. They brought out a bread bowl with a large variety of breads. The bread was warm, and delicious. The ones that were in little circles were my favorite. The appetizer was amazing, it was not what I expected, but it was delicious. There were thinly sliced strips of carrots that may have been quick pickled, served with similarly pickled radish, and pickled red onion. The Croquette was cook perfectly, moist on the inside, but still retaining a slight crunch on the outside. The green sauce, light and refreshing. All the elements of the dish blended perfectly. That alone had put this at the top of my list for meals, and my expectation for the entrée rose considerably after it. The entrée was sublime. The dish was presented very nicely. The pesto sauce was nothing like pesto in America. It was lighter, with a distinct basil and olive oil flavor, less garlic and other ingredients. The fish had a hint of citrus, while keeping a distinct fish flavor in the best kind of way. The portion was a bit small, but with the appetizer I was satisfied. I finished my second glass of wine and then got the check. I wish that I had been more hungry so that I could have tried one of there second course dishes, and a dessert because the options...

The reviews are totally misleading. The food was not even normal, it was rather bad cooked which is not permitted for the price list of this restaurant, both pastas (carbonara and Grandma’s pennone) did not taste well, not salted well and one of them was served cold, the portions are extremely small (starters are 4 bites literally, 2 per person) and not that tasteful... The so “experienced staff”(?) didn’t speak one word in English and wasn’t able to help us with the menu. As if that this is not enough, there were mosquitoes during las days of December (2022) that bit us. For sure we will not visit again. From their answer below you can confirm: 1. The fact that there are mosquitoes on their front yard and 2. Their low level of services. I do know what Al dente pasta is, what I couldn’t know is that you serve COLD pasta and this is the low level of your English and providing food sir. I am not to be reviewed here but your restaurant, which had only 3 tables (6 people) as customers on a midday before Christmas days, when Rome (and trastevere) was drawing from tourists, why is that really? Beside my 5* reviews to other places which you don’t like to see, my review to you is a 1* for all the reason mentioned above. Your reviews will be lower by the time when the real reviews appear and hide the ones your friends have made. Plus we received no receipt, just the order reg. paper. Better cook for your friends rather than clients. Ignorant and impolite, what...

In almost 50 years of dining out I have NEVER left a restaurant without leaving a tip … until tonight!! The service was appalling with almost an hour wait to even place an order and then two more hours for our main courses which were less than average - raw monkfish, unrendered pork belly and how can a restaurant in Rome not know how to cook pasta!! And when we complained their dismissive attitude was insulting - acknowledging they had a problem but with no apology or recompense on the bill. If this is how Rome treats tourists I’m glad I usually travel elsewhere😱.

For confirmation after the restaurant's response (over a month later), there were 8 of us, we all ordered an appetizer and main course and although several were inedible as mentioned in my original review we were presented with (and paid) a bill of just over 800 Euros (we also had 4 bottles of averagely priced wine while waiting so long for the food!). Even if we had wanted a dessert it would not have been possible as the kitchen was closing by the time we left for an 8pm reservation - 3 hours for 2 course for 8 people!!! We voiced our complaint at the time and were greeted with a shrug of the shoulders and no apology. My boyfriend also wrote a review under his business google account which they responded to after a couple of days and as a "fellow business owner" he was offered a free meal to recompense for the poor service and food quality. A free meal did not...