Ristorante Tre Scalini — Restaurant in Rome

Firstly.... this is home to the most famous dessert in Italy, and no, the most famous dessert in Italy does “NOT” come from the Veneto meaning “pick me up”.... nor has Italian Restaurants “EVER” had balsamic “imposter” carmel liquid on their tables...but they do now because of clueless tourists ruining the worlds best cuisine...so ... bad reviews abound about this “Institution” in Rome... written by just this sort of reviewer.., If you want the best Cappuccino, go to Tasca d’Oro by the Pantheon ...if you knew anything about Rome, you would know this... but to review this “amazing “ restaurant, and not mention “TARTUFO” means you are really not someone that has a clue..

The reviewer who said they , “the wait staff, need to speak English”..., a simple point... why do you not stay home next time.. .guaranteed these waiters speak better English than your Italian..

And... bad service, hardly,... there are more waiters working the floor than ANY restaurant in Piazza Navona... the service they provide is excellent, always...you are in Italy, if you want “SUPERB “ service , stay home, as you probably have nothing in your entire country that compares to PIAZZA NAVONA,.. ..

your service”must” be perfect ,..

as there is no reason to eat/dine there other than the service...

I did not mention the food, because the food here is truly excellent... real Roman Food... it is two blocks off the square you find”Frugal” tourists going, missing the UNREAL” beauty, and chaos of Europes best square....and spending just as much, if not more, eating food from menus designed to lure in tourists..

Nit Pickers, wake up, this is the most “FAMOUS” restaurant in Rome... and I dare say Sophia Loren thought so, so I will go with her choice over suspect reviews ( she had to sign in her contracts she would not eat TARTUFO as it made her fitted dresses too tight, I would buy it for her if given the chance 30 years ago!!)

Antonio, the owner, sources his seafood and ingredients from the “best” suppliers in Rome..he can afford to, he prices things for this quality accordingly. . I read a reviewer about “frozen ingredients ”, as they do not serve pizza, or anything frozen other than ice cream, where did that comment come from?...Written by a jealous competitor in the square? I highly suspect...

Having dined here, without complaint, with over 1600 guests over the last 20 years, I hope readers disregard the obviously suspect comments below. Go, you will love it... the setting is amazing, and real Roman Food with an amazing...

Overall experience is what you’d expect from a place that can only be in business based on location.

The setting is beautiful, right in front of the square staking claim to being the first restaurant, established in 1815, it was all great, the well spoken man explaining the menu, the young water boy working his first job wearing the all black sport shoes hoping he can pass them off as dress shoes, the water misting set up under the umbrellas, the ice cold beer, THEN they bring the food. Don’t get the door it ain’t Delissio, it’s Disgusting-O.

The pizza was chewy, maybe he crust had over proofed. The sauce, overly acidic and the cheese rapidly turned into a rubbery mess.

The spaghetti bolognese was clearly not fresh as promised. It was under cooked and the sauce had telltale signs of being reheated from frozen.

The seafood linguini was an absolute joke. Langostine served as lobster. Really? Maybe it was the language barrier. I’ll give them that one. It was a fishy, nasty, almost gritty “sauce” on fettuccine noodles only Chef Boyardee would take pride in.

The Caprese salad was the star of the show though. The bocconcini was served whole with cherry tomatoes and minimal basil on some romaine lettuce and beautiful bottles of balsamic vinegar and olive oil that looked to have been bought from the Costco of Italy in a family pack. Again I had to ask myself, really? Romaine lettuce in a Caprese salad...in Rome??? Mass produced Olive oil???

Maybe I’m a snob, maybe I just think logically but this place is not good. Atmosphere was great but the food wasn’t. I wouldn’t go back here ever for food. I honestly don’t think the other restaurants in the area could have been worse. On second thought, I would go back. I’d go and check in on the water boy and see if he transitioned into a server with real work shoes and then I’d continue walking while I looked for somewhere...

TLDR: The low reviews are warranted when it comes to the service and system this restaurant treats its servers and customers. If in fact servers are penalized for getting an order incorrectly, which causes tension between the server and the customer, this restaurant should go out of business. The epidemy of horrible service, management and overpriced food. Avoid at all cost - many better spots just a block away.

Story: We had a very unfortunate visit at this place. We wanted to sit down for a drink and after ordering, we were brought a bottle instead of the two glasses we asked for. The server, insisted that I had asked for a bottle, when I had clearly not. He said we could not return the bottle and get the two glasses, even though the bottle was still sealed and remained unopened. After some back and forth, he relented, but at that point our experience had soured, so we decided to leave. We were chased down and asked to return and have our two glasses, to which the "director" without acknowledging us threatened to call the police. From the servers reaction to the situation, it seems that regardless of the situation, he would be left with paying for the bottle and two glasses of wine - even though none of it had been served... it seemed either 1) a messed up rule for working at this place (had not encountered this situation elsewhere) or 2) an aggressive way to force tourists to order and pay for items once they convince you to sit down. The whole experience was a sour one and having to drink our glasses of wine after awkwardly and taken back to our table under threat of calling the police was something we won't forget anytime soon. We try our best to not be annoying or difficult tourists, respecting the culture, locations and the people there, but this place left a bitter memory in what was almost a wonderful...