Spirito di Vino — Restaurant in Rome

One star for decent food + decor (though comparable to all the other restaurants in the area).

But why just one star? Because the service was appallingly sexist and rendered to please a man, who they mistakingly assumed would be paying. As a gal who eats out every night and consistently travels every few weeks for work and play, trust me when I say this was the most sexist service I've ever received in all my years and I'm generally pretty oblivious. Honestly, this was so obvious that I feel the need to write about it.

An older gentleman came over to our table (where I sat with my boyfriend) and asked how we heard about the place. He said he checks the ratings every night as it's important to him. Then, he proceeded to speak only towards the man I was with, meanwhile completely dismissing me --a woman-- even as I tried to add a few nice comments ... he spoke over me and didn't even look at me. Later, he came back for another chat and continued to speak only to my partner, again not even looking me in the eye and acting as if I was invisible.

After a friendly female waitress served our dinner, as dessert came, that elderly gentleman came back and put the plate down on my side and proceeded to slide the plate away from me and across the table to my boyfriend, and I'm not kidding when he said "ahhh, you're the man of this table, therefore you must try the dessert first". I literally couldn't believe what I was hearing and seeing.

When the bill came, a male chef handed it to our table and literally said (no joke) "in Rome, women are not allowed to pay, it's always the man" and handed it straight to my boyfriend. To his surprise I responded "Actually sir, I will be paying."

The chef came back and opened the bill, and when he saw it was actually my credit card he raised his eyebrows as if ashamed. Then he started speaking to the both of us as if I was suddenly present. Surprise surprise. Later before we left (and we were the last guests to leave), he handed me a bottle of wine as a "gift". Was it a gift or perhaps an obvious apology to absolute blatant sexism I experienced the entire night to avoid me writing a poor review? I'll let you guess. Either way, I'm not a fool.

Big props to our female waitress though, who while sampling the wine politely asked "who will be trying the first sip?" ... it seems it was only the male staff who obviously had no...

Considering all the ecstatic reviews posted, this may well be a decidedly minority opinion: our much anticipated visit to "Spirito di Vino" was disappointing. The service was efficient and responsive, but the long introduction by the maitre d' concerning the history of the building and its wine cellar started to arouse suspicion: there was no discussion of the actual menu. The charm of this history lesson began to fray when we heard the story repeated, exactly, more than three times at nearby tables. I love history, but I can not eat it. The restaurant's claim to "slow food" seem unwarranted. Is not good Italian food, by definition, "slow?" One element of "slow food" is that it is seasonal, so why, when we asked for a zucchini-based appetizer were we told that zucchini was unavailable (this being April) and that the substitution would be pumpkin (this being harvested in the Fall)? The wine list for a restaurant storied for its wine cellar was also disappointing with most selections crossed out and not available. All this would be minor if the food, despite pretentious presentation, was not so mediocre and not up to all the hype. "Slow Food" does not need to be so- so food. The restaurant seemed to us the least "Roman" of all the half dozen we visited in Rome. It had the feel of an Italian restaurant, but in New York. Even the sudden appearance of Caesar's chef, the supposed author of some of the recipes, would not help. We want a more visceral Roman experience, less English and American tourists, better food and less history lessons. As an aside, I think that if I saw another tourist make their visit to the wine cellar pretentiously balancing their wine glass while descending the stairs, I think I...

I have noticed from reading SO MANY reviews of locations in Italy and France by English speaking reviewers that ppl offer expertise. I know. A review should sound authoritative. But let me be clear here: I don’t know anything about Rome because I am a guest here, and guests are clueless helpless babies.

With that out of the way, I will review the restaurant. I got here with the help of the internet. Would never have found it otherwise. Thanks internet. The host wanted me to know their cellar is older (just slightly) than the coliseum. It did look very old.

I tried to pick a wine and they picked one for me. I appreciated this. It was delicious and it saved me the effort of thinking about anything. Who wants to think on vacation anyway?

I started with vegetables in cocotte, which doesn’t sound like much but was actually perfect: fresh, cooked just tender, in olive oil and salt. I followed this with the dish that (the host wanted me to know) they are known for: lean pork from an ancient Roman recipe (I think he said gaius Marius). It was good. Pork was tender. I liked it because it was wasn’t an overly strong flavor, but it was different - kind of familiar but also unique. It didn’t blow my mind, this isn’t innovative or edgy cuisine, but it was satisfying and interesting.

I didn’t have dessert. I had a delicious cappuccino, which was enough for me. The table next to me was extremely excited about the cheese they were eating. I think the excitement was warranted. Cheese seems to be well respected here.

This is the kind of place where it’s not that weird to talk to other tables. I did, which was (WAY) out of character for me and it was fine. It’s good food, a (sort of) formal setting, but not...