Zio carlo — Restaurant in Rome

Shockingly bad. Physically assaulted by staff. Not a joke.

If you don't have time to read: AVOID, it's a tourist trap (it's near Trevi fountain after all).

If you do have time to read, it's rather "entertaining" in its bizarreness, I never experienced such bad customer service in my life.

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The waiter who lured us in promised us he’ll pay for the food if we don’t like it. Don’t believe him. We unfortunately did and thought it was a good guarantee for the quality.

It wasn’t. We had a simple Margherita and sea fruit pasta. The pizza dough tasted like it was a frozen ready-made, probably the worst I tried. The shrimp and mussels were not fresh, also some of the worst I’ve tasted (I grew up on fresh seafood). The pasta and sauce were the only remotely acceptable parts.

We ate very little and kindly informed the waiter. His initial friendly air turned hostile. After our initial tasting, we didn’t wish to eat at this place and asked for the promised money back guarantee. He flat out denied its existence, despite promising it minutes ago and started making insults and accusations of us lying (ironic).

This is when we decided to leave. I have never just left from a restaurant before, and I would not lightly do so again, but the food and especially the service really left no choice.

Things got out of hand from here.

The staff (3 rather large men) cornered my girlfriend (who’s small and couldn’t have protected herself) and me, while we were exasperatedly trying to explain that we felt cheated. It fell on deaf ears. We had enough of this treatment and somehow managed to start walking away. All three men started running after us and then both my girlfriend and I were manhandled and dragged back to the restaurant, were forced to stay there, threatened for the police to be called, and even more astonishingly, threatened to be killed. THREATENED TO BE KILLED. Yes. All this while we were calmly trying to explain our point of view. Not a single insult given to them.

In my home country I would have actually called the police myself: the physical aggression itself would break the law, and the lax use of masks (during the pandemic) probably would too. But being in a foreign country and not understanding the language and law, this was not worth the 30€ we were robbed of. I wasn’t going to risk my girlfriend getting beat up so I paid and we left bitterly.

Please look elsewhere, plenty of great places outside the...

Tourists please read this lengthy review as to why you should avoid this restaurant: Worst service we had in Rome. Highly recommend to stay away from this restaurant if you're a tourist. The server did not even ask what we would like to order, he just stood there awkwardly in silence. We proceeded to order our food and he just left without saying a word. We ordered a beer and a coke to drink first. The beer (draft) came quickly, but a can of coke took forever to come out even after we reminded the server about it. There was a table next to us that sat after we did and they had their drinks and appetizers out first before we did. The server talked and asked how they were doing and even began a conversation with them, but with us, he ignored and shrugged us off as if our presence was bothering him. There was no language barrier since he spoke English.

Our food took so long to come out. When we asked for the bill, the server just came by and dropped it off without saying a word or asking if everything was going well. We usually don't mind this, but when the same server constantly asked the table next to us how everything is going, this made us perplexed since we were not rude to him. We stood up and went inside to pay, and what I am assuming is the manager or owner asked us how our lunch went, we said it went ok. With a sarcastic tone, he asked why just ok and we were honest with him saying that the service was horrible due to what I explained above. He went on to say that "he was one of his best servers and he would even give his keys to his house." He didn't even bother to provide a fake apology, he just argued with us in front of other customers. He ended up by saying "well simply do no give him a tip." As if we were going to give any tips after the horrendous service for a 57 euro bill.

Judging by the smart comments he replies to the reviews (if it's really him replying) I couldn't expect any less of this restaurant but unfortunately we did not read them prior to eating here.

Tourists, please avoid this restaurant at all costs, there are far better ones nearby. I wouldn't be surprised that some of these 5 star reviews are fake due to how some other tourists experience similar encounters here.

This is a lengthy review, but...

BEWARE OF TOURIST TRAP

We recently dined at Zio Carlo and unfortunately, it turned out to be a complete disappointment, leaving a sour taste in more ways than one.

Firstly, the restaurant felt like a scam and a blatant tourist trap. We ordered a carbonara dish, initially priced at 15 Euros, we were encouraged to add beef without any mention of the subsequent price increase. When we received the bill, the cost was 40 Euros. I have never been charged an exorbitant amount for pasta before.

Adding to the mystery charges, the receipt included an unexplained "service fee” of 7.50 Euros. When questioned the staff about its purpose, they failed to provide an answer, leaving us feeling cheated and deceived.

As for the food quality, it was a letdown. The carbonara we ordered was not only overpriced but also lacked any distinct flavour. The overall saltiness of the dish made it clear that the kitchen struggled with basic seasoning.

To top it off, the staff's insistence on a tip was both unprofessional and uncomfortable. While tipping is a customary practice, it is not mandatory, and the relentless pressure from the restaurant staff only served to underscore the money-driven approach of the restaurant.

I read some of the reviews left by others, and it appears to be a recurring tactic employed by the restaurant to scam unsuspecting tourists, preying on their lack of familiarity with local prices and customs.

In summary, Zio Carlo left a lasting impression for all the wrong reasons. I strongly advise fellow diners/tourist to steer clear of this restaurant unless they enjoy being taken advantage of and experiencing tasteless cuisine. There are plenty of authentic and reasonably priced dining options in the area, and I regret not exploring...