La Famiglia 羅馬餐館 — Restaurant in Da'an District

Dishonest Place with Poor Service and Average Food

Intro

I recently visited this restaurant and unfortunately had a disappointing experience. While there were a few positives, such as the truffle mushroom pasta and fish roe pasta, I found several drawbacks that significantly impacted my overall impression of the establishment. In this review, I will outline the issues with value, service, integrity and ambience.

Value

The restaurant charges fine dining prices for cuisine and service that are just average. What made matters worse was the lack of transparency in pricing. For instance, I was unpleasantly surprised when I discovered that the tiramisu, priced at 650nt, was not the freshly made dessert it was claimed to be but rather an average refrigerated dish. Additionally, I was charged 280nt for water that I could buy for less than 90nt per bottle at home. These unexpected expenses left me feeling disappointed and deceived. The waitress or manager starter pulling excuses such as this is glass bottle and olive oil has doubled in price! I am working in hospitality industry and although inflation has occured the claim is just wildly incorrect, the prices simply outrageous for what you get.

Service

The service at this restaurant was subpar, marred by a combination of a horrible attitude, rude behavior, and a poor tone of voice. When I asked about ordering a surprise appetizer and mentioned my allergy to shrimp, the waiter responded in a very arrogant tone, saying, "Miss, then please don't order this as it's unknown what will be included." This dismissive and condescending attitude was completely unnecessary. Furthermore, the waitress appeared unkempt, with messy attire and visible sweat, which further detracted from the overall dining experience.

Ambience

On a Friday night at 8pm, the restaurant was surprisingly empty. The dim lighting caused by most areas of the restaurants having lights off gave the impression that the place was closed or attempting to cut costs on electricity. This lackluster ambience created an awkward and uninviting atmosphere, diminishing the overall enjoyment of the dining experience.

Summary

To summarize my experience, my party of two ordered the truffle mushroom pasta, fish roe olive oil pasta, one appetizer, sparkling water, and tiramisu. When the final bill arrived at a staggering 3400nt, we were shocked. Upon questioning the bill, we discovered that the tiramisu alone cost 650nt, and all dishes had a price increase of 30nt-50nt without our knowledge. Additionally, the water was priced at 280nt, a considerable markup from its actual value.

In conclusion, this restaurant failed to deliver on several fronts. The combination of bad service, average food, and an awkward ambiance left me with a sense of dissatisfaction and feeling cheated. It's a shame because the chef's cooking skills are likely decent, but the establishment requires a complete revamp of its culture, management, service, and style to truly become a memorable dining destination. Regrettably, I won't be returning to this restaurant and cannot recommend...

’ expensive fine dining price for a not so fine dining experience’

Waitress : worst waitress I’ve experienced in my life . Sweaty, Impatient, rude, cocky, even got angry and called me “ 小姐 ‘ when I told her my husband doesn’t eat shrimp and please avoid it for the “ special unnamed dish “

Price : 680 for tiramisu , 280 for sparkling water ? Additional 30 nt added for every dish ?! Additional 50nt for pizza ? The menu experience was terrible, made it hard to read the price properly, definitely overpriced for a non fine dining place. I saw other reviews afterwards that they charged a customer 800 for tiramisu ?! Where is the honor and transparency ? This place should shut down

Food : both pasta dishes were delicious, tiramisu was dry, not worth 680 & definitely not freshly made

Atmosphere: felt unclean, and they purposely dimmed some area of the restaurant to save cost, the chairs of the unseated tables were already tucked in properly as if they want to close the restaurant soon . There were no other customers there, which was a warning sign on a Friday night in the middle...

Read all the negative reviews first before you go!! This rating is to get your attention.

Just because you can cook doesn’t mean you can run a restaurant. La Famiglia is a great example.

The restaurant wasn’t ready when we arrived at 5.50, although Google indicated they open from 4 to 11pm on weekday. The wait person has to rush around to clean the table before sitting customers down. There was no water offered nor cutlery set after we set down, but they are charging service fee.

When we ordered a dish that had a ? next to the name - the waitress told us immediately that she doesn’t know what is in the dish, so we are ordering at our own risk. Shouldn’t a trained waitstaff either be briefed by the chef beforehand or she could offer to check with the chef to see what’s in the dish and advise? Apparently not! We walked out without eating there.

Also the price on the menus given to us are inconsistent and some are so overpriced. So read carefully what you are ordering and don’t let the waitress push you to order more expensive dish in the name of “fresher”...