Taste of Rome — Restaurant in Sausalito

Lunch Review: Rigatoni Bolognese (Chef's Special) $19 + "Famous" Garlic Bread $8 (Which was then replaced with Ricotta Pistachio Cake).

Average spend: $20-$30

Looking at the high reviews and moderate price I decided to go for this restaurant. I ordered Rigatoni Bolognese which was that day's chefs special. I specifically asked for more sauce as I like my pasta a bit saucy. And on the side I decided to order Garlic Bread which was advertised on their menu board as "Famous" smh.

Quantity of food: 4/5, enough for 1 person Taste: I didn't expect mushrooms in my Bolognese sauce and I would be usually okay with these things, but the taste of the mushroom was over powering the actual sauce taste which was not a good taste combination with Bolognese sauce. Bolognese sauce was brown and not red. Not at all visually appealing. The visual sense matched the taste, as the sauce highly lacked flavors of fresh tangy tomato. And it was overcooked, the meat was chewy, not soft and lacked flavor. The sauce felt thin and watered down rather than creamy and rich. I feel like Walmarts GV Bolognese sauce might have better taste than this. I really felt like they put it on the special menu to get rid of and finish off the excess of the leftover batch. Not a good experience. Pasta were cooked moderately, but didn't feel handmade in house as they advertised. I decided to order Garlic Bread instead of the desert because on the menu it was written in bold, Italics and fancy text as "our famous". Guess I didn't realize it was a really subjective term. Costco's or Walmart Frozen Packaged Garlic are much better. This was very dry and extremely chewy and felt more like dry butter and garlic toast. I definitely needed water to swallow. And for $8 you are getting a 2 half of almost the size of a regular Hero bread, which seems small and rippoff. So instead we returned it and aksed them to replace it with slice of Ricotta Pistachio Cake. Gotta tell you they were very kind enough to replace it and not questions asked, so have to give credit where it is due. The taste of the Ricotta Pistachio Cake was okay, nothing surprising. It was a decent palate cleanser after the not so decent pasta.

Service was good and staff was friendly.

The ambiance was nice and guess that made the food more tolerable.

If they are reading the review, the only feedback is to maybe change / improve the recipe of Bolognese sauce and may look into the price and quality of "famous"...

The local, even though there's plenty of tourists also. Some of the food is very good, you get to know after working your way through the menu when you have been here for years and been through 4 different restaurants in the location. It's actually much better the last couple of years. Actually 3.5 stars. I can't give 4 unless place is a full service restaurant. They bring food to the table but you have to wait in a line to order and if you want something else, it's back in the line. I'd probably go 4 stars if it was full service. One thing though, if you try to express yourself to other patrons be prepared to get cut off after your 2nd sentence unless you are talking about gears, pulleys, motors, winches and the like which is pretty boring to most people. That's all most of the regulars seem to be interested in although occasionally I've had some remarkable conversations with some brilliant people. To give you a quick take on the place, one night I counted 20 single guys and 1 single woman in the restaurant. Single women get awfully bored here. But it is a good place to...

Rating on espresso alone. Among the best africanos and cappuccinos I've ever had in the Bay. My favorite cappuccino hands down - when they're consistent... Downside is that their baristas are not all equally talented. 8 times out of 10, the cappuccinos taste as they're supposed to. I deal with it. It's when it to me.

A bonus: They roast their own coffee and sell the packaged product in whole beans or ground (on the spot). This makes me SO happy!

Food Food is generally mediocre, I wouldn't eat there, save for breakfast. It's hard to mess up breakfast. I like their omelette with beef and gorgonzola, which they make with their meatballs (not the best, but not the worst). Yet the combination is interesting. They have good sourdough bread and their homefries are usually on point.

Ambiance Local dive bar meets diner meets mom-and-pop restaurant. They have live music weekly. Check out their fliers posted in the restaurant. Staff is friendly. Guests are a blend of locals...