When we tell people we went to Rome for the weekend, we consciously omit this dinner. Even though wary of restaurants which drag people in off the street and offer the distinctly non-authentic chicken parmesan (not a dish traditionally served in Italy), we were blinded by their "cheap" 20 euro fixed price menu with unlimited wine and four courses. After waiting almost 30 minutes between our sub-par, definitely from the freezer section appetizers (calamari, bruschetta, grilled peppers) and our pasta course, we were served two different pasta dishes on the same plate. The pasta was obviously not home-made, which would be fine had there not been at least 20 other restaurants within five minute walking distance which boasted exactly that. While our waiter was charming, the weird competition between this "Tony's" and the "Tony's" across the street made for an uncomfortable patio dinner.
After eating mediocre pasta and chicken parmesan, we waited another 30 minutes for our dessert. At this point, we attempted to salvage the meal by ordering more house wine and would have gladly exited the restaurant had we received our dessert. About two hours after sitting down, a bill was slapped on our table and we were told to leave (yet again, not typically Italian). It was the correct price unlike some other reviews (maybe because we ordered the fixed menu), but we still had not received dessert! We went inside to pay, informed the manager that we had not been served the entire meal and he told us that he "needed the table" because we had been "sitting there for four hours" and drinking "lots of wine," as if we were making a scene. We were then directed towards the kitchen where we stood outside and were watched while we ate two tiramisus for 3 people. We had been polite to all the staff the entire time and would have gladly been on our way had the service not taken so long; it was embarrassing to say the least.
I do not typically review restaurants because of prior service in the industry; it can be hard to please everyone and tastes differ. Yet, I felt the need to write this because I am ashamed that this restaurant received our service and that we passed up the opportunity to dine at any great restaurant in the AMAZING Trastevere district on our last night in Rome. Please--do not deceive yourself, this is not a true Italian experience. read more