It was about 3 years ago when I first dined at 'Osteria' and had a great experience. This was mostly due to one of their specialties, their raw seafood plate which was an truly wonderfuly culinary experience. I've made a point on my visits to Rome over the last few years to dine at 'Osteria' just to enjoy that dish. But in recent visits, my level of enjoyment has diminished. And on this most recent visit, I really came away unsatisfied. The quality of the individual items on the plate was as good as ever. The problem, i've decided, is the dimunition of the variety and amount of seafood served.
The price of the dish has, to the best of my recollection, remained largely unchanged. The the amount and variety of food is noticeably less than it had been. It was most obvious when I went to look at a photo of the plate I took on my first visit. Comparing it to the plate served to me last week, the discrepancy is obvious. (see the photos below)
Food sellers of all types routinely reflect inflated prices by keeping the nominal price steady while reducing the portion size. Trouble is, for a dish of this sort that excites the palate with the colors and variety of seafoods, reducing the variety reduces the overal pleasure and, yes, excitement of the dish.
Speaking for myself, I would be willing to incur a higher price to get the old plate back. Perhaps, the restaurant might consider offering both a regular and a large plate. This I have not often seen on Italian menus, so this might be unlikely. But as this dish is a flagship of the restaurant, they ought to be a little more fussy about its presentation. For these reasons, my earlier 5 star rating drops to 4. read more