Per D.
Yelp
We stayed in one of the many hotels on Via Vittorio Veneto and found this place via Yelp. We chose it because of the location and the raving (albeit few) reviews.
The restaurant itself is located on a small, unassuming street and you probably wouldn't notice it if you were just passing by (which you probably wouldn't be, either). Once inside, however, it has a very nice atmosphere with dimmed lights, burning candles and live jazz music playing in the background. The staff is friendly and you are greeted with a complimentary glass of prosecco at the table. There are not very many tables so making a reservation is probably a good idea, especially on weekends or during tourist season.
For starters we ordered a tomato mozzarella salad and melon with Parma ham, both of which tasted great and were nicely presented. Things were going well.
For main course we ordered a Spaghetti Carbonara and a Filetto di Manzo (grilled fillet of beef), ordered medium, with mixed salads as side orders. When our dishes arrived, however, it was beginning to show that there was a mismatch between ambition and skill in the kitchen. As with the starters (and the dishes we saw on other tables), the chef had obviously gone out of his or her way to make the presentation as "modern" as possible. The Carbonara came in a parmesan basket and the meat was sitting on a large white plate with three small dots of unidentified sauces beside it and a circle of tomato salad. It would be unfair to say that the Carbonara was bad, but it was on the stodgy side and not much different than what you would get at any of Rome's pizzerias. Not the refined version that I would have expected. The Filetto di Manzo, however, was the real problem. The meat was a small (my guess is ~120 gram), unevenly shaped piece of fillet with sinew running through it. It was not very warm and just by touching it with the fork I could tell that it was very rare. It should have been obvious to any chef that this was not medium or even medium-rare. After sending it back to the kitchen, they served me the same piece again, slightly more grilled, though still undercooked. Tired of waiting, I just ate the tomato salad. The mixed salads were huge and one would have been more than enough to share.
For desert, we decided on coconut gelato. The ice cream, surprisingly, was the only thing that came with no garnish or fancy plating whatsoever. This was probably a good thing as it contained a hidden core of chocolate and tasted great.
To summarize, if I could rate the food and the rest of the experience individually, it would be a 2 and a 4. Given the other reviews, perhaps it was just bad luck on the food. If I came back I would probably try another kind of pasta or something from the sea food section.
