Volpetti Ristorante - Est Est Est Pizzeria, Via Principe Armedeo, Rome

Volpetti Ristorante - Est Est Est Pizzeria, Via Principe Armedeo, Rome
Sunday 10 September, 2006

Our evening kicked off with a fabulous dinner recommendation and ended with a decidedly average meal at another restaurant. We were dining with new friends and headed off to Il Matriciano (Via dei Gracchi, 55). It was only a short walk from our hotel but when we arrived and started to salivate over the menu our new friends opposed - it was too expensive....

This started a walk around the streets of Rome, the sight of streets lined with vespas and motorbikes and the viewing of at least 4 other restaurant menus before we settled on Volpetti Ristorante - Est Est Est Pizzeria. It had disaster written all over it. The waiter was beyond rude and dismissive and we were definitely an inconvenience (even though he spoke perfect English and could understand us, he laughed openly as we attempted to converse in Italian).

I ordered their signature Est Est Est pizza and whilst it arrived at the table promptly and looked good - it was nothing more than cardboard with a tomato and cheese topping. We ordered bad wine, were served tasteless olive oil & balsamic vinegar with our complimentary bread (probably reserved just for the tourists) and received average pizzas. Compared to our pizzas at Al Vantaggio it was poor.

The experience was not helped by our new friends complaining about the high cost of everything in Rome. My philosophy when traveling is to enjoy everything that is offered and never have any regrets (so if the credit card gets a beating - so what?) Unfortunately, our new friends were tracking every cent and when the bill came and we offered to split it for ease - they objected and worked it out down to the last cent.

I could not recommend this - even though it was cheap.

Volpetti Ristorante - Est Est Est Pizzeria - Via Principe Armedeo, Rome