Tonnarello Review
Discovered this gem walking through the Trastevere neighborhood on a Saturday. The entire area was busy with pedestrians and this restaurant was no exception.What attracted me? The menu board listed “spaghetti and meatballs” the first time I had seen that offered in the three weeks I had been traveling. I’m a big fan of meatballs, make them often at home and am always looking to compare restaurant styles and ingredients to my own, to see if I can learn something I can improve on. These were good, not heavily spiced, kinda small, but in a tasty red gravy. The pasta was done perfectly, of course.
Our fluent English-speaking waiter made the day pleasant, despite being slammed with work. He paid enough attention to get drinks flowing, good explanations of menu offerings, and prompt responses to the slightest requests.
Finished our meal, rarely have dessert, but a flavorful frozen concoction covered in nuts caught my eye. It was superb.
I only take exception to one incident. In a “tipless society” he wanted to make sure what we understood if we tipped on a card, the management would take half, so we should tip in cash.
He said this to all the tables within earshot.
In a “tipless society” I left ten percent. Under my coffee cup saucer. We had barely stood to leave when he scoured the table, pushing aside placemats, flatware, cups looking for the money.
When he found it, he audibly complained in Italian to a neighboring table, about “cheap Americans.”
Ruined a pretty darn good day. But full menu here.
Open daily 10A – 2300