I Remember ... Dining @ 12 Apostoli

After resting our poor, tired feet we put our shoes back on and hit the pavement once again looking for a place to eat. It was nearing 8:00 p.m. when Italians enjoy their evening meal. It seemed like every restaurant was full and people were waiting to be seated. By now I am depleted of energy and really don't want to search high and low for a place to eat. So with my encouragement we find a place to eat at an outside cafe close to our hotel. As soon as we were seated, we knew it was a mistake! Two ladies at a table near us ... I believe they were speaking German ... got up and walked out without paying the amount on their bill. They were angry about something! Another diner left when they brought her the wrong order ... they argued in Italian and she got up and left. Another group of five left when they were seated at a table set up for two. Oh, my ... what's in store for our dining experience?!?!
All day I had envisioned a large glass of iced tea packed with chunky ice cubes ... ha ha! Beverages are not served with ice in Italy. I guess Americans are obsessed with iced drinks : ) Our waiter brought me a semi-cool can of sweetened iced tea (bleh!) Walt ordered white wine and the waiter brought red. When you order water you are asked, "Gas, or No Gas" which means, "do you want mineral water ... or not?" I ordered regular water ... and you guessed it ... I got it gassed! We ordered our food and the waiter brought what he wanted us to eat! I felt like we were on the set of the Saturday Night Live show. We couldn't stop laughing ... until we got the bill. He added several "service" charges and look at the top line in the picture of our receipt ... a question mark = 4 euro ... what?!?! All in all it was quite spendy for what we got. He also stood over us until we paid our bill. He wasn't going to have another customer dine and dash.
Actually, as I was doing a little research about this restaurant for this post, I found many reviews from others who had been scammed with a much higher price tag. I guess we got off pretty easy compared to those who paid 90 euro for lunch. There were many posts on different blogs saying to avoid this place at all costs. Most diners felt robbed. No wonder people where walking away angry! So ... if you're ever visiting Rome DO NOT eat at this restaurant. We still had two weeks of fine dining experiences ahead : ) We just put this one behind us. Ciao!