Bar Sistina

oh Unilocal why didn’t I check you before eating at Bar Sistina! I’ll keep this one short. Expect ok food, being charged for bread that they bring you without asking if you even want it and being charged a different fee for everything. My husband confronted our waiter who wrote a random 7 euro charge on our bill (no explanation on what it was just bam 7 euros because I can). When asked he said oh it’s taxes, really taxes?, to which he responded oh I mean it’s service charge. We already had a service charge marked on the bill so what’s this? and extra service charge? And as I stated before, they charge what they want because they can, because people keep paying and going. Keep walking y’all.

I usually write reviews on TripAdvisor but this place isn’t listed but I had to review it somewhere. Over the past 6 years I have been to this place only when I need something quick. Be careful. This is one of the worst tourist traps in the Spanish Steps vicinity. Overdone pastries, not nice people and overpriced food. If you order a cappuccino to go be aware that they will automatically give you a € 4 double so ask for a small. Sandwiches not filled either. There is a great little grocery store around the corner to get better and cheaper food. At least the cappuccino was delicious.

It was pouring with rain and we stopped here for a latte to warm up. We got a super friendly welcome and we took the lunch recommendations from Claudia for the combination pasta (made in house by Claudia’s mama) which was porcini tagliatelle and spinach ricotta tortellini. To start we shared ham, mozzarella and tomato which was so fresh and flavourful it was crazy good. The portions are generous and both are good, but the tortellini was really special. With a half bottle of Frascati, it came to € 75. More expensive than many, but not extortionate.
Claudio (Claudia’s dad) retired 1 week ago. She seems determined to make her mark on this place and is all over it — a real pro who works really hard.

We found this place after leaving the Spanish Steps. We always stand at the bar to drink to avoid table charges. They had so many good looking sandwiches in the case we each had one– caprese & fungi with cheese. Excellent food & drink! & since we stood we only paid for what we consumed without all the coperta & service fees restaurants are charging now. We chose to leave a small tip for the good service.

This place deserves zero star and needs to be shut down. It is located near Spanish Steps and the man who seems to own the place is loud and über friendly. Don’t be fooled by the superficial gesture and stay away!!! Their food is subpar and they will rip you off! Four of us were charged with fees that we hadn’t even heard of, while staying in Rome for a week. 2euros per person for dining in, 18 euros on our bill claiming to be a service fee, and an exorbitant charge of 8 euros for a two slices of toast labeled as a sandwich. The man tried to charge us 12euros for a small strawberry tart and finally admitted that he charged us for two instead of one. I honestly think he was simply overcharging but because i was questioning him in front of a large crowd, he just gave up and acted as if he made a mistake. When you are traveling in a foreign country, you experience all sorts of things and mishaps. This place however, left a very bad taste in mouth because it was so apparent that this ill intent was acted shamelessly, targeting just the tourists. I was hoping to find a forum on trip advisor, to warn everyone who plans to travel to Rome but I figured this is a start.

Thumbs up! Owned by a very nice and fun family. Enjoyed the food, wine, and company while there.

Worst place we went to in rome… no wait… in italy… sorry I meant in italy swiss england combined during our trip. Not only do they serive subpar food they charge service fee of 10% on top of the cover and 2 euros per person for bread which sucks anyways. They also took the bill and tried to round up the service fee to the next 10 euros thus taking a bill of 44 euros to 50 euros until we pointed it out and they tried to argue back until we showed them they were overcharging us. That 44 euros was for 3 pastas and 2 sandwiches. Actually it was 48 with the service fee. I’ve spent similar amounts for better food and service elswhere.
Unless it’s the only place you can go to I would not recommend this place to anyone.

This is one of those cafes the travel books warn you about being taken advantage of while touring Rome. There are so many complaints I have of this place I do not know where to begin. My wife and I had a great time while in Rome other than the horrible experience we had here. One thing to note is that many places have a cover charge and required service charge. This establishment charges 1 Euro per person, along with a 12.5% service charge. They also charged us extra to share a pizza. So total service charges to our meal was about $ 9 USD. We had a sub par frozen type pizza with mushrooms out of a can (8Euro), one canoli 7 Euros, a glass of red wine 5 Euro, and a glass of beer. Total cost of bill. 31Euros!!,
I asked the waiter for the .2 liter 3Euro beer, and he charged me for a .4 5Euro beer.
The canoli alone at 7Euros was ridiculous. The same canoli at the airport was 3 Euros and at McCafe for 1 Euro.