La Canonica

We had a very nice, relaxed dinner here. Everyone was very happy with their food and the pasta was definitely home made. We had the bruschetta as our appetizer which was very fresh and delicious. Next up I had the Caesar salad. Fresh, crisp, and full of amazing mozzarella and black olives. For dessert I had the chocolate truffle thingy — - best dessert I have had so far. (Aside from the amazing gelatos all over Rome ;))

Il s’agit probablement de ma plus mauvaise expérience gastronomique à Rome. Il est vendredi soir dans le charmant quartier de Trastevere et nous cherchons désespérément une terrasse où manger. Inutile de dire que ce fut un peu compliqué, donc lorsque le serveur nous annonce qu’il a de la place, nous sautons sur l’occasion ! Ce dernier nous installe entre deux tables qui sont tout simplement collées et relativement étroites… Nous commandons deux plats: risotto de la mer pour moi et saltimbocca pour lui. En fait en guise de risotto de la mer je reçus du riz (type riz long grain)à la tomate agrémenté de quelques moules et amandes, tandis que la saltimbocca n’aura d’italien que son nom, il s’agira en réalité de petites tranches de veau sur lesquels seront piquées à l’aide d’un cure dent de fines lanières de jambon le tout présenté sous une louche de sauce insipide. La comparaison est d’autant plus flagrante que j’ai dégusté la veille un plat de saltimbocca absolument fabuleux dans un autre restaurant.

What a brilliant evening in Trastevere! Great neighborhood, warm welcome, kind service… And amazing food. We are a group of mostly vegetarians, and we loved whatever was served! Gnocchi was perfectly cooked, Penne Arabbiata looked simple yet so delicious, Ravioli was also really good… One of our friends had a chicken dish, and he really loved it! The vegetable Risotto was just boring and bland, though… The Bruschetta and the wine were absolutely delicious. The Tiramisu was just average but the home made cake and Panna Cotta were super yummy! The service was quick and efficient, and they didn’t even get annoyed when we were so undecided about whether to sit inside or outside. Overall, great experience!

Abzocke ! Ich hatte ein Gericht für 12 EUR plus mixed Vegetable und 1 Wasser. Berechnet haben sie 15 EUR und extra Brot was ich nicht bestellt hatte. Das Steak war zäh und lies sich kaum auf dem Wackeltisch schneiden. Auf Nachfrage warum ich das Brot bezahlen soll sagte er das wäre die Tischgebühr, grinste und ging weg. Nie wieder !

This place was a treat in more ways than one. Of course, the food was fabulous: we ordered penne vodka and penne with pesto for dinner. The vodka sauce merged a near perfect combination of savory and sweet. For dessert: tiramisu and panna cotta. These desserts were both homemade by our lovely and very accommodating and welcoming server. The tiramisu was the best I have ever had – moist, rich, and full-​flavored. We left this place with smiles on our faces and an eagerness to return.

This place is such a wonderful cute atmosphere! It is family owned and everything is made from scratch even the tiramisu! The penne vodka is a must, the sauce is rich and creamy.
They also serve a complementary bread which most places in Rome do not do.
If you happen to stop by you must try their tiramisu! So moist!

We attempted this restaurant after a full morning of hectic travel. I love the Trastevere neighborhood and this quaint restaurant fit right in. The service was authentic and the food was okay.

This restaurant is so bad that it caused a HUGE fight between my husband and me on our trip to Rome last week. We were SO MAD at each other for selecting this place that it caused a divorce-​worthy fight. Yep, that is just how awful this place is. All of the fantastic places to dine in Rome… and we chose to waste our time, money, and tummy room on this shitty excuse for Italian food!
We decided to walk across the river to the appealing Trastevere neighborhood along with a zillion other tourists. That should’ve tipped me off right then and there. Once we got to the neighborhood, we examined lots of the restaurants and their menus. Most were outrageously expensive or didn’t have homemade pasta. I really wanted some homemade pasta that wasn’t going to cost me 50 Euros a plate. When we walked by La Canonica, the outside tables were packed full with what appeared to be locals (no guidebooks in site), and the appealing exterior and reasonably priced menu lured us in.
Oh how I wish I had taken the time to check Trip Advisor and Unilocal before sitting down! The food here is HORRIBLE. Disgusting even. I do NOT use those words lightly and I am not big on giving low-​star reviews, but this is one of the worst excuses for a restaurant I have ever seen.
First, the service was horrible and super rushed. Everyone knows that dining in Italy is a relaxed affair, usually taking a couple of hours. This meal was so fast-​paced that it was ridiculous. Obviously the food was being microwaved (hell, you could even SEE the kitchen’s microwave from the dining area)! The server was brusque and was basically flinging the food at us, even attempting to finish our sentences as we placed our order!
We both ordered from the «local specialties» section of the menu. We ordered the roasted potatoes, Spaghetti All’Amatriciana, meatballs and saltimbocca. We were assured REPEATEDLY that the pasta was «fatta en casa,» or made in house. MY ASS this pasta was fresh! It tasted HORRIBLE and was obviously boxed pasta. I am 100% certain this was not made in-​house fresh pasta. I ate lots of pasta in Italy and I know what fresh pasta tastes like. Big chunks of gross, fatty bacon rounded out the pasta course.
Next up was the ‘main course.’ The Saltimbocca was supposedly chicken but it was like a tough piece of pork. This thing was so rubbery you probably could’ve bounced it off the ground. No exaggeration. My meatballs took the cake — they were single-​handedly one of the worst things I have ever been served in a restaurant in my entire life (the reviewer calling them airplane food is an insult to airplane food). They had this unappealing light gray color. I couldn’t eat them and ended up just leaving them on my plate (this did not concern anyone as nobody asked me if I liked my dinner or seemed worried that my food was left untouched). The roasted potatoes were the saving grace, they were pretty tasty. We had a bottle of Chianti which was fine and an appetizer that must’ve been truly awful because I have blocked it from my memory and can’t remember what it was we ordered!
The bread and cover charge meant service was included so no need to tip. The bread basket had the usual bland Italian-​style bread and prepackaged (!!) crispy cracker-​like breadsticks. At least the breadsticks were good.
To add insult to injury, our bill was close to $ 100 U.S. FOR UTTER CRAP FOOD! Just writing this review makes my blood boil. I hated that my husband and I got into a fight over this (we were just both SO ANGRY at ourselves for eating here). I am not exaggerating in this review, this place is HORRIBLE! Please, for the love of God, do NOT waste your time or money here. I hated, hated, HATED this place. STAY FAR AWAY!

Excellent fresh seafood. Diana, our waitress, was very kind and generous. She recommended the mussels and shrimp in the insalata di mare and discouraged the artichokes as they were out of season in late may/​june… she encouraged the cicoria or the spinach which was in season. My wife’s cacio e pepe was good. One unexpected, and delightful twist, the bread was excellent. I study bread making, and generally the bread in central Italy is bad, especially in tourist areas. It is the sauces and oils you sop up with the bread that have the flavor. However, La Canonica’s bread was outstanding by itself. If I have to pay for the bread as a stand in for a tip – or risk making a fuss/​scene about removing it from the bill – I want it to be good. This bread is excellent. Made by a local paneficio for only shops/​restaurants in Rome.

We selected this place mainly because we noticed several locals eating here. Apparently, this method doesn’t always work. My Margherita pizza was awful. Tasted and looked like it was cooked in a microwave. I had better pizza on American Airlines. We also got spaghetti and meatballs, and it was ordinary. Long story short — avoid at all costs.

Das war das schlechteste essen was wir in rom gegessen haben!
Die Pasta war verkocht und langweilig. Der Service unfreundlich und inkompetent!
Auf meine Beschwerde hin würde behauptet, ich wäre der einzige der sich über das Essen beschweren würde, dabei sind né menge volle Teller zurück zur Küche gegangen!
Man sollte sich nicht von der romantischen Atmosphäre blenden lassen!
Besser FINGER WEG!

Der Service überzeugte. Die Kellnerin war flink, versiert, nett und lustig. Das Äußere versprach italienische Authentizität. Dafür insgesamt zwei Punkte.
Das Essen jedoch kam langweilig, geschmacklos und fetttriefend daher. Am Nachbartisch ging das 1. Gericht zurück, das 2. wurde auch nicht verspeist. Meine erste kulinarische Enttäuschung in Rom.