You made a mistake. What reviews are you referring to?

It is common, or even usual, for Americans to "review" a restaurant in Italy, and say the service was rude, slow, etc. It just means they, have never been to Italy before, and have absolutely no basis for serving as expert reviewers of the food. They are looking to experience the USA when they are in Italy. To an Italian, the service that is rated as excellent service would be considered downright rude.es

The last time I went to an Italian restaurant in the USA, which I still unfortunately do from time to time, I sat down, an within 10 seconds a waiter a waiter was standing next to me asking me if I wanted a glass of wine. I had to tell him how would I know what type of wine to order when I haven't even decided what food I'm going to eat, fish, pasta, and what it would pair with. In Italy, they probably won't even come to your table in the first ten minutes, as a courtesy, so you can have conversation with the people you came with since eating is a social event, not to be rushed, and you need to settle down from whatever it was that you were doing before you can turn your mind to the food. When you order an antipasto, expect to wait for 20 minutes, because the goal of going out to eat is to socialize with whomever you came with, not to scarf down food.

There is no bread basket with butter that you are suppose to eat before you start the meal. How can you enjoy your meal if you're already full from having eaten a whole basket of bread and butter. Besides, there is no butter. There is never a cute little bowl with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for you to dip the bread into. It's just not done. I think that's a concept that Mario Batagli came up with in NY City, but it's unthinkable in Italy. The bread is to eat with your meal, not before your meal, as in if you want to wipe of some sauce. If you decide to have a pasta (nobody has an antipasto, primo piatto or first course, then a secondo piatto or second course, then a dolce or desert. You either have pasta as your main course, fish, or meat as your main course. No pasta, then a meat dish, unless you are sharing it, because nobody can eat that much). If you decide to go with pasta, then you never touch the bread. Pasta is a form of bread, so who wants to eat bread with bread? The only time you would touch the bread would be after you are finished with the pasta, and you really like the sauce, you might take a piece of bread and wipe up the sauce on the plate.

Expect to wait at least 20 minutes from the time you finish the antipasto, and the time you get the pasta. The longer it takes, the more courtesy they are showing, because instead of rushing you in and out, they are giving you space to enjoy being with the friends you went out to eat with. Eating is the evening's event. Why would you want to eat again a minute after you just finished eating the antipasto? The restaurant will give you 20-30 minutes before bringing you the pasta, fish, or meat dish, so that you can be at least a little hungry again. At the Italian restaurant I went to recently in San Francisco, no sooner than I put my fork down from eating the antipasto than they laid down my pasta dish. I had to say, "what the heck are you doing!? I just finished the antipasto! Why are you rushing me!"

Then, you'll be given ample time to decide on desert. Finally, they will ask if you want a digestivo, or if you want caffe'.It is considered rude for the waiter to bring you the check, so they will hold off on that as long as possible. You have to signal them to bring it. In fancier places it's a real courtesy if they ignore you and you have to signal them a second time. They are showing you that they want you to stay as long as you want, and to use their space to have an after dinner conversation with their friends. In the USA, no sooner than a few seconds after you put down your fork, or even worse, while you're still eating, they lay down the check and say, "No rush, whenever you are ready." That would be the absolute height of rudeness and insulting behavior in Italy. When I come back from Italy and it happens here, it makes my blood boil, thinking "I haven't even finished eating, and haven't even decided if I want something else, and you are bringing me the check, so you can turn the table over as often as possible to make more money on tips!" In Italy there is no tipping. The waiter is showing you great courtesy by not bringing you the check, signaling that you can stay there all night, relaxing with your friends. Someone from the USA is jumping up and down, with steam coming out of their ears, because it's been five minutes since they finished their main course, and they still haven't received the check, or any attention from the waiter, who is signaling that you can stay there as long as you want.

Rushing you through the meal, bringing one plate after the other within minutes, then handing you the check when you just started your main course is considered great service in the USA, but insulting in Italy. And no, the waiter is not going to come to the table and bend down and say, "Hi, my name is Christie, and I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with....." When describing the menu, they are not going to tell you which one is their favorite, because they are not the ones who will be eating; you are so their favorite is irrelevant.

Anyone who goes to Italy and expects the service to be like in the USA is going to say that the service was rude, and anyone who comes from Italy to the USA and eats is going to feel that they are being rushed, and that they want to get you out of the restaurant as fast as they possibly can, because they don't like something about you. In Italy, they show they like you by letting you wait and take all night, if that's what you want, before they will bring you the check.

I personally don't think that Armando would be on a top ten list, but they are still one of the best restaurants in Rome, and you will eat better there than you are probably going to eat anywhere else while in Rome, without having to go up quite a notch in price. Once you get used to eating at the Italian pace, you'll hate when you get back to the USA and receive, "excellent service" by being rushed through your meal and getting you in and out of the restaurant as quickly as possible, instead of as slowly as possible, so that you have time to digest your meal. Don't go by, "reviews" made buy travelers on their first trip to Italy, who are going to be in Rome for two days, as a reliable source of information about Italian food and culture.