I had such high hopes for Il Comparone. When I first visited a couple of years ago the food was consistently great and service predictably Roman. I was always a bit put off by the 10-12.5% service charge which, in Rome, is absolutely never applied to bills outside of Piazza Navona and other tourist trap destinations. But, blinded by the moist maiolino and tender coda alla vaccinara, I made excuses for this ridiculousness. I even encouraged others to visit this place and many of them had terrible experiences:
Michael Marzpoosh recounted, “Went to Il Comparone for dinner tonight. Was extremely disappointing. 2 kinds of storebought shrinkwrapped breadsticks served in the breadbasket. The rest of bread tasted like mass produced supermarket bread. There was a $3 mandatory bread charge per person. Our antipasto was not done well. Only tourists were dining here tonight. Pasta was edible, but not memorable.”
Helena added, “I get that it’s aiming for a high end of the market but the food was just not up to this price, mainly due to all the hidden extras and the facetious service. I’d have complained except that it was a work lunch and I didn’t want to make a brutta figura.”
My last two meals were mediocre at best. So I am officially revoking my endorsement of Il Comparone, effective immediately. And just because I am unbelievably petty, I sent an email to Il Comparone letting them know they are dead to me and informing them that due to my excellent search engine optimization (thanks, Rob) ParlaFood.com with its bad review and negative comments is the first hit in a google search of their establishment. It’s moments like this that make me hope I never grow up and become a nice person.
