Mastica In Roma

Very kind and friendly staff, delicious food and a very very nice place, we will be back 🥰

The restaurant presents itself in line with the local offerings...you're in Balduina, you have to sell yourself to the locals. It seems to pay more attention to image than substance. Clean place and friendly staff, no doubt about that. The menu is rather basic, nothing special. We take their advice and order the carbonara...not bad, not great, too creamy, heavy, and overly flavorful, normal portion size 👎. A bit pricey (a first course and a bottle of wine for three, 25 euros each).

It was a bit tricky communicating with the staff about vegan options. The waiter was kind, but the manager and chef, who seemed to be there, were a bit less so. It's 2025 and we still don't have a clear understanding of what veganism is; I find it absurd, especially if you work in the restaurant business. There's a preconception that being vegan is complicated and perhaps "inconvenient" (?). I asked what was on the menu and if there were any twists so my friend wouldn't have to eat the usual pasta with tomato sauce. It took a lot of patience, but after a good 20 minutes of "negotiation," we managed to create an excellent mix of bruschetta (chicory, tomatoes, grilled eggplant and zucchini), a red pizza, and some appetizers. Was it that difficult? There was also a little girl at the table, and they charged us €14 for a pasta dish with a little parmesan on the side (as if it were a carbonara). Disappointing. The waiter was very open-minded in helping me find vegan options for my friend, but the rest of the team seemed a bit annoyed (which seems to be a constant in Rome). The bill was a bit steep. I would suggest that those working in the restaurant industry be more open-minded about their customers' dietary choices and perhaps charge the price for a simple pasta dish for children that's truly worth it.

The food is good, with an excellent quality/price ratio, but the atmosphere (a windowless basement) is really sad and distressing. What a shame.

Excellent food, great service... Went twice in a week and had a lovely time. Luca was very polite and although as himself said his English was not great he made a great effort to help us understand what we were ordering, we tried our best with the Italian language and he was amazing and very patient... Highly recommended...

Very authentic and incredibly delicious. Also very friendly staff.