Came here with my boyfriend on our trip to Rome, and was very impressed by this place.
We wanted to come to Trastevere pretty much every night in Rome. The only problem is that the wait staff at most of the restaurants seemed stressed and impatient, and on our first night in Trastevere at a different restaurant we had to wait for over an hour for our entree. No big deal to us, but I was hopeful that we'd find a restaurant where we had the great food but didn't feel like apologizing by the end of the meal.
Gino 51 looked impressive each time we went by it before we were able to get a table. It was reserved completely when we tried the first time, so we went for lunch on a pretty afternoon. It's spacious, with lots of outdoor seating and doors and windows that open so even if you sit inside, you have the wind and street outside beside you.
We ordered two pizzas - the Funghi (with mushrooms, cheese and tomato sauce), and Diavolo (spicy sausage, cheese, tomato sauce). We also each ordered a beer. The beers were surprisingly expensive (I think each of our pizzas cost 8 euro, and the beers were about 7 each), but they were really good and the pizza was amazing. Typical Roman pizza with thin crust, really fresh (you could watch them making the pizzas nearby in their wood oven).
For me, the service was the best here. Our waiter attempted to explain to us in Italian and English which pizzas we should go for (and helped us decide on the spicy one, which was my favorite), even though he was busy and being badgered by the table next to us.
Apparently there was a delay with the large party beside is, where some of the party received their pizzas very long before they got their pasta, resulting in nothing short of a tantrum from the woman at the table, who chewed the stressed waiter out in front of the entire party and room of guests. From my estimation, the pasta was maybe 30 minutes later than she wanted. The waiter, as politely as possible, apologized and explained that they serve very good pizza and pasta and that he hoped she would enjoy the pasta. She admitted the pasta was good, but continued to complain. He kept explaining and apologizing until he eventually said "Your meal is free." (Completely unnecessary and I felt horrible for him). Even after that, and multiple trips by him back to the table to help however he could to rectify the situation, this bitter woman refused anything else he offered on the house and continued her hissy fit until they left.
I can imagine it's very very hard being the restaurant business in a super touristy neighborhood like Trastevere, but I thought the way this was handled by the restaurant and waiter was impressive and felt very sorry for him. So, major points to Gino 51 and I hope they experience many more pleasant customers! read more