This was our fourth visit to Pecchiarda - and our last. We arrived without a reservation and were seated with no problems. From the moment we arrived, the service and food were good, as had always been our experience on previous visits. Perhaps it should have been a warning sign how quickly our first course arrived, because others arrived just as quickly, so that our meal was finished in a very short amount of time. Very soon after the last plate was cleared, perhaps 30-35 minutes after we had been seated, we were offered a coffee or dolce, which we politely declined, and set about finishing our wine and conversation. Shortly thereafter, after I had ordered an amaro, the head waiter/proprietario came to our table and, with no fanfare or attempt at civility, informed us abruptly that he had to turn the table and that we had to leave. I swallowed my last sip of wine and my wife and I were escorted to the "cassa" to pay for our dinner. The same waiter offered to allow me to drink my amaro, standing at the register. A moment later, when I had regained my whits about what had just transpired in the previous 60 seconds, I asked the same waiter why we had been so unceremoniously ushered out of the restaurant. He said rudely and in alto voce that because we had not made reservations in advance, they needed the table for another party, a fact that no one mentioned when we sat down for what we thought would be a relaxing dinner in what used to be a favorite restaurant. This is our second months-long stay in Spoleto. We speak the language and we have dined at nearly every restaurant in the city: not all great, but all with a certain minimum level of civility and professionalism that we should all be able to expect. This used to be, but is no longer the case, at Pecchardia. We are reasonable people with reasonable expectations for a restaurant and a meal that used to be reliable. Now I'd suggest proceeding with extreme caution. read more
