For the capital city of a country famous for its food, you can get a lot of average meals in Rome. It's an inevitable problem in areas where tourists consistently outnumber locals, and budget conscious travellers favour pizzas and simple pasta dishes. Despite its position just a short walk from the Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo, Dilla delivers the kind of authentic, local experience you dream of.
This modern, casual space (exposed brick walls, black and white art photography) is manned by a young and gregarious team who know their menu and wine list well. Daily specials go up on a chalk board to augment a regular menu of moderately-priced classics. Though the main menu is in both Italian and English, the majority of diners were speaking Italian. Always a good sign.
I started with an exemplary parmigiana: thin strips of aubergine wound around a ball of buffala mozzarella like a turban, sitting on a beefy slice of tomato and glazed with red sauce. Piping hot, when you cut into the aubergine the cheese oozed across the plate. Perfect. A bowl of cacio e pepe demonstrated why this simple dish, when done right, is a Roman classic. And a veal chop with pink peppercorns proved the point that we just can't source proper veal in England.
By dessert we rolled into salame di cioccolato, a fairly simple recipe I've made out of cookbooks, but never had in a restaurant. Now I know what's wrong with mine ... far too heavy ...
though I'm not sure how to fix it. A couple of glasses of vin santo, following a tasty bottle of Syrah from the countryside outside Rome, topped off a perfect evening.
Sadly, two nights later we continued our tradition of disappointing Valentine's Day meals. The Osteria dell'Antiquario wasn't bad, but given its reputation we expected much more. Given the prices, it was a valid expectation. This place is resolutely traditional, from the menu to the decor to the unadorned plates making little attempt at presentation. I wouldn't have minded any of that had the food been exceptional, but is was barely average. I started with spaghetti with lobster, the crustacean undetectable either by eye or by taste, so overpowered was it by a heavy tomato sauce. My saltimbocca was overly seasoned, its three escalopes looking very lonely on the plate. This is one of those places where you must order side dishes to complete your main course, and you pay a premium for a small dish of potatoes or greens. We were so underwhelmed we settled up immediately after the mains and went elsewhere for dessert.
The biggest irritation, however, was the wine list. In a land with 1,800+ grape varieties and a wealth of reasonably priced wines, a list where €60 is cheap is inexcusable. Worse is a maitre d' who starts his suggestions at €100, without asking any questions about our tastes or price points. I felt like we were seen as Brits there to be fleeced, a situation probably enhanced by the fact that we and the table next to us were both sent by the same posh hotel. We should have gone back to Dilla.
This modern, casual space (exposed brick walls, black and white art photography) is manned by a young and gregarious team who know their menu and wine list well. Daily specials go up on a chalk board to augment a regular menu of moderately-priced classics. Though the main menu is in both Italian and English, the majority of diners were speaking Italian. Always a good sign.
I started with an exemplary parmigiana: thin strips of aubergine wound around a ball of buffala mozzarella like a turban, sitting on a beefy slice of tomato and glazed with red sauce. Piping hot, when you cut into the aubergine the cheese oozed across the plate. Perfect. A bowl of cacio e pepe demonstrated why this simple dish, when done right, is a Roman classic. And a veal chop with pink peppercorns proved the point that we just can't source proper veal in England.By dessert we rolled into salame di cioccolato, a fairly simple recipe I've made out of cookbooks, but never had in a restaurant. Now I know what's wrong with mine ... far too heavy ...
though I'm not sure how to fix it. A couple of glasses of vin santo, following a tasty bottle of Syrah from the countryside outside Rome, topped off a perfect evening.
Sadly, two nights later we continued our tradition of disappointing Valentine's Day meals. The Osteria dell'Antiquario wasn't bad, but given its reputation we expected much more. Given the prices, it was a valid expectation. This place is resolutely traditional, from the menu to the decor to the unadorned plates making little attempt at presentation. I wouldn't have minded any of that had the food been exceptional, but is was barely average. I started with spaghetti with lobster, the crustacean undetectable either by eye or by taste, so overpowered was it by a heavy tomato sauce. My saltimbocca was overly seasoned, its three escalopes looking very lonely on the plate. This is one of those places where you must order side dishes to complete your main course, and you pay a premium for a small dish of potatoes or greens. We were so underwhelmed we settled up immediately after the mains and went elsewhere for dessert.
The biggest irritation, however, was the wine list. In a land with 1,800+ grape varieties and a wealth of reasonably priced wines, a list where €60 is cheap is inexcusable. Worse is a maitre d' who starts his suggestions at €100, without asking any questions about our tastes or price points. I felt like we were seen as Brits there to be fleeced, a situation probably enhanced by the fact that we and the table next to us were both sent by the same posh hotel. We should have gone back to Dilla.
Sadly, we didn't manage to get over to Trastevere, which all my contacts tell me is the best neighbourhood for dining in Rome these days. We made due with the following for other meals.
Scusate il Ritardo - Normal rule of thumb is never to eat within view of a major tourist attraction. It's a recipe for overpriced, average food. But sometimes you just can't walk any further. This place ... the first option on your left when stumbling out of the Pantheon ... is actually not bad. Fantastic plate of fried artichokes, a Roman speciality, but poor bruschetta. Decent pastas, reasonable wine list. Cheerful and prompt service despite poor TripAdvisor reviews and the ironic name, which translates as "sorry for the wait". And, of course, a stunning view from the tables on the piazza.
Tre Scalini - Famous for one ice cream dish ... tartufo ... this is another dangerously-positioned restaurant, overlooking Bernini's famous fountain on Piazza Navona. When I was 12, trying it was as important as seeing the Forum. I don't remember it being quite so expensive then. €12 for a sphere of chocolate ice cream mixed with candied cherries, enclosed in a second sphere of dark chocolate ice cream, rolled in dark chocolate curls and served with a generous dollop of whipped cream, must yield one hell of a profit margin. Although the price isn't that far off dessert at any good restaurant in London. It's the cost of the drinks that kills you. Add a half-bottle of wine and a couple of coffees, and we were in eye-watering territory.
Ristorante Massenzio - This one's within sight of the Forum, in between the Capitoline and the Colosseum. We got chatting to a local who was touting Colosseum tours and he pointed to this as the best option in a sea of rip-offs. They have a proper wood-fired pizza oven in the back, producing light and crispy examples with well-balanced toppings. Perhaps more important after a long morning of hiking around ruins, they serve up cold lager in German-style litre steins. Service starts out as frosty as the beer, but if you roll out some Italian they get friendlier.
No comments:
Post a Comment