Restuant Reviews

Casa Bleve

Fri, 22 May 2009 11:13:21 +0200

Via del Teatro Valle 48/49 Tel: 06 686 5970

Open Tuesday through Saturday 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm and 7:30 to 10:30 pm

Reservations required for dinner

Credit cards accepted

Casa Bleve is no less than a hidden jewel in the midst of Rome’s tourist hordes and souvenir hawkers. Just steps from Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, you can enjoy a quiet, out-of-the-way, civilized moment of seclusion within the grandeur of a Renaissance Palazzo, with service that makes you feel like a 17^th-century cardinal.

This enoteca stands tucked just away from the chaos of the mobs in its bright, spacious glory. It houses one of Rome’s most impressive wine cellars, a remnant of the Imperial age, and with a wine selection to match. Pop in to buy a bottle and impress your wine-snob friends back home or stay for lunch or an aperitivo and some the finest quality Italian cheeses and salumi money can buy. Now Casa Bleve also servers dinner, and although the crowd at that time of night is more eclectic than during the day (read: uppity Americans and rich old Italian guys with their Russian consorts), the food and service are simply wonderful. Expensive and worth it.

Keep an eye on Casa Bleve’s web site for special events and wine tastings – things that will make you go wild, like the recent “Amarone e non solo” and “I Gioielli di Casa Voerzio”, the presentation of an extraordinary Barolo.

www.casableve.it

Bio-Ristorante - Città del’ Altra Economia

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 08:32:30 +0100

L.go Dino Frisullo (known locally as ‘Campo Boario’ or ‘ex-Mattatoio’), Testaccio

Open Tuesday through Friday for dinner only (from 8pm)
Saturday lunch (1pm to 3:30pm) and dinner
Sunday lunch only
Credit cards and reservations accepted Tel. 333 4187870
More info (in Italian) at www.myspace.com/bioristorante

Nestled among the shops of Testaccio’s new and oh-so-hip Città del’ Altra Economia in a restored 19^th century slaughterhouse, the ‘bio-ristorante’ serves good healthy organic food with Italian flair – which means it defies what you might expect from a health-food restaurant. This family-friendly establishment brings diners a pitcher of real as they sit down – a nice touch that reminds you of home. And unlike most other restaurants in Rome, has high chairs that the tots actually can’t fall out of.

But the food is the real reason to come here – the always-fresh offerings are light and delicious, often combining ingredients creatively while not forgetting their Italian roots. Pasta and rice dishes are celebratory, and for a great second course, try the Insalata di Bollito (boiled beef salad). Home-made desserts are winners as well, and the best part is that you won’t leave feeling like you’ve just destroyed your stomach (nor will you leave thinking, ‘Ok that was interesting, better go find something to eat for real’).

While the prices here are quite reasonable, the service can be as you might expect from servers with dreadlocks. But in the end, what’s the rush? Relax and enjoy – this is a true Slow Food experience. They’ve got a good selection of organic wine and beer, although the house red is good enough that you don’t have to look any further. After your meal, check out some of the other great shops in the Città del’ Altra Economia, a secluded little piece of fair-trade heaven nestled between Monte Testaccio and the Tiber.

Agustarello

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:24:23 +0100

Roman
Via Giovanni Branca 100 Testaccio, Tel. 06 5746585
Average €25 - €30
Closed Sundays, Reservations advised

There is no place more Roman than Agustarello. From its location in Testaccio right off Piazza Santa Maria Liberatrice, to its crowded and simple interior, the restaurant could be no other place than Rome.

The food can only be described as top quality. All the classic dishes are here : tripe, oxtail, involtini, and they are all made perfectly. The vegetables are always seasonal and always cooked with a lot of salt and a lot of hot pepper. The deserts are handmade and the coffee perfect.

Agustarello is always a good bet and an excellent place to see what Romans really eat. It is always full so be sure to reserve.

Hang_Zhou

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:45:20 +0100

Chinese
Via S. Martino ai Monti 33/c (corner of Via Merulana)
Tel. 06.487.2732 no reservations (get there early)
Open daily for lunch and dinner (closed in August) 15 - 40 euro

It is not what you expect to see in the Eternal City -- red lamps hanging outside, Chinese characters on the walls -- but there they are. Rome's chinese restaurants are everywhere. In your first few days, you can't believe that anyone goes to them, but give it a week and you will find yourself craving a spring roll. Beyond a doubt, Hang Zhou is the place to go for your fried-rice fix.

Located a few steps from the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, on the border of Rome's multicultural Esquilino / Piazza Vittorio neighborhood, Hang Zhou is a small, hardly noticeable place that looks just like a million other Chinese restaurants you have eaten at throughout your life -- except for the pictures of Mao and the Red Guards on the walls. Tables and chairs are put into place with a shoe horn as a large numbers of clients are ushered to and from their tables.

And the quality? It is quite good. And while not competitive with the food in New York's or London's Chinatown, everything is fresh and well made. The Perfumed Duck Peking Style is tops, the soy noodles are perfect, and the pork with Chinese scallions (erba cipollina cinese) is a delight. In fact everything on the menu is solid and if it doesn't compete with the great Chinese restaurants in those other cities, it is still an excellent and inexpensive meal. With it's wide selection of dishes and helpful wait staff, Hang Zhou is certainly the best in Chinese that Rome has to offer.

I Buoni Amici

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:04:25 +0100

Traditional Roman Food
Via Aleardo Aleardi 4

Tel. 06 7049 1993
reservations suggested
closed Sunday, 15 – 40 euro, lunch and dinner

Eating a bad meal in Rome is very similar to being bit by a mosquito. While being bit is just a minor irritation and you have been bit a million times before, you still feel this raging sense of injustice that it happened to you, and this irritation lasts for hours. Unfortunately, most of the most important areas of Rome have swarms of bad restaurants that are ready to take a bite out of you. Piazza di San Giovanni is one of those places and the best place in the area, to have a good meal is I Buoni Amici.

They make pizza in the evenings and all day they make classic Roman dishes. The prices are quite reasonable considering its location. While it is not a place to go for more adventurous cuisine, I Buoni Amici is an excellent place for a good lunch or if you are staying in the neighbourhood; a perfect spot for dinner.

Le Tre Zucche

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:48:20 +0200

New Italian / Lazio cuisine / Ristorante
06 5560758
Via G. Megarnini 43
reservation suggested
Open 20 (8pm) – 23 (11pm), closed Sunday35 to 50 euro / Credit Cards accepted

‘Si mangia bene a Roma’ (you eat well in Rome) so the saying goes, and it is true. When Romans go out to eat it is because they don't want to cook; some of the best Roman restaurants are just kitchens where you don't have to do the dishes. So when you want to get away from Mama's Amatricana and try a more creative cuisine, where do you go? We would suggest Le Tre Zucche, a genuinely creative bistro.

Located outside of the center, its welcoming atmosphere and creative menu are enough of a reason to make the trip. The wine list is solid with a special eye to the new wines of Lazio. The breads and pastas are fresh and made on premises. The produce is all grown locally and served in season. In fact the menu is very seasonal with the exception of three or four staples. The stuffed zucchini flower with fresh ricotta (Fiori di zucca ripieni di ricotta gratinati in forno con Pesto di menta romana). The Bacala variations (Variazione di baccalà, one fried, one stewed with tomato and one sautéed with olives and anise) are tops.

It would be difficult to call Le Tre Zucche inexpensive, but when you consider that each plate is treated as a work of art, and that they are able to deliver on that goal, it is certainly well priced compared to similar restaurants. There is also a tasting menu for 29 (no wine) and you can see .

Ciak

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:23:02 +0200

Tuscan cooking / Grilled Meats / Game Meats
065894774
Vicolo Del Cinque, 21
reservations advised
Open 20 (8pm) – 24 (midnight), closed Mondays
30 to 50 euro

Tuscan food is very different from Roman food. Roman food is urban, spicy and heavy while Tuscan food is hearty and heathly and filled with the flavours of the mountains, of the farmlands and of meat. The best steak comes from Tuscany, and Ciak is one of the best places in Rome to get a steak.

They serve a great polenta covered in wild boar (cingale) and a great ribolitta (tuscan vegtable soup). Still the specialty is meat, be it wild game or a steak.

The crowded resturant has a film set feeling of a classic Italian tratoria, and it is full of movie posters. They even put the classic tuscan wine bottle on the table (a fiasco) for the house wine.

The only complaint is that if you were to buy the same meal in Tuscany it would cost half the price. Still, it really is as good as you find in Tuscany so you save on the travel expenses.

Old Marconi (Birreria Marconi)

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:51:46 +0200

Via S. Prassede 9/c
06 4745186
Average €25 – 55/person
Open everyday for lunch and dinner
Credit Cards accepted

Beer does not come to mind when you think of Rome and there is no reason why it should. Still sometimes you need a beer in Rome and the Old Marconi (Birreria Marconi) is a perfect place to do just that.

The Old Marconi is one of the oldest and last remaining beerhouses in Rome. Most of the beers on offer are Irish and not Italian (which some would say is a plus), and it offers a variety of pastas and meat plates. The food here leans toward a heavier fair but at a good quailty and they offer a variety of Austrian and Tirolean specialties. Still the reason to go is the Irish breakfast.

The Irish breakfast is two fried eggs, sausage, bacon, baked beans and a fried tomato. Why would you eat such a thing? Because sometimes you just have too. Especially after a week of wandering the city with only the meagre Italian breakfast of a cornetto and a cappuccino. Besides the Old Marconi opens at 12, so it is more of a brunch, and it tastes really good with an ice cold beer.

The alpine décor inside the place is great to drink in and the outside seating has a nice view of The Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. Our only complaint is that they don’t make a bloody mary, still that is a difficult drink to find in Rome.

Paris in Trastevere

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:34:40 +0200

Piazza San Calisto 7a, Trastevere. Tel 06 581 5378

Average €35-55/person

Open for lunch and dinner; closed Sunday evening, Monday and the month of August.

Reservations and credit cards accepted.

Who would ever think that a place called ‘Paris’ would be one of the best classic Roman Restaurants. Just steps from Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, Paris is a world unto itself – genteel service, flawless no-nonsense Roman specialties, great wines and an aura of the grandeur of another time, before mass tourism and its large-scale destruction of Rome’s historic center. Although Paris is a favorite of tourists and ex-pats (as well as big Roman families celebrating their meals in multi-generational style), it remains a unique experience. It costs a bit more, and its worth it.

It should go without saying that the dishes Paris is famous for can not be found better in Rome; they are simply brilliant, and include carciofi alla Giudia (fried artichoke), minestre d’arzilla (a traditional soup with skate fish), gnocchetti di patate (Roman-style potato gnocchi) and angolotti di carne (pasta from the Piedmont Region that looks like meat ravioli, but tastes better). Porcini mushrooms are a specialty and when in season can be seen billowing out of baskets inside the dining room – they are great with pasta or just grilled, and you’ll be saying Hail Marys in thanks for this wonderful fungus. Then – save room for secondi – there is a glorious selection of meat and fish dishes. Paris’s menu also includes ‘Il quinto quarto’ or traditional poor-man’s dishes such as trippa alla romana (tripe) and coda alla vaccinara (stewed oxtail). Yup, deserts are also to die for.

The great thing about Paris is that you can either sit in the air-conditioned and comfy interior or dine al fresco on the romantic and perfect for people-watching Piazza San Calisto. Either way, the staff will do whatever they can to make you and your family comfortable (how very un-Roman!). But be warned, at least one couple who has dined out there on their honeymoon has decided to stay in Rome forever…

http://www.ristoranteparis.com/

Settimio all’Arancio

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:56:51 +0200

Via dell’Arancio 50
06 6876119
credit cards accepted; English spoken.
Open for lunch and dinner
Closed Sundays

While Rome isn’t far from the sea, it isn’t a seafood town. Rome’s geography and history have linked it culinary traditions to more inland flavours of beef and pork. Thus, to make a long story short, if you want fish you have to pay for it. And Settimo all’Arancio is one of the better places to do just that.

Just steps away from the Tomb of Augustus, and close to the Via del Corso, Settimo all’Arancio is well located for the tourist. The décor is typically Roman (waiters with little bowties, white table cloths, décor thoroughly unadventurous), the waiters are frequently rude and pushy, the view is non-existent and the wine list is passable.

The reason to go to Settimo all’Arancio is fish and the best days to go are the traditional days to eat fish, Tuesdays and Fridays. The fresh fish on the grill or cooked under salt is always of the highest quality. The pasta with a half lobster is delightful. The frittura di pesce (mixed fried fish) is great as are the polpetti di tonno (fresh tuna meatballs). The daily specials can be wonderful, such as pasta di granchio con zafferano ( pasta with crab and saffron).

For those who don’t want or like fish they do serve a quite good steak, but that is for the one person in the group who doesn’t want to eat seafood. If most of the people you are with don’t want fish then don’t go here.

Prices run from 30 to 50 euro a person. Reservations a must.

Jaipur (Indian restaurant)

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:47:52 +0200

Via San Francesco a Ripa, 56

Trastevere

Tel. 06 58.03.992 – Reservations not required; credit cards accepted; English spoken.

Lunch and dinner served; Closed Monday at lunchtime.

When you left home, you were all keyed up for Italian food, but now the thought of yet another plate of pasta or pizza makes you nauseous. Yes, you’ve hit a wall – the starch wall. The strange thing is most Italians never feel this way, which is probably why the other diners at Jaipur are mostly English speaking and very, very happy as they greedily bite into their samosas and crack their papadum over ice-cold bottles of Kingfisher.

Jaipur is the perfect anti-Italian meal: it is well located in Trastevere, the staff is friendly, there is plenty of seating (including outside tables in summer), the menu includes all your favorite Indian dishes (although they’re not as spicy as you might expect) and best of all, unlike other great restaurants in Rome, Jaipur is never mobbed with Romans clamoring aggressively for a table.

The menu includes a range of curries, vegetables and lentils, and the especially scrumptious tandoori specialties. In addition to the a la carte menu, you can order complete vegetarian or meat dinners for a fixed price. They also offer Indian sweets and chai, and of course, those wonderful mango lassi. Feel free to order in English – it is universally spoken here.

Jaipur is reachable by the #8 tram from Largo Argentina or the H bus from Termini Station.

Mò Mò

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:32:55 +0200

Piazza Carlo Forlanini 10,

Monteverde Nuovo

Tel. 06 537 3087 – Reservations recommended; credit cards accepted; English menus available.

Dinner only (and aperitivi on weekends). Closed Mondays.

Mò Mò is where the Roman’s go to see and be seen. It’s both a trendy nightspot as well as a family-friendly eatery with lots of big tables for large groups. On weekends, it can become positively packed with the uber-glitzy , but you can still find a niche (if you reserve) to take in the view at this enormous villa-turned-restaurant. Once home to the Director of nearby Forlanini Hospital, this Art Nouveau villa has been completely restored and offers two floors or dining along with a jazz-themed lounge and a well-stocked bar – one of the best in Rome. In the summer, the whole kit-and-caboodle moves outside to an enormous terrace, creating quite a scene.

The menu contains much of the usual Roman fare, with more creative daily specials written on blackboards throughout the dining area. While the pasta dishes and pizza can be uninspired, we recommend the fish and meat dishes that are prepared on the large open grill in the middle of the restaurant. There is also an ample selection of dinner salads and a notable wine list (the cantina is visible through a glass atrium at the restaurant’s entrance). True to its self-given title ‘Desserteria’, the dolci here are not to be missed – they are all homemade on site and the tiramisu is especially killer.

In short, Mò Mò is an experience – although the food does not bowl us over, the villa and its chic crowd are not to be missed, the staff is friendly (a rarity in Rome) and its great for kids – the only restaurant we know of in Rome with a baby changing station.

Mò Mò is reachable by the #8 tram from Largo Argentina (with a 5-10 minute walk) or by the #716 bus from Ostiense station.

Panattoni “Ai Marmi” (l’Obitorio)

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:52:45 +0200

Panattoni “Ai Marmi” (l’Obitorio)

Viale Trastevere 53-59, Trastevere. Tel 06 58.00.919

Average €20-25/person

Open for dinner; closed Wednesday. No reservations. No credit cards accepted.

Pizzeria Panattoni “ai Marmi” is known by Romans as ‘l’Obitorio’ or ‘the morgue’ because its long rows of marble-topped tables remind you of…well, you get the picture. But have no fear – the sumptuous Roman delights and wood-fired pizza will make you forget about its morbid name immediately. For tourists, ex-pats and locals alike, this well-located Trastevere eatery is the classic Roman food experience for 50 years and counting. Opening early (for Rome anyway, at 7) and closing late, l’Obitorio’s prime-dinnertime waiting crowds can begin to resemble mob scenes. Try to get there before 8 or after 10:30 to avoid the rush, and don’t mind the carefully cultivated crankiness of the wait staff – abuse at the hands of irate waiters is yet another Roman tradition that you can actually learn to enjoy if you don’t take it personally and have a good sense of humor.

Seated either inside at the infamous marble-topped tables or out on Viale Trastevere with the trams whooshing by, you’ll be able to kill your hunger pangs with some of the best Roman antipasti in town: we especially recommend the fritti or fried starters (forget about your diet!) such as baccalà (fried salt cod with fresh lemon), supplì al telefono (fried balls of rice filled with melty-hot mozzarella that stretches out when you pull them apart – like a telephone wire) and fiori di zucca (zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovy) – there is nothing like it.

Once you’ve sampled the starters (be careful not to fill up on them!) you’ll want to savor the real thing: a thin and crispy – very Roman – crust, topped with, basically whatever you want. While the simple Margherita (cheese and tomato sauce) and Marinara (just the sauce topped with garlic and oregano) can’t be beat, you can also experiment with tried-and-tested favorites such as Napolitana (with anchovies), quattro formaggi (four cheeses), bresaola and ruchetta (thin slices of cured beef and fresh arugula or rocket), boscaiola (‘from the forest’ – a hearty mushroom extravaganza) and, for those big appetites, capricciosa (a little bit of everything).

If you’ve been in Rome awhile and thought of yet another pizza causes your stomach to seize up, they also offer a wide selection of tasty bean dishes that won’t add any more starch to your poor tummy. And as if you haven’t enjoyed this place enough, they’ve got homemade desserts, including a quite good rendition of tiramisu.

For a solid, Roman pizzeria experience, this place is everyone’s old standby. It’s easy to find (just along the #8 tram) and the huge wood-fired oven churns out reliably great pizzas well past midnight. Just bring cash and don’t be surprised if everyone else along the tables is also speaking English, especially if you get there on the early side (the Italian crowd doesn’t show up until at least 9). You can all swap grumpy-waiter stories and have a good laugh over your Peroni beer and pizzas.

Buon appetito!