Rome - a city rich in history, beauty and romance. After
visiting the Italian capital with my family and then as a university
student, my third time was a chance to do more than just sight-seeing and
discover more out-of-the-way restaurants and bars. Many will say that Rome does
not offer authentic cuisine and has too many tourist traps but my advice is to
look out for small taverns or osterie
and delis with cooked food called rosticcerie. These are frequented by Italians
and are usually cheaper too. For those of you that are unfamiliar with
Italian dining, the rule is to eat separate dishes, or piatti, served one
after the other, and in certain places it is frowned upon if you order simply a
pasta dish without moving on to seconds. Here are my recommendations:
Taverna Lucifero -
€30 / person for three courses
28 Via de Capellari
0668805536
Open from 6pm daily
http://www.tavernalucifero.it/
On my first evening, whilst struggling to get my bearings in search of Luigi's (a renowned trattoria in Piazza Sforza Cesarini), just down the road from Campo dei Fiori, I stumbled upon a little place with a crowd smoking outside. Taverna Lucifero is a family-run restaurant, popular with the locals as literally, we were the only tourists in there. With low ceilings, stone walls and tiny tables, it is incredibly cosy and warm. You will need a phrase book as the menu is in Italian. I had the pasta of the day which was Speck and radicchio tortoli which combined so many different flavours. For main I had the steak with green peppers (Bistecca a Pepe Verde) together with a plate of grilled vegetables - the meat was succulent and incredibly tender. For dessert we tried the panacotta although the restaurant is famous for its fondue, which I will have to try next time.
€30 / person for three courses
28 Via de Capellari
0668805536
Open from 6pm daily
http://www.tavernalucifero.it/
On my first evening, whilst struggling to get my bearings in search of Luigi's (a renowned trattoria in Piazza Sforza Cesarini), just down the road from Campo dei Fiori, I stumbled upon a little place with a crowd smoking outside. Taverna Lucifero is a family-run restaurant, popular with the locals as literally, we were the only tourists in there. With low ceilings, stone walls and tiny tables, it is incredibly cosy and warm. You will need a phrase book as the menu is in Italian. I had the pasta of the day which was Speck and radicchio tortoli which combined so many different flavours. For main I had the steak with green peppers (Bistecca a Pepe Verde) together with a plate of grilled vegetables - the meat was succulent and incredibly tender. For dessert we tried the panacotta although the restaurant is famous for its fondue, which I will have to try next time.
Trattoria Da Lucia
€30 (roughly) / person, for pasta and meat dish
2, Vicolo del Mattonato, Trastevere
€30 (roughly) / person, for pasta and meat dish
2, Vicolo del Mattonato, Trastevere
065803601
Thursday evening
was dedicated to Trastevere which is great for nightlife of a
more casual nature, with its many beerhouses and lounge bars packed with
students and backpackers. Da Lucia is difficult to find, hidden in a little
side-street away from the buzz of the Trastevere hot-spots, but well-worth the
trek. Again we started with pasta and given that many dishes are only
available on certain days, I had to try Thursday's gnocchi which was divine and
the bombolotti pasta was also good. For the secondo dish, the squid with peas
was fantastic and went well with the house wine, made by the restauranteurs.
Another great main is the meatloaf - tender slices of beef rolled together
and served with a spicy, tomato sauce. For drinkies, a short walk away is Bar
della Malva at Piazza San Giovanni della Malva, dedicated to rock and roll with
strictly 50s music and strong cocktails.
Ristorante
Roberto e Loretta
€40 / person for
all courses
18, Via Saturnia
Closed on
Mondays
I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Maurizio and Guiliana who took us to one of the best restaurants I have ever visited. In the heart of San Giovanni is Roberto's establishment, inspired by his father's restaurant which was once on Via Gabi and a favourite of the rich and famous. It was a wonderful journey of truly authentic food as the restaurant is famed for its traditional Roman dishes that are now difficult to find outside the household kitchen. The antipasti were divine, ranging from buffalo mozzarella topped with truffle, a wonderful salad that combined squid with walnuts and radicchio and then a Jewish-inspired bruschetta with spinach and pine-nuts. And that was just for starters. For pasta, we sampled the one with truffles and another with cod, both of which were completely different to anything else we had tasted throughout the holiday. For mains, I tried a typically Roman dish of roast turkey with an addictive creamy sauce but also the baccala - cod fried in batter. The desserts were equally amazing, my favourite being the homemade merengue with panna (fresh cream). An incredible taste experience with great company. And even better, it hasn't been tracked down by TripAdvisor yet!
Al Pompiere
€40 / person for 3 courses
Via di Santa Maria Calderari
066868377
Closed on Sundays
http://www.alpompiereroma.com/
Thinking that no restaurant could come close to the evening at Roberto's, the final evening was spent in the Jewish quarter in town. After coffee at a Napolitan cafe in Piazza Pietra - http://www.grancaffelacaffettiera.com/ - we got pretty peckish by 8pm and ended up in Al Pompiere for Roman-Jewish cuisine at its finest. On the table were all kinds of unusual delicacies loved by locals, such as fried artichoke (Carciofi alla Guidia), stuffed pumpkin flowers and baccala in a crunchy batter. Then for pasta, we had the oxtail rigatoni as well as the amatriciana, a pasta mixed with smoky bits of pork taken from the pigs' cheeks. Then for seconds, we opted for some quality dishes, all dedicated to lamb. There were medium grilled chops that were undoubtedly the best I have ever had, a schnitzel type and lamb cooked together with artichokes that was more stew-like but equally flavoursome. With so many flavours, the best accompaniment for so much meat was the puntarelli, an authentic Roman salad of a type of chicory mixed with grated anchovies and lemon juice. It was crunchy, refreshing and complimented the lamb perfectly - certainly a last supper to die for.
€40 / person for 3 courses
Via di Santa Maria Calderari
066868377
Closed on Sundays
http://www.alpompiereroma.com/
Thinking that no restaurant could come close to the evening at Roberto's, the final evening was spent in the Jewish quarter in town. After coffee at a Napolitan cafe in Piazza Pietra - http://www.grancaffelacaffettiera.com/ - we got pretty peckish by 8pm and ended up in Al Pompiere for Roman-Jewish cuisine at its finest. On the table were all kinds of unusual delicacies loved by locals, such as fried artichoke (Carciofi alla Guidia), stuffed pumpkin flowers and baccala in a crunchy batter. Then for pasta, we had the oxtail rigatoni as well as the amatriciana, a pasta mixed with smoky bits of pork taken from the pigs' cheeks. Then for seconds, we opted for some quality dishes, all dedicated to lamb. There were medium grilled chops that were undoubtedly the best I have ever had, a schnitzel type and lamb cooked together with artichokes that was more stew-like but equally flavoursome. With so many flavours, the best accompaniment for so much meat was the puntarelli, an authentic Roman salad of a type of chicory mixed with grated anchovies and lemon juice. It was crunchy, refreshing and complimented the lamb perfectly - certainly a last supper to die for.
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