261185 Tue Apr 09 09:34:10 -0700 2002 10 26 International 0 1380203 HI all I am hoping you can help me. I am looking for a restaurant in Rome for a meal after my wedding in October. We are getting married in the late afternoon and are looking for a really nice, maybe family run restarant for a meal for about 15. We'd like good italian food, really nice atmosphere. Any suggestions? thanks Clodagh Tue Apr 09 09:34:10 -0700 2002 0 clodagh 1 1380211 Fiaschetaria Beltrame, on Via Croce, is about two blocks from the Spanish Steps. You have to look for it and it only seats about twenty. But the Abbachio Scottadita is primo. I would think that they have a phone, but wouldn't guarantee it. Buona fortuna. Tue Apr 09 15:37:02 -0700 2002 1380203 0 Dale 2 1380220 Clodagh, I love this restaurant and, along with Dale, have wholeheartedly recommended it in prior postings. The food and atmosphere are great, the service is very friendly, and the location can't be beat. Whether it is the right place for a post-wedding dinner depends on what you are after. You should know that it is bustling and crowded, and not exactly elegant. You will sit on benches, for example. In short, it's a great place, but it may not be what you have in mind for the occasion. If you are looking for a different kind of place, post your specifications, and more recommendations will follow. Congratulations on your wedding! To state the obvious, you've chosen a brilliant place for it. Make sure to start early on the formalities -- certificates, banns (if religious), etc. Among other things, you need to get certified birth certificates, have them translated, and make visits to various consulates and embassies. These things take even longer than you might expect. All the best, Jeremy Tue Apr 09 21:13:13 -0700 2002 1380211 0 Jeremy M 3 1380230 Thanks for the suggestions. I suppose the oldies in the family might be a bit put off by benches so we better go a bit more upmarket. However I must get to that restaurant myself after the wedding. I would like it to be a bit more formal however I don't want to be shut away in a private room,The people coming are not really old fuddy duddies so it can be a bit informal. I'd like really good Italian food, really friendly service really good wine. I'd like them to supply a cake too. The wedding will be later afternoon so this is an evening event. Jeremy, thanks for the advice on the paperwork. we are lucky in that we are getting married in the Irish college so we can simply send them all the paperwork from Ireland and they'll do the rest in Italy for us. Yes, we are lucky to be able to do this! Clodagh Wed Apr 10 04:38:46 -0700 2002 1380220 0 clodagh 4 1380238 Clodagh, That's a great way to handle the paperwork. After multiple visits to the Italian Embassy in Washington, the the Prefecture and the US consulate, and the mayor's office in Ravello, I wish that my wife and I had found a similarly simple method. I will put on my thinking cap about an appropriate place for an evening wedding dinner, and will also consult with some friends on site. Off the top of my head, Vecchia Roma seems like a good option in central Rome. If you can manage the logistics, I would get everyone in cars and go out to the Castelli Romani, a drive of about 20 minutes. In Frascati, Ristorante Cacciani is a wonderful family-run place just off the main square. The Caccianis are delightful and would probably warm up to a wedding dinner. The food and wine are superb. The dining room is modern and not exactly full of character, but the extraordinary view out on to the Roman plain more than compensates. Alternatively, in neighboring Grotaferrata Il Fico Vecchio would be a great choice. This is an old, charming place, with a great variety of local specialties and very friendly service. In any event, do make a side trip to the Fiaschetteria Beltrame. It's really terrific. Wed Apr 10 11:31:05 -0700 2002 1380230 0 Jeremy M 5 1380245 Jeremy sorry for butting in on someone else's thread but I'm staying in Frascati this coming Saturday night en route south and I've booked Enoteca Frascati for dinner that evening.I got it from Slowfood Osterie d'Italia which I find very reliable. How does it compare with Cacciani?We get in late from Fiumicino that evening and I'm looking forward to that first nice warm relaxed dinner on Italian soil.Thanks. Wed Apr 10 14:16:32 -0700 2002 1380238 0 ham 6 1380249 ham -- no bother at all. delighted to hear that you are making it to frascati, which is a chowhounder's delight. i think that i have eaten at the enoteca frascati, but am not entirely sure. if it is the place that i have in mind, it's small and has a very nice feel and a good selection of wines, with an emphasis on the excellent local stuff. the menu is not huge, but changes every day. (i will confirm that i am thinking of the right place) cacciani is a bigger place, run by a really nice family who have lived in the town for years. armando, the father, has basically turned the place over to his daughter and two sons. they have a wide selection of food and wine, including lots of interesting dishes that you don't typically find. at a friend's suggestion, i tried some pappardelle with chicken liver -- sounded horrible but was quite delicious. their pollo alla romana is super. wish you were staying in the area for a bit longer. the places in grotaferrata are terrific, too. before you head out the next morning (for the amalfi coast, if memory serves?), PLEASE make sure to find your way to the open air market, and, more important, to Fornaio Ceralli, where they make incredible bread and pizza bianca in an old fashioned wood burning stove. you will be able to fit yourself out for a great picnic. have a great trip, ham, and report back. Wed Apr 10 15:42:10 -0700 2002 1380245 0 Jeremy M 7 1380254 jeremy sounds like my kinda place! and i have your posting with all your valuable recommendations tucked safely away in my file( I'm going to leave this - anid therefore work, I hope -behind)Sorry i won't be in Frascati longer but the warm south beckons and at what? 45 mins from Fiumincino there's always next time.will definitely report back in glorious or otherwise detail.thanks. Wed Apr 10 17:11:36 -0700 2002 1380249 0 ham 5 1380360 My brother, who has lived in Rome for about 15 years, got married there last summer and underwent much agonising over choosing a place which was suitable both for elderly British relatives and a swathe of discerning Sicilian in-laws (whose absolute assumption was that all restaurat food in Rome is mediocre). After much research they decided on the Vecchia Roma (Piazza Campitelli 18, tel. 656-4604). This is in the beautiful Piazza Campitelli in the ghetto and serves generally excellent food. There were certain restrictions - they insisted we ate inside the restaurant where there was a semi-private room (which seated about 18 people) - this is self interest as in summer every outside table is taken every night. Nevethelss the internal rooms are attractive and also good if you want to make speeches etc. Another restriction was that they would only confirm the final reservation 1 week before the event. They recommended a menu (which involved choice of vegetarian or seafood anti-pasti, 2 or 3 primi served one after another and then a choice of 3 secondi followed by desserts (no wedding cake). The dinner went on until about 1 am which was rather a strain for some of the non-Italian elderly people, and the only slightly disapointing item on the menu was where my brother and sister-in-law overrode the chef's recommendations. The seafood main course and the vegetarian anti-pasto (including the most wonderful carciofi all guidea) were memorable highlights. Overall it was a great success and even the Sicilians agreed that their pre-conceptions had been overturned. Mon Apr 15 08:04:20 -0700 2002 1380238 0 Simon Gittins 6 1381459 Surprise!!! My galloping goumet brother as a restaurant reviewer!!! I would not be game to do it here in OZ! Ciao Barryxxx Sat Jun 01 22:11:31 -0700 2002 1380360 0 Brother Barry 1 1380328 Clodagh, I've been living in Rome for the past year, and I feel like I've tried almost every restaurant in the city! Could you give me a few specifics on what you're looking for in terms of price, decor, food preferences, etc.? I'll start racking my brain to think of the perfect place. One that comes immediately to mind is Il Drappo, not far from the Campo dei Fiori, yet still undiscovered by tourists. The food is Sardinian (i.e. a lot of fresh fish, wonderful homemade pasta, and an assortment of unsual and delicious appetizers), around 35 euros without drinks, and the cook, Valeria, is a gem, as are the the rest of the staff. They will make you feel like you're part of the family, especially once they know the occasion. It's quite small, two tiny rooms, of which you would probably fill one. Not fancy, but not casual either. Hope I can be of further help! Helen Sat Apr 13 06:35:41 -0700 2002 1380203 0 Helen