Rome Restaurants Report - December 2009 (long)

[CJT]

Spent just over a week in Rome from 12/3 to 12/10 and write to report on our culinary adventures. With only 2 exceptions, we ate all our meals in restaurants which we had not tried before on our previous 4 or 5 trips to Rome. Doing so resulted in some really nice adventures. Here’s the report:

1. Da Danilo (Via Petrarca 13 – just off Via Merulana, follow Via Alfieri to Petrarca) I read about this place in Puntarella Rossa, an Italian dining site, and was intrigued by their menu. PR said that Da Danilo had the best spaghetti carbonara in Rome (article in late summer 2009). We didn’t try that because were more interested in a different pasta offered. Started with an unusual primo: a plate with 2 servings each of 4 different cheeses (softest was a gorgonzola, then the other 3 proceeded into toothier textures). There was no listing on the menu of what the other 3 cheeses were and we did not quite get their names from the waiter, but all 4 were excellent. Accompanying the cheeses were small dishes of different flavored jellies which blended well with them. Next we shared a plate of strozzapreti con carciofi, porcini, e crema di pecorino, one of their special dishes (another strozzapreti dish is made with lardo and tomato sauce but we did not try it). Normally, we expect strozzapreti to be in the shape of a “priest-choker” (it resembles the type of collar worn by priests before they adopted the “Roman” collar), that is, twisted. However, at Da Danilo, their hand-made strozzapreti is like a thick ribbon with a channel in it – nice and chewy. This dish was excellent and unusual in its texture and accompaniments. We also shared a breaded lamb dish and ordered puntarelle with anchovies to go with the lamb. Nothing exciting about the meat course. Finished the meal with dolce called Gasperino – a wine glass with soft rich chocolate mixed with very flaky cookie crumbs, bits of chocolate, and whipped cream – delicious, but the portion was smaller than we would have preferred. In general, we highly recommend this place and see it as a better dining experience than Trattoria Monti, which Danilo is not far from at all.
Danilo offers spaghetti with anchovies but only on Fridays. My guess is that all the other pastas on their menu are as good as what we had. NOTE: Danilo was offering a Christmas pranzo at 40 Euros per person which might be an option for anyone looking for a Christmas meal this year – but remember, it’s pranzo only – no cena on Christmas. Da Danilo is closed Sundays

2. Dal Toscano al Girarrosto (Via Germanico 58, just off Via Ottaviano) This has been our dependable lunch spot when visiting anywhere in the Vatican area due to its location (closed Mondays). Opens for lunch at 12:30 PM (but the Romans don’t get there until 1:15 or later). You can get a very good bistecca fiorentina here, but we have never tried it. We mostly focus on their pastas and are never disappointed. Wife had tagliatelli con cinghiale (boar sauce) and it is always delectable. I had bombolotti Giulio Cesare – hard to describe the pasta, but it’s like a cross between a shell and elbow macaroni – pasta with fresh porcini mushrooms and prosciutto in a light sauce. They also have a good house wine offered in mezzo-litro carafes - just fine for lunch.

3. Trattoria Luzzi (Via di San Giovanni in Laterano 88, corner of Via Celimontana, 2 blocks from Colosseum) Not a destination restaurant, but it was good for a quick Saturday lunch. Saw this place posted on Chowhound and remembered it when we finished a visit to the church of San Stefano Rotondo. We were amazed at the large number of people eating lunch there. They had a outside covered area with about 8 tables, each seating 6-8, plus 2 more not covered, and a few 2-seat ones against the building. Every space was occupied outside and there was not a seat to be had inside. The majority of people there were Italians, not tourists. Food was good: we ate ravioli with spinach and ricotta and pennette amatriciana. Both were very tasty and piping hot. Mezzo-litro of house wine available for 2.50 Euros. If you are looking for a decent place to eat an inexpensive lunch near the Colosseum, give it a try. We have in the past eaten quite well at a restaurant only 1 block away from Luzzi – Pasqualino. It is not as bustling as Luzzi, but Pasqualio's food is a step up (pasta with fresh porcini is excellent); it is also near the Colosseum

4. Vladimiro (formerly Vladimiro/Marcello) (Via Aurora 37, from Via Veneto, go 2 blocks in on Ludovisi, right on Aurora) We have had dinner at this restaurant on every trip to Rome and continue to sing its praises for all-around good dinners at a reasonable price. When we first dined here in the late 1990s, the place was called Marcello, then it became Vladimiro/Marcello and now it is Vladimiro (but a Marcello sign is near the entrance.) Everyone there this night seemed to be enjoying different dishes, but we and another table had the prezzo fisso dinner, which we have always ordered. It began with delivery of 6 bowls of vegetable appetizers (warm lentils in tomato puree, roasted red pepper strips, grilled zucchini pieces, grilled eggplant chunks, hot mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, fava beans), and a platter with 2 outstanding mozzarella balls surrounded by fresh tomato chunks. Since my wife is allergic to raw tomatoes, I mentioned this to the waitress and she returned shortly thereafter with a plate of prosciutto slices for my wife.
Primo course is also a standard offering of 3 different pastas, each in a different sauce, all 3 served on a large platter. First was spaghetti with artichokes and parsley, second was a short rigatoni-type pasta in a cream sauce with parmesan cheese, third item should have been another style of pasta in a tomato-based sauce, but because of my wife’s allergy, they substituted (without even asking us) a large mound of risotto full of large porcini mushroom chunks.
Final course was a roast leg of veal with roasted potatoes, the veal sliced from the bone at table. By this time, we were nearly stuffed, so we took with us some leftover veal (ate it next day with pizza bianca bought at a nearby bakery). To finish this meal, they offered a lovely tangerine sorbet with tiny cookies made there. We drank a ½ liter of their house wine and total for the 2 of us for this sumptuous and delicious meal was 80 Euros.
For anyone visiting Rome the first time and looking for an excellent lasting memory of a good meal, we highly recommend Vladimiro. It’s also a reasonably short walk up the hill from the Piazza di Spagna and in the neighborhood of the big fancy hotels on the Via Veneto.

5. Quinzi e Gabrieli (Via delle Coppelle 5, just off Via della Scrofa, just north of Piazza Navona) This is a famous seafood restaurant but it was hard to find because it doesn’t have large signs in front to tell you it’s there. If you go, be prepared to spend a lot of Euros, as everything on the menu is much higher than you will be accustomed to at other restaurants in Rome: primi might be 10-18 Euros elsewhere; here they are 30-45 Euros. Single plates in the secondi menu are 45-150 Euros. That being said, the quality of food is excellent because everything is very fresh and well-prepared.
We started with a shared order of spaghetti with seafood (45 Euros) and were delighted to find that the seafood was primarily lobster, which was excellent. Fortunately, they gave us each enough that we were satisfied. For main course, we ordered a John Dory grilled fish with “roasted potatoes” (potato slices, some of which were over-roasted and dried out) at 45 Euros only to find out that the restaurant does that only for 2 people and it costs 45 Euros each – 90 Euros for a single (and simple) fish is beyond the pale. The fish was fresh but not exquisite. Because of confusion over the price of this dish, the restaurant made an accommodation on our bill so we were somewhat placated by this gesture.
The long and short of it: excellent and fresh seafood prepared very well, but at a price that you may find out of line, as we did.

My other choice of a place to try for fresh seafood is Tempio di Iside, which offers a prix fixe seafood extravaganza at 53 Euros or so, but we never got there. Would love to hear from anyone who has eaten there.

6. Palatium (via Frattina, 2 blocks north of Piazza San Silvestro bus terminal, near Corso) This relatively new restaurant/enoteca specializes in offering wines and foods from Lazio province (Rome’s province). It’s a modern 2-story place in the downtown shopping area not far from Piazza di Spagna. First floor is the enoteca where you can sample a wide range of Lazio wines at reasonable prices; several tables are there as well if you care to dine downstairs. Second floor is less noisy and has no bar, but seats 35-40 diners. Menu is very interesting and food is quite good. Not very much English spoken by staff here and menus are in Italian only. Menu is the same for luch and dinner, so you can try the place at either time for a good sampling.
Wife started with a lasagna with beef ragout: thin layer of lasagna noodle on bottom, thick layer of meat on top, then second layer of noodle and second layer of meat, topped with layer of noodle. This was more a meat dish than a past dish and was therefore very flavorful and interesting. I ordered “pasta and broccoli with mussels”: an excellent and flavorful bowl which consisted of thin, short pieces of noodles (like 1-inch sticks of spaghetti) in what seemed to be nearly a puree of broccoli (maybe broccolini – but there were pieces of the vegetable in the puree for nice added texture). About 6 or 7 shelled mussels sat in the bowl and added an interesting contrast to the dish. I must say this was one of the most satisfying and unique dishes we ate on our trip and I would go back again at any time to try other offerings.
After these primi, we shared a plate of “saltimbocca” which turned out to be a good-sized slice of thin veal which had been grilled or broiled with a slice of prosciutto on one side (not rolled-up pieces of meat). Served with this were a large helping of grilled fresh porcini and a mound of chicory (not bitter, but sweet like a spinach). We tried both white and red Lazio wines by the glass and were pleased with the offerings. Price for 2 wines, 2 primi, and 2 secondi (plus bread): 48 Euros.

7. While looking for Quinzi & Gabrieli one afternoon, we came across a busy pizza restaurant on the corner of Via Delle Coppelle and Sant' Augustino which we think goes by the name of Margarita. Looking for a quick lunch, we tried the place and found it to be worthwhile for this purpose. They offer lots of white pizzas and we were pleasantly surprised that they did a decent job – 2 white pizzas and bottle of water for 15 Euros.

Finally, past posts on Rome have shown that quite a few others stay, as we do, at the Mecenate Palace Hotel just around the corner from Santa Maria Maggiore. They have a bar which serves appetizers during “happy hour” and have expanded that to offer an 18 Euro “dinner” menu which came in handy for us and quite a few other clients of the hotel. It basically consists of self-service from the happy hour buffet (might have seafood salad, prosciutto, mixed salame, mozzarella, etc.), followed by choice of lasagna or manicotti or cannelloni (depending on the day), and then a meat course which might be meatballs in sauce, or slices of grilled roast beef. This is not haute cuisine and in fact is probably from a nearby caterer/restaurant re-heated in a microwave, but it was not bad on a night when we were too tired to go out to a regular restaurant and reasonably priced.

As mentioned in previous Rome posts, the breakfast servers at this hotel do a great job on cappuccino, especially Andrea who decorates each one with faces, trees, etc., and puts his initials on the top as well.

[objectuser]

Thanks! We'll be there in two days and looking forward to trying one or two of these (or more). We'll be there for about 7 days so should have time for a bit of variety.

[jen kalb]

As Ive said before, I dont really get the praise for Luzzi (Downie mentions it too)
The stuff on the menu is average - some of the specials were better (look at what other people are eating). The price is pretty good, though.

When we were staying in that area, the neapolitan style pizzeria down closer to the Colossem on the same street was selling a special ring shaped neapolitan bread - large - filled with salami and cheese- which was very good.
Their pizza was not bad also, notwithstanding the location and weird look from thestreet.

[CJT]

I wasn't exactly praising Luzzi, just mentioned it as a place for a quick and inexpensive meal near the Colosseum. Our goal on this trip was to eat in as many untried restaurants as we could, so we didn't stay in a rut. Valdimiro and Dal Toscano are places we've tried with great success on 5 previous visits to Rome, but the others in my review were unknown to us until this year's visit. Palatium has had virtually no press on this board and I think that is not a good thing -- the menu was different and very good. Da Danilo had only 1 previous post and it deserves more attention. I'm just tired of reading about the same restaurants all the time and thought it best to explore other offerings.

[sambamaster]

I used the "eat in as many untried restaurants..." technique in Florence last month. All were terrible, or at least, not very good. Likewise my Roscioli experience in Rome...never again. Now, Da Gino was great, and I don't see it popping up very often. I will certainly go back there.

[CJT]

Priro to going to Rome, I did a lot of research on this and other sites so that I chose places which had a lot going for them. Hope you did the same in Florence. By the way, which Florence restaurants did you try and what was your experience?

[sambamaster]

Florence: Tried Antico Ristoro di Cambi after seeing it touted in usually reliable sources. The food was mediocre, the service nearly surly. It was very much as if they didn't want us there at all. Very unpleasant.

Also, Osteria Pepo, near the Mercato Centrale. A newish place, good reviews somewhere, I forget where. Very disappointing. I'll stick with Cibreo, Nerbone, La Vecchia Bettola, Da Ruggero, etc in the future.

[CJT]

Thanks for your reply. We've never tried either of those places which you disliked and have not heard of them before. Suggest next time you try Vini e Vecchi Sapore, le Mossacce, Caffe Italiano or its upscale partner Ostaria del Caffe Italiano, Trattoria Casalinga (Oltrarno). It would be unlike me not to recommend Teatro del Sale, since you are already partial to Cibreo.

[sambamaster]

I know all those places after about 15 trips to Florence.....just ate at Casalinga. Re: Teatro del Sale...I hate self-serve/buffets, even if it is Fabio doing the cooking. And I'm not a theater fan. I'll stick with Cibreo.

[redgirl2]

i'm interested in vladimiro. am i wrong that it is relatively near the borghese? we are going there on our last day in rome (in late march) and i'm thinking that might be a good last dinner. do you happen to know what day they are closed?

[CJT]

I believe Vladimiro is closed on Sunday, but suggest you verify. The restaurant is not that far from the Borghese. On the Via Veneto, the Excelsior Hotel is on the corner of Boncampagni; on the oppostie corner, the street is Ludovisi. Walk down Ludovisi 2 short blocks and turn right (there is a Vladimiro sign on the lampost at corner of Ludovisi and Aurora). Restaurant is halfway down the short street.

[cheeselesspizza]

CJT- Thanks for your recommendation. My wife and I went to Vladimiro last week. We wound up going for lunch instead of dinner because we were already in that part of the city. I must say the food was excellent, we had two delicious pastas and the "Rhombo" which was a whole founder roasted with sliced potatoes, tomatoes and rosemary covering the entire dish. Never seen a flounder prepared that way before but it was amazing. The only thing I didn't care for was the minestrone (minestra verdure) which had a slightly tangy flavor to it. Having had a wonderful minestrone at Il Fiorentino the day before it didn't match up. And although the service was excellent, we found ourselves examining the check with a quizzical look after the meal. On top of the food, there was a 10 Euro charge that we didn't recognize. I asked the manager about it and he replied, "Servicio." Nowhere else in Italy did we run into a service charge at a restaurant. Don't know if the manager just decided to take us for a ride but our Italian wasn't good enough to dispute this, so we just paid it. I probably would've left a tip anyway, but this move on the manager's part marred an otherwise wonderful meal.

[mbfant]

Fish terminology does tend to be loose and variable, but "rombo" (the correct Italian spelling) should not have been flounder but brill or turbot. A service charge (servizio) should have been clearly marked.