Rome - Reservations needed? (Salumeria Con Cucina Roscioli, La Campana, L'Arcangelo)

[itualsya]

I will be traveling to Rome in June for my honeymoon, and I was hoping I might get some insight into whether I need reservations for the restaurants I've chosen. My list is as follows:

Friday - Salumeria Con Cucina Roscioli
Saturday - All'Orro (already have a reservation)
Sunday - La Campana
Monday - L'Arcangelo

Thanks for any insight you can provide!

[steve h.]

A note about Roscioli.
The front of the house is a deli with two-tops lining one wall and two tops lining the cold case with a narrow walkway in between. It can be uncomfortable if you don't know what to expect. The back room is loud, crowded and the favorite of hipsters (the see and be seen folk). Downstairs is the wine cellar where English speakers and Germans are frequently sentenced. You might want to insist on the back room when you make your reservations.

Edited to add: I eat there with some measure of frequency (twice in the past four weeks). I particularly like their burrata and their version of carbonara - arguably the best in town. They bake their own bread (visit the nearby forno), make their own pasta and sell outstanding salumi/cheeses/high-end delicacies from the front of the house. Their wine selection is very good. Waiters/waitresses, for the most part, are pretty sharp and are not impressed by your home-town credentials. They don't have to. In short: make reservations, go with an open mind, try to fit in, pay with cash. Then do it again.

[vinoroma]

Steve, maybe we ran across each other at roscioli? The back room is an excellent recommendation, i forgot to write that. Re: pasta - except for the filled ones like the absolutely delightful raviolo of the moment, they do not make it themselves. And credit cards are very welcome, you don't have to pay cash.

[steve h.]

Howdy vinoroma. I pay cash as a courtesy to the restaurant. Times are tough and that extra percentage point or three they save by not paying a fee sends a good message, especially if you are a repeat customer. It's part of my "fitting in" campaign. For the record, the pasta is fresh and of a very high quality.. I like the place but it's clearly not for everyone. What do you think of the wine list?

[vinoroma]

I love the wine list, very extensive and little mark-up, even some vertical depth, though modest. Paying cash instead of card is nice of you and i understand your point, but in the former comment it sounded like you were saying it is the only way to go or effects smth, which in both cases is not. Also, in some cases when i am there with clients, it is not even legally possible (1000 euro rule) to pay cash. Yes the pasta is great - but only fresh in the case of the filled ones, all others are very high quality dried ones and/or made out of house.
Oh, and, i always sit in the back room and i might be in the dictionary as the example for un-hip.

[steve h.]

But it is the place to dine there. What are your thoughts on the (very unhip) wine list at Al Bric?

[vinoroma]

Haven'T been to al bric in ages. They were one of the first to start the good wine list, good food thing, but then i don't know what happened, we stopped going.

[steve h.]

It's comfortable shoes. Go with the specials for food. It's one of the few places in town where I establish a price limit and ask the boss to make my wine selection.
What are your thoughts on the wines at Casa Bleve?

[vinoroma]

As a sommelier, i have few places In town where i can do that (let someone else choose for me).
Bleve is prestigious, old style, classic good list. But does not excite me. I can't believe i say this but after a time most wine lists become "same old", if you are in the wine industry. Bulzoni and cesare have exciting wines, bleve a very good one. The cellar is cool, though.

[steve h.]

Top marks to vinoroma re: the pasta used by Roscioli in their carbonara. It is not house made and it is not a fresh pasta. Rather, it appears to be a high-end product sourced from Verrigni (http://www.verrigni.com/). Katie Parla has chapter and verse on her site (http://www.parlafood.com/a-tale-of-th...).

I regret my error.

[vinoroma]

It was a terrible error, steve :) we should have carbonara and drink wine together sometime....

[steve h.]

Only if it's in the back room so we can mingle with the other hipsters (Euro 1000? Well done/mercy).

All the best,

--steve

[ekc]

"the favorite of hipsters" ... I have eaten there twice, both times in the back room, and I am most decidedly NOT a hipster. The patrons dining at nearby tables came from all walks of life. IMO the hipster generalization does not fit.

[steve h.]

I respectfully disagree.

[mikey8811]

I could not get a table in the back room but it did seem raucous. I sat instead at the front near the glass counter where I was entertained by the produce and the man doin' his thing with the burrata. To me, that was more fun than being with the hip crowd.

[itualsya]

Is the wine cellar that bad? As I'll be on my honeymoon, I wonder if a quieter atmosphere would be preferable to a rowdy one.

[steve h.]

The wine cellar is a functioning wine cellar. Disruption at your table against the wall is likely as staff retrieves a bottle or two. As with all of Roscioli's dining areas (front of house, back room and wine cellar), tables are close, noise level a bit high. Still, I like this place a lot. The atmosphere is never rowdy. Rather, it's a popular place with good food and wine that maximizes its modest space. Tourists dine early, locals later (both lunch and dinner). Snagging a prime-time table in the back room can be a lot of fun. Give it a shot and report back.

[itualsya]

Will do... thanks for the tip on the room, very nice to find these kinds of things out beforehand. Hopefully our lack of Italian won't land us in the wine cellars or equivalent too often.

[steve h.]

Very cool. Staff, for the most part, is multi-lingual but it's always good form to throw in some Italian to show that you're trying. The wine list is extensive and worthy of exploration. Please report back.

[Fineas]

You can make reservations online at All'Oro, Roscioli and L'Arcangelo on www.diningcity.com, which is pretty convenient. It is similar to OpenTable, but you will get an e-mail from an actual person confirming your reservations and they can help with special requests, changes, etc.

[minchilli]

Yes, absolutely! But I'd wait a bit until you made them. About 10 days ahead of time will be perfect.

www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com

[vinoroma]

Yes for all, but a couple of days ahead is enough, not now.

[ekc]

Yes for Roscioli.