I went back and was more impressed. Pizzas were more “scotto” and crisper, the way I like. This time we sat in the pretty downstairs room, which takes up the courtyard of a building and has a skylight. There’s a good picture here:
Focaccia with Bidinelli handmade mortadella with 7% black truffles: best mortadella ever. Insane. Have to eat more of this before I go home. Roscioli has 1kg vacuum-sealed packages.
Chickpea soup with fennel, bottarga, and artichokes. I didn’t think it need the latter two. Very good.
Caponata. First-rate. Traded for my soup as we each preferred the other’s dish.
Poached egg with saffron potato cake and galetti (golden chanterelles). My friend loved it, I would have liked a crisp potato cake.
Pizza bianca with galetti and pumpkin flowers, earthy and special.
Went back for lunch two more times, including our last meal in Rome, so obviously this is a new favorite. There’s a lot of overlap in the menu with its sort-of-sister restaurant Roscioli, but it’s much more comfortable.
Tied with Perilli for best carbonara of the trip. The waiter said this is identical to Roscioli’s except that they use a slightly different kind of spaghetti. This version is more about the sauce, cheese, and balance, Perilli is more about the guanciale.
Salad of shaved ovoli (Amanita caesarea), similar to raw porcini but a bit earthier. I preferred them shaved over octopus carpaccio at Pierluigi. Pierluigi - Rome - Italy - Food Talk Central
Smoked salmon with the only non-traditional use of puntarelle I encountered, dressed with balsamic and wild fennel. Delicious and unique. Gratuitous wasabi mayo on the side.
We’re going to be in Rome in late Sept & mid Oct, bookending our Sicily trip. We’ve been staying in the Aventine Hill area the last several times so Perilli was very convenient. This time, we’re staying at the Senato across from the Pantheon, so I think we may well not get to Perilli. Emma looks great. Thanks.
For pizza, we had Matrix - guanciale and Pecorino Romano Lopez on tomato sauce. Some pieces of guanciale were crispy, adding a fun texture to every bite.
Boy, it sure better be good cause the looks of the place are very off-putting. When I saw that first photo I couldn’t tell it was a restaurant. Glad it was good.
It’s a beautiful room built in the courtyard of the building with a giant skylight. Great natural light at lunchtime. Maybe my photo doesn’t do it justice.
Thanks.