Buon Appetito Roma!

You certainly won't go hungry in Roma. The city is filled with restaurants and cafes. The only danger you encounter is eating too much! Needless to say, we enjoyed the food in Rome immensely. We tried several different restaurants and never had a bad meal. Starting with Lumen, the restaurant in the St. Regis. The service is top-notch with very attentive staff aiming to please guests. We had breakfast here each morning and the buffet spread was incredible; fresh fruit and fruit juices, a large variety of pastries and breads, a rotation of warm dishes each day, fresh cheeses along with a variety of charcuterie products, a variety of yogurts and fresh honey, and of course the ever popular chef's station. Overeating was certainly a problem every morning. The cappuccinos were exquisite and highly addictive; something I don't typically drink but when in Italy... We enjoyed dinner at Lumen twice. Along with superb food, they also have a fairly large selection of signature cocktails and wines. We popped down for a drink at the bar one evening and it was entertaining watching the bartender masterfully preparing each cocktail with precision and care.  

Off the beaten track by the Vatican, Z found a quaint little restaurant called Perdincibacco, where we had a great lunch. Z enjoyed a mixed seafood risotto, while I enjoyed a basil, burrata, and sun-dried tomato flatbread. Oh so tasty and just the right amount of food to replenish our energy after touring through the Vatican for three hours. 


Made famous by the late Anthony Bourdain, Roma Sparita located in the Trastevere neighbourhood turned out to be a gem. Now, I've read a couple other blogs on this restaurant that said it was so much better before being made famous by Anthony Bourdain, but as someone trying it for the first time when we did, I'd say it delivered on a great experience with great food and service (after the no nonsense waiter warms up to you). This restaurant was a bit of a walk from the hotel, and a little difficult to find even with Google maps; something about the intersecting streets of Rome that kept confusing Google. Anyway, we arrived for our reservation on time and brought to our waiting table. The waiter felt a little off-putting at first but Z charmed him with his attempts at Italian and all became well. I guess they probably experience a few more tourists since being featured on a world-wide television show and perhaps some of the locals may now stay away, though that didn't seem to be the case when we were there. We each started with an arugula, olive oil and cheese salad and enjoyed a wonderful bottle of Chianti. Besides its famous diner, this restaurant is known for the traditional Roman dish Cacio e Pepe, a basic dish made of spaghetti, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Made even better at Roma Sparita, the dish is served in a very eatable fried parmesan cheese bowl. Every bite just melted in your mouth. The portion was quite large and very filling, but of course we still had our main dishes. Here is where great food diverged a little. Z enjoyed a delicious (or so he says) dish of lamb chops which I ate a chicken and roasted pepper dish which I thought was only so-so because the chicken was really tough. I didn't eat much of this dish, thankfully the Cacio e Pepe was filling, but it also gave me room for dessert. The right way to end an Italian meal is with popular Italian desserts; tiramisu and panna cotta - both heavenly desserts and neither disappointed in that category. 

Roscioli is a multi-functional spot; restaurant, delicatessen, and wine bar all at the same time. This popular eatery requires a reservation and we witnessed numerous people being turned away for lack of one. The delicatessen is situated right when you enter the establishment, with the main restaurant area situated towards the back and downstairs, except over course for, what I'll call the over-flow tables which line the delicatessen area include the counter where people order the cheeses and meats over those eating dinner. Thankfully our table was situated on the other side beside their wall of wine. We tried and shared a variety of dishes from an expansive menu. The La Burrata Pugliese con Pomodorini featured some of the freshest and best tasting burrata cheese I have ever eaten and with the sun-dried cherry tomatoes provided a great twist to what is in my mind a fairly traditional Italian starter dish (the caprese salad). This was accompanied by traditional meatballs, Polpette Della Tradition Roma, with chestnut polenta squares. At this point both of us were starting to feel full, but our main pasta dishes were still to come. I opted for the Roman classic, Gnocco Con Patate di Avezzano "Cacio e Pepe" (after trying Cacio e Pepe a few days earlier, how could I resist a different version of such goodness?)   while Z chose another Roman classic, La Carbonara with crispy cheek pork. By the time we both finished our plates, we were so full that we couldn't even fathom trying their desserts, which was a shame because they all sounded decadent. 

All three of these incredible restaurants were somewhat off the beaten track, whereas the one restaurant I found was right in the heart of the tourist area by the Trevi fountain, called That's Amore - can you get any more Italian with the name? It seemed like all restaurants during this time of the year a reservation was a must or face being turned away of waiting a really long time during peak supper time. As you would expect, we ate pasta for supper this time around again. Z indulged in the very tasty Grandma's lasagna while I indulged on a good old fashion plate of fettuccine al pesto genovese.

Needless to say, we over indulged in food and add in a couple orders or gelato and we probably gained several pounds despite the amount of walking every day.  We also discovered towards the end of our trip that leaving the city centre and heading into the "locals" neighbourhoods, you'll find just as great tasting food and cappuccinos at two-thirds the cost.