During a recent dinner at a modern Roman trattoria way out in the city sticks, I bonded with strangers at the next table, discovered a new wine, had a pasta epiphany — and smiled at the bill: Just over US$100 (S$128) for two, vino included.
I love Rome as much as the next Bernini-besotted visitor. But to find the platonic ideal of pasta Amatriciana or trippa alla Romana, I had to leave behind the Centro Storico’s cobblestoned piazzas, where faux-Felliniesque tourist mills dish out reheated carbonara to throngs. Instead, my partner and I spent our two weeks in Rome taking the metro and buses to neighbourhoods where affordable rents allow creative young chefs to nurture their talents — and their customers’ appetites — and where a convivial spirit still thrives.
The vibes often recalled Brooklyn or Berlin. But the cooking was rooted in the Roman vernacular, with its guanciale-powered pastas, seasonal vegetables and quinto quarto (aka offal). “Young local chefs haven’t abandoned Roman tradition,” said Marco Bolasco, author of an indispensable new restaurant guide, Roma Food Tour. “But they’re reinterpreting the city’s cuisine with incredible ingredients from the surrounding countryside.” And because of the cost factor, he added, the action was all happening away from the city centre.
The six places below serve up the delicious proof — but make sure to book in advance.
CENTOCELLE
Menabo Vino e Cucina
