MY ROME MY ROME Carla Capalbo My Rome There’s no shortage of things to do and see in the Eternal City. But where best to recharge your batteries? Carla Capalbo reveals her top spots to eat and drink like the locals in Italy’s capital ROME NEVER LOSES its exoticism, become much more diverse and is a destination. You’ll find its vast especially when you come from exciting. The advent of Airbnb et al market of high-quality Italian foods northern Europe. Jasmine, citrus now makes it easier to stay in more and wines interspersed with places blossom (the Italians call their residential areas, away from the where meat, fish, vegetables and pasta perfume zagara) and pine perfume tourist hordes thronging the centre. are cooked before your eyes. Great for the air, along with whatever the Even verdant upmarket areas such as edible presents. nonnas are cooking for lunch. Roman I Parioli are opening up: I love Fine dining is evolving in Rome, windows are open most of the year! experiencing these neighbourhoods, too. The chefs who first offered Rome’s beloved amatriciana and especially with a kitchen. Then I can creative cuisine – like three-star carbonara sauces, its roast lamb live out my fantasy: to shop at the Michelin Heinz Beck at La Pergola, (called abbacchio) sauced with amazing street and covered markets Anthony Genovese (see No9, p102) and rosemary and anchovies, and its and cook as a Roman. the Troiani brothers at Il Convivio – stuffed artichokes and other seasonal Whether it’s at the expensive but continue to inspire younger chefs. greens all make for colourful, hearty picturesque morning market in the Giulio Terrinoni’s elegant Per Me is meals that cry out for equally Campo dei Fiori, or in the recently one. Angelo Troiani also has an characterful wines to go with them. refurbished neighbourhood markets involvement in Assaggia, where you Lazio’s wine scene is starting to (mercati rionali) in Testaccio, Piazza sample multiple dishes from the new make a name for itself and Rome has Vittorio – which caters for the city’s Roman repertoire. If you can muster easy access too to the native wines of large multi-ethnic community – some Italian, Gambero Rosso Italy’s southern regions. Piazza Epiro, or the Mercato Trionfale publishes an annual guide to Rome’s The city is home to all manner of in the Prati district, the foods on offer food and wine scene that offers much wine bars, including several that are inspiring. Look for Pecorino more food for thought. feature organic and artisanal natural cheeses, baby fava beans and estate- wines (La Barrique, Litro and Mostò bottled olive oils. Carla Capalbo is a food, wine and travel are great, as well as those named To sample food and wine while you writer. Her books include The Food and below). Restaurant wine lists have shop, or vice versa, Eataly at Ostiense Wine Guide to Naples and Campania MY TOP 10 IN ROME 1 Enoteca Trimani 2 Hostaria da Benito – including clergy from the nearby Vatican The Trimani family runs Rome’s oldest e Gilberto – tucking into large platters of raw and wine shop – with more than 6,000 labels, When in Rome, Romans love to eat cooked shellfish and other seafood. Don’t including many artisan and natural – and seafood: the coast is nearby. This small, miss the iconic pasta e fagioli (dried beans also produces wine from its own estate in family-run restaurant is filled with locals with tiny pasta, assorted shellfish and a Lazio. The multi-generational business kick of chilli). The mostly white wine list began in 1821 and moved to its present fits the bill. www.benitoegilberto.it location on the corner of Via Goito in 1876. Next door, in what was Rome’s first wine 3 Neve di Latte bar, Carla Trimani cooks delicious local If you visit the late Zaha Hadid’s MAXXI dishes and serves artisan salumi and contemporary art museum (and you cheeses to accompany the exciting wine should), you’ll be close to one of the city’s Atmospheric streetside list. www.trimani.com and ilwinebar@ best gelaterie. Neve di Latte means milk Hostaria da Benito e Gilberto eateries in central Rome Photographs:SvetlanaSF/Getty; Carla Capalbo trimani.com snow, and ice cream that is pure and 100 | September 2019 • DECANTER DECANTER • September 2019 | 101 MY ROME natural features here. Made from scratch, it leaves your palate clean and refreshed, with ice cream flavours including Sicilian Adriatic Sea Ligurian ricotta and Avola almond, and sorbets Sea ITALY such as cherry and Mantuan melon. N www.nevedilatte.it 10 CORSICA PARIOLI ROME 5 4 Roscioli 6 Roscioli started as a modest bakery in the Naples heart of the city and has grown into one of SARDINIA Rome’s top food resources for bread, Tyrrhenian Sea pizza, food and wine. It’s still a thrill to Villa Borghese enter the main shop in Via dei Giubbonari, Gardens lined with fabulous salumi and cheeses, Mercato Trionfale and work one’s way to the back where PRATI CAMPO there are tables for lunch and dinner with MARZIO 7 great wines by the glass too: book ahead! Castel 3 1 www.roscioli.com Vatican Sant Spanish Museums 2 Angelo Steps VATICAN ROME 5 Al Ceppo CITY The Parioli district is residential, leafy and PONTE Trevi Fountain upmarket, with fabulous villas and parks 8 9 Campo nearby. Al Ceppo is in the heart of the River Tiberdei Fiori neighbourhood, with an elegant interior 4 SANT that includes a giant wood-fired grill. The 0 0.5 1 ANGELO mood is more refined than rustic, posh but kilometre not stuffy or pretentious. Hand-made Colosseum pastas and Roman vegetables, grilled Map:Maggie Nelson meats, along with an ambitious wine list. www.ristorantealceppo.it Lose yourself in the sleek, spotlit interior: its Asian feel is reflected in the chef’s 6 Niko Romito Spazio immaculately presented dishes, often This award-winning, self-taught chef from fusing Mediterranean and more exotic Abruzzo to the east of Rome has recently flavours. The wine list is 1,300 wines long, opened an innovative multifunctional and there’s even the option to dine in the space in Rome: Pane e Caffè serves cellar. A blow-out destination. excellent light meals and breakfasts (with www.ristoranteilpagliaccio.com some of the best bread around); Spazio Chef Anthony Genovese, Il Pagliaccio offers the chance to graduates of his chef 10 Bulzoni school to create classic modern Italian they’re sold by weight and are topped This local wine bar in Parioli is a great cuisine at affordable prices. Bravo Niko! with high-quality ingredients. If you’re place for an afternoon snack or light www.spazionikoromito.com staying in Rome you can also get them dinner with a glass of wine (at very delivered! www.bonci.it reasonable prices). The bar also serves as 7 Pizzarium a shop, so bottles line the walls and range Gabriele Bonci is the mastermind behind 8 Armando al Pantheon from Italian classics to some more some of Rome’s finest pizzas and even has If you’re after really traditional Roman fare adventurous choices – check out the inner his own TV show. His work on yeasts and – from tripe to stuffed artichokes, room for those. A wide pavement hosts primary ingredients has given this tiny amatriciana pasta and lamb’s intestines outdoor tables, presenting a chance to sit www.enotecabulzoni.it stand-up shop a cult following. Go for the – you need look no further than this classic and watch the Romans, not the tourists. most delicious crust and digestible pizzas: trattoria. It’s a Roman favourite, bang in www.enotecabulzoni.it the centre of town. The wine list is interesting too, thanks to the owner’s daughter, Fabiana Gargioli, who manages it. www.armandoalpantheon.it 9 Il Pagliaccio Chef Anthony Genovese’s jewel-box restaurant is a fine-diner’s dream, with Roscioli Bulzoni Photographs:edpics/Alamy; Carla Capalbo; two Michelin stars among its accolades. 102 | September 2019 • DECANTER.