One of the surprises of the Italy trip, Antico Arco, is a restaurant in the Trastevere region, in an area called Janiculum Hill, which turned out not to be one of the seven hills of Rome as we were told, but close. Nonetheless, it affords views of the city if you decide to walk around and it's a great setting for a restaurant.
If you're staying in the center of Rome, the only way to get here is via taxi (or car, as the rare touristic case may be). You wind through narrow streets, basically at the edge of a hill on, at least for me and my companion, an unexpectedly scenic drive. There are a few monuments, fountains and one of the oldest churches to explore here, something we didn't have too much time to do at night.
At the restaurant, the staff was very welcoming and friendly, and the old exterior belied the tastefully modern interior we walked into. The meal was quite commendable: solid cooking with little twists to keep it a bit exciting, featuring first-grade ingredients, plus a professional staff that was neither pushy nor too uninvolved.
On the left, an amuse of truffled butternut squash soup. Right: spello chickpea soup with porcini muhsrooms, breadcrumbs and rosemary. It was porcini season and it was the trip where I finally got to taste this wonderfully earthy funghi fresh. I'd say the dried porcinis still have their merits, not least of which I can purchase them without having to go to Italy, but fresh porcinis are marvelous.
Left: chitarra spaghetti with pecorino cheese, black pepper and zucchini flowers. Just-right al dente pasta, salty sauce, crispy flowers--great play on textures. Right: beef tenderloin, chanterelles, pecorino cheese sauce, potato and black truffle. Wonderful consistency on the meat. Plus let's face it, put a truffle taste on anything, it's totes delish!
Walk outside, if you have time, towards the lookout area, which also seemed to be a makeout area for teens and young adults; try not to notice what they're doing in the parked cars. At night, you can see Rome all lit up, a big-city view that I love to behold. It's a beautiful setting and a great close to an unplanned but pleasant dinner. It was a memorable meal partly because of this and it's a cut above most Italian restaurants we went to. The degustation was also reasonably priced hence, while more expensive than most pizza dinners, it was a good deal for all the things it offered.
P.le Aurelio, 7 - 00152 Roma
Tel/Fax: +39 065815274
info@anticoarco.it
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If you're staying in the center of Rome, the only way to get here is via taxi (or car, as the rare touristic case may be). You wind through narrow streets, basically at the edge of a hill on, at least for me and my companion, an unexpectedly scenic drive. There are a few monuments, fountains and one of the oldest churches to explore here, something we didn't have too much time to do at night.
At the restaurant, the staff was very welcoming and friendly, and the old exterior belied the tastefully modern interior we walked into. The meal was quite commendable: solid cooking with little twists to keep it a bit exciting, featuring first-grade ingredients, plus a professional staff that was neither pushy nor too uninvolved.
Below: amber jack fish tartare with ginger lime and raw porcini mushroom salad. Marvelously prepared, gone in two bites.
Below: poached egg, asparagus, yogurt, ricotta cheese and black truffle. An egg was separated, the white mixed with ricotta and yogurt, then cleverly reformed around the yoke to make it look whole again.
During trips like these, I like to tell the staff that I'm open to new wines because I like to discover those that I'm unlikely to find easily in other places. In particular, we had had so many Tuscan wines during the week that, delicious as they were, we asked if they could open for us a bottle from another region. One of the staff members highly recommended an appellation called Monferrato from the Piedmontese producer Franco M. Martinetti, an apt and velvety accompaniment to the dishes we had.
Left: pan brioche chips, goat cheese with herbs and tomato compote. I don't normally like goat cheese, but the sweet compote, like a chutney, made it less dry to my taste. Right: an intermezzo of cream with a dash of tangerine. Behind it, a dessert wine whose appellation I forgot to note.
Left: creme brulee. Right: tiramisu. Fine desserts, but not exceptional.
Tel/Fax: +39 065815274
info@anticoarco.it
View Larger Map
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