Salumeria Roscioli in Rome is a narrow restaurant in a chic area of the city, on the Via dei Giubbonari. After window shopping at the trendy boutiques along the street, we headed to the restaurant for our meal for the night. You enter through a deli/salumeria/wine bar with an amazing selection of products, and arrive in the back where there are small tables for dinner. There's also a downstairs, in the wine cave, with a few slightly bigger tables for larger parties.
Flawlessly presented with deceptive simplicity, the food was quite good. There were, however, no surprises with the ingredients or preparations, though both were first-rate. What you will get, however, is a breathtakingly deep wine selection and incredible variety of salumi, as well as the precise but simple cooking of the chef. Prego?
A 2007 Valpolicella from Roccolo Grassi, from the Verona region, the first time I ever tasted this appellation. Recommended by the waiter, it had a mild acidity embraced by subtle fruit tones and almost no tannins. We asked for a new wine, and this was exactly what we wanted. Spot on.
Below: burrata with sun-dried tomatoes. Rich, lots of "juice," because it's basically mozzarella and cream. An enormous serving for two people.
The other main course, also expertly prepared: steak, potatoes, bacon. Medium-rare done correctly. So meaty!
Intermezzo of sorbet, then a dessert of Galliano ice-mousse. (Galliano is the sweet liqueur, not the fallen haute couture designer.)
We finished the night off with some cookies and melted chocolate, in keeping with the simplicity of the rest of the dishes. The dinner was unfussy, a bit unexciting, but delicious nonetheless. Staff was attentive and ready with good recommendations for both the food and wines (the Valpolicella was an eye-opener). There was no attitude whatsoever; in fact, they were all smiles even though we walked in 10 minutes early and asked us to come back.
I would use Roscioli as a baseline for other restaurants in Rome. It's not exactly a destination restaurant for me, though I can see that certain customers who want seasonal ingredients, solid techniques and pristine preparations would keep coming. Though I consider myself a carnivore for the most part, I can't see myself having salumi too frequently; I think I'd eventually want some kind of vegetable-centric meal. But if I ever have a meat craving while in the city, few places could be more comprehensively stocked. And their wines? The lira could make a comeback and you still might not even be a quarter of the way through the list. I also appreciated the staff and the kitchen; it was part of another taste of this warm and welcoming city.
Via dei Giubbonari 21/22, Campo de' Fiori, Rome, 00186
Phone: +39 06 6875287
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