Nicole in Rome

Updated March 9, 2024

Updated March 18, 2024

Occasion: Sunday evening dinner

Initial Impressions: The restaurant was a bit small and about 3/4 full when we arrived and 1/2 full when we left. A bit difficult to maneuver around because the tables were close together, but once seated I did not feel claustrophobic. The main part of the restaurant we were seated in would not be a handicap friendly restaurant. However, there was another section of the restaurant that had more space and I am sure accommodations can be made. Outdoor seating is available and might be more suitable or readily available for wheelchairs. A reservation was made (thankfully) about 30 minutes before arrival. There was a reserved marker on our table.

Once Seated: The decorations were nice. The lighting was just a pinch bright, but still pleasant and suitable for having dinner. There was a restroom, however I did not use it. Our order was taken in a timely manner. The menu was in Italian and English, although I preferred the Italian menu over the English. There were enough items on the menu, all with a good variety. There were some special menu items that were specific to this restaurant, but not too many which was nice. The wine list was fine and the selection offered was perfect. Our order was taken in a timely manner.

The Food: The food was amazing. We had water bread, for primi lasagna and ravioli, for secondi we had steak, and for dolci gelato and crema catalana. This is also the first and only restaurant that had olive oil and balsamic vinegar available upon request. They also didn’t mind giving a separate smaller dish for this.

5/5 Ravioli All’Arancia “Preparati A Mano Dallo Chef” & Lasagna al Ragu: Both of these dishes were great. I would say a bit on the smaller side portion wise, but it matches the price point. Also the sauce on the ravioli dish was really nice to have with bread. The lasagna is more for an American palate. Not too salty, perfectly seasoned. The noodles themselves were on the softer side. I liked it. The ravioli was a special dish. I was very delicate and not too sweet or dessert like.

5/5 Tagliata di Filetto di Manzo Al Tartufo Nero: My gosh, I dream about this steak. Now, I have had American filet my entire life. Those Costco filet mignon sticks were a family staple every week. I’ve also had filets at Summit House, Papas Bros, Mortons, Mon Ami Gabi, etc. Let me say as a standard, a true steakhouse in America will always execute these things perfectly: the salad, filet mignon, and a creme brûlée. If they have these things right, then everything else on the menu is usually just as good. If they cannot, then don’t return. Now, Piccolo Arancio is not an American steakhouse, but they have managed to do the salad, filet, and crema catan perfectly. During childhood, my mother went through a phase where she would not allow us to eat any steak cooked below medium well. Steaks like ribeye, brisket, etc would be super tough. While a good filet mignon (there used to be a $20 per pound filet and a $23 option at Costco growing up, I believe it is now something like $23 and $26) was one of those cuts of meat that would stay soft even if you cooked it to well done. The more expensive per pound one always was just as soft and easy to chew, whereas the less expensive was a bit more tough (still soft and easy to cut). Now the filet at Piccolo Arancio was very soft. This gave me the marker that they weren’t just lying to me that it was filet when it wasn’t (common for Viet restaurants to do this in the US). It was requested medium and they did perfect. The meat was so soft you could really just hold it down with your knife and pull it apart with you fork without much force. Perfectly seasoned. The salad on the side was also very very good. The bitterness of the arugula in the salad complimented the balsamic dressing and parmesan shavings very well. The price was also perfect. This dish was the best overall in Rome. You must come and try if you are a true steak lover. Brava Piccolo Arancio, brava.

5/5 Gelato & Crema Catalana: Ok well off the bat I will say for a restaurant, their gelato is very good. The caveat is that it is just as expensive for that one scoop as a grande gelato from Venchi. However, if you are staying in rome for more than a few days or have a sweet tooth, the gelato is worth trying. The Crema Catalana was absolutely perfect. I have been craving Creme Brûlée and this dessert did not disappoint. The sugar was perfectly caramelized and not burnt. The texture was also not too soft or jello-like.

Service: The service was perfect. They were not too dismissive but also not overly attentive and breathing down our neck. The timing of orders was perfect. As well as timing of courses served. The server gave his recommendation between the two steaks and we ended up ordering his recommendation, which as you can tell by now, did not disappoint. Also after payment they were very kind and gave us a few complimentary cookies that were also just as delicious and this was the perfect final touch.

Payment: The bill total was 93 euros. They accept American Express. From what I remember there was some issue with the Apple Pay during our visit, but we also had the physical card, so no worries! Overall, I cannot recommend this restaurant enough and I can’t wait to come back myself. Please enjoy your visit to Piccolo Arancio and I hope you all love it just as much as we do.

Second Visit: Saturday Evening Dinner

There was a decently long line when we arrived so I was happy Paolo made a last second reservation online. This was honored, but we had to wait about ten minutes for our table to be ready. We were given complementary glasses (flutes…whatever you want to call it) of champagne while we were waiting outside. I didn’t get the name, but it was a very good Champagne. I was actually very pleased when the server came out and gave us the glasses of champagne to drink while we waited. He called us to our table inside about a minute after we were given the champagne. The restaurant was full when we sat down and about 1/4 full when we left. This visit we ordered Antipasto Misto All’Italiana, Tornnarelli “Cacio e Pepe,” Rigatoni alla “Carbonara,” Abacchio al Forno, Tagliata di Filetto di Manzo Al Tartufo Nero (again), and Crema Catalana (again but we ordered two) for dessert.

5/5 Antipasto Misto All’Italiana: This was good. I liked every cut of meat that was on here. The quality was good so it didn’t have a disgusting pork flavor that some cheap places will try and serve you. Do I think this was worth 12 euros? eh. It was really fun to eat with our bread basket though! I’m a fan, but dinner here is always so filling I doubt we’ll ever order a full four course meal again.

5/5 Rigatoni alla “Carbonara”: So the portion looks small right? LMAO I promise that dish was freaking endless. I was 1/4 done and 3/4 full and not even making a dent in the pasta. The mistake I made was the portion in December of my lasagna was small so I assumed the portion for the carbonara would be small too. The carbonara was really good though. I would say it was better than the one I had at La Pace del Palato because the porchetta was crispy and more lean than fat.

5/5 Tornnarelli “Cacio e Pepe”: This one was better than Le Tavernelle’s cacio e pepe because it was less salty. I enjoyed my two bites of it. Paolo has tried cacio e pepe all weekend (Tavernelle, here, and Baccano) so he’ll give the separate reviews and which one was better. In my opinion it was between this and Baccano, but we’ll see what he has to say. Although at this point I might as well make a dedicated post on it and name it “Paolo’s Cacio e Pepe Guide.” How many of you would be interested in that? lol. I’ll post a poll sometime.

4/5 Abacchio al Forno & 5/5 Tagliata di Filetto di Manzo Al Tartufo Nero: My filetto was the same and really good. I’m not a fan of lamb, so my opinion is skewed. I also never had it before so as a first time it was alright. However I didn’t like how gamey it was and the plating was not as nice as my filetto. Potatoes were fine. The final verdict is that the steak beats out anything here and so I would always take a steak. I also happen to be the type to order the same thing at restaurants.

5/5 Crema Catalana: I love lol. It’s really good and I was already so stuffed but we ordered it anyways because we couldn’t resist. They did not disappoint.

Oh and to finish it off we got those free cookies again! They were so nice and fun to eat. 🙂

Cost: The total cost of this visit was 117.30 euros. The card reader again could not read the amex Apple Pay so I had to take out my physical card. I guess their devices cannot do the tap because the metal in the platinum, so the card was inserted manually into the machine. Overall it was way too much food but I was very satisfied with everything we had (we also ordered two glasses of coke, a bottle of water, and bread for the both of us). Piccolo Arrancio stays on top lol. 🙂 Enjoyyyy!!!

Other Visits:

4/5 Tagliata di Filetto di Manzo Al Tartufo Nero: I was wrong lol. This is the real truffle steak. It’s not as good as the cheaper one tbh. I’m not a fan of black truffle because it tastes like earth. LOL Steak was cooked perfectly. Paolo enjoyed the truffle. I would order the non truffle one though.

5/5 Torta al Cioccolato (con Gelato): This is made to order. I also ordered it with Gelato as it does not automatically come with gelato. It is not on the official printed menu, but on the yellow paper/special menu they provide. The gelato was a mild vanilla. It was perfect. The cake was basically a chocolate lava cake. Chocolate was filled in the middle. The cake itself wasn’t too dense. The chocolate was also the perfect temperature, not scalding hot and not cold. I enjoyed the raspberry sauce as well with the chocolate, the acidity was the perfect pair with the sweetness of the chocolate cake. The gelato was the perfect temperature balance between hot and cold as well. I recommend this and the Crema Catalina!