Nicole in Rome

Occasion: Sunday late evening dinner

Initial Impressions: The restaurant was about 1/4 full when we came and 1/4 full when we left. We made a last second reservation anyways in case. The table for two was a decent size. I didn’t find the chairs so comfortable. There is no step or stairs at the entrance of the restaurant making it wheelchair accessible. I would also note that inside there is decent space to maneuver around. The decorations are nice. I think the little desk up front is a bit bulky, but otherwise the restaurant has a decent ambience.

Once Seated: The main part of the dining room was fine. We were very tired from taking a long trip. There was a functioning piano behind me. The lighting is dimmer, I was super tired and I would have preferred a little more brightness. The restroom is available. I thought it was dirty at first, but it was just the pattern of the flooring. They are clean and relatively spacious. Our order was taken in a timely manner. There were a decent amount of items on the menu, available in Italian and English. I didn’t look over the wine list.

The Food: On our trip, we tried a terrible restaurant and ordered a lobster pasta dish. Once I have the review ready I’ll post it and link it to this post, but long story short, we skipped the appetizers and went to ordering the tagliolini all’astice, petto di pollo al limone, and tagliata di manzo con rucola e Pachino. Overall, everything was good and we will return to try different items.

4/5 Tagliolini all’astice: This was very good compared to the other place. A very decent price point and large portion as well. However, plating was a bit of a mess. Also, I think I prefer that they pre crack the lobster claw. It seemed a bit of a waste to have everything cut in half and easily accessible, and leaving just the claw in the shell. That is me nitpicking, but I docked a star because while everything else was perfectly cooked, the claw was still a bit undercooked. I do recommend this dish though if you are dining on a Friday during Lent or are pescatarian.

4/5 Petto di pollo al limone: The lemon chicken was refreshing and cut through the heaviness of the lobster pasta. The portion for its price point was also very good about (14?). However, I think there was something (such as flour) used as a thickening agent. I would have been fine with a thinner sauce or less of the current sauce.

3/5 Tagliata di manzo con rucola e Pachino: The tomatoes here were amazing. The steak was also cooked perfectly medium, as requested. However, the quality of the meat itself was not so good. We still enjoyed eating it. It was seasoned perfectly, but next time I may order the filet. I wasn’t fully satisfied with this particular dish, but it wasn’t offensive or uneditable. Just the quality of the meat sucked while everything else was perfect, which is a shame because it took away from the dish.

Service: Service was fine. I didn’t particularly think anything stood out, but I found it really funny that at one restaurant I spent 2 hours and just barely finished a first course and at this Osteria, the time between each course served was lightening fast. I appreciated how fast and efficient they were. I also appreciated the oil, salt, pepper, and balsamic with our bread basket. Dessert was offered as well, but we opted to get venchi instead. The portion sizes here are very large. I would have been ok with only ordering one primi and one secondi to share between the two of us if I knew.

Payment: The bill total was 97 euros. I was happy with this price point for the amount of food we ate and the quality. I paid with cash. The owner had prepared our bill before hand so it was relatively fast to pay at the desk and leave. He was also nice and greeted us goodbye. Overall, I would try this one more time to explore the menu and give you guys updates on whether this is going to keep four stars or be docked to three.