Dennis T.
Yelp
The concierge aboard the Oceania Marina recommended this Roman restaurant to us, and the concierge at our hotel made the reservation. The taxi ride from the hotel to the restaurant started inauspiciously when my wife had to ask the cabbie to please remove the baseball cap that was covering the meter. When he did just as we started out, 9.20 Euros were revealed, which he switched to 2.80 Euros. I'm glad Diane caught that attempted caper!
When we arrived on the very narrow street on which La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali is situated, the small but quaint restaurant was filled to capacity. It was charming and rustic, but there were crumbs on our tablecloth. It was Saturday night, and a guitarist added notes to enhance the otherwise fine ambiance. The large menu was filled with impressive-sounding offerings, including about 30 specials, and I decided to push the envelope and order a lot.
We began with Calamari Fritti. The morsels of Calamari (rings and tentacles alike) were light, tender, and excellent, and served with a homemade Marinara Sauce. Zuppa del Giorno, barley soup with beans and an olive oil topping, was hearty and very good, followed by a good but very unusual large portion of Caesar Salad that contained mixed greens, croutons, radicchio, carrot slices, and a creamy Caesar Dressing.
Pappardelle alla Gricia, wide pappardelle noodles with bacon, egg, and Pecorino Cheese, was very salty even without the bacon, which was very strong in taste. Cold Carciofi alla Romano, Roman artichokes in Vine Sauce with lemon flavoring, was very good. Spiedino di Gamberoni alla Griglia, tasted good except the jumbo prawns grilled in Lemon Sauce were mostly not well deveined or shelled. Patate del Forno, grilled potatoes with Rosemary, were very good, just as we hoped.
The best dish of the evening was Straccetti di Manzo con Funghi Porcini served with white rice. This entree consisted of oily thin slices of beef mixed with wild mushrooms, a few greens, a tiny tomato, and garlic. But the crusty wheat bread served with the meal was just okay.
Our female server (the chef's daughter) was very friendly, well versed in the ingredients of offered edibles, and efficient. And, one time the chef-owner even came out himself to see if I was ready for the next ordered dish, which I thought was a nice touch. (He probably wondered, "Who is this strange American man that is ordering so many dishes?") Throughout our meal, he and an assistant could be seen preparing food behind a large clear window, so it was almost like viewing a show kitchen.
Our dessert capped off a nice evening. It was a great Hot Chocolate Souffle with zabaglione and Vanilla Ice Cream. After everything we had sampled, it was no time to scrimp at the end. We walked out quite filled but about $140 lighter (equivalent to Euros). Our taxi ride back to the hotel was much less eventful than the first.