Roman's
Italian restaurant · Fort Greene
243 DeKalb Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Highlights
Locally sourced New American small plates in a cozy, date-night spot.
Locally sourced New American small plates in a cozy, date-night spot.
"Since it first opened in 2009, Roman’s has evolved from a minimalist, destination Italian spot into a reliably good, versatile neighborhood restaurant. Owned by the restaurateur behind Diner and Borgo, it caters to locals of all stripes, from Pratt students to people who've called home Fort Greene for longer than those 20-somethings have been alive. The rotating menu runs on crowd-pleasing classics like chicken marsala, puttanesca with mackerel, and chocolate sorbetto." - willa moore, bryan kim, molly fitzpatrick
"Think of Roman’s as a slightly aloof, punk-adjacent older cousin you grew up worshipping. He has a super normie job now, but deep down you know he still has good taste. This Fort Greene spot, which opened in 2009 as a minimalist-chic destination for Italian small plates, has mellowed out to become the platonic ideal of a neighborhood restaurant. Although its owner will be forever known for opening Diner in 1999—and inventing the concept of Williamsburg in the process—his restaurants have grown up quite a bit since then. Like the most upwardly mobile hipsters of that era did, he first moved east from Williamsburg to Fort Greene. That evolution finally reached its climax last September, with the opening of the comparatively elegant, splashy, and big-boy Borgo in Manhattan. But his one and only Central Brooklyn outpost is still a mainstay among a refreshingly wide variety of people who know it still delivers. Pratt students go there to load up on carbs paid for by visiting parents, and small groups of 20-somethings pass through before heading to Alibi, the very solid dive across the street. photo credit: Julia Gillard Roman’s menu—which rotates and is divided into firsts, seconds, and thirds—looks trendy but actually just plays the hits. On a recent Saturday, those included a half-chicken marsala and a hearty puttanesca ode with mackerel. Salads are simple but satisfying, if a tiny bit overdressed, like an arugula number made just a tiny bit interesting by the addition of matured, smoky cheese. It’s also worth pointing out that the dishes at Roman’s have gotten bigger over the years—a marked and welcomed change from when it was normal and expected for them to charge something like $30 for a pair of razor clams. Roman’s may not be destination dining, but this is a well-oiled machine that serves the needs of the actual people who live there. No one’s going to call you a cheapskate for taking a first date here after playing eyeball ping pong at the park. But it’s also approachable enough for couples who met at a Williamsburg loft party in 2002 to pop in from across the street for a 9:30pm dinner and gripe session about their grown kid’s new boyfriend. Food Rundown Fava Bean Puree This has been on every iteration of the Roman’s menu we’ve ever seen, and for good reason. It’s there to showcase the sourdough from (the owner’s) She Wolf bakery. This bread would be worth ordering on its own, so the protein and huge pools of olive oil are basically bonuses. photo credit: Allie Conti Pastas These rotate, but as with the salads, the portioning has been super dialed. Ask for the three-quarters size and order more than one. photo credit: Allie Conti Roast Chicken It’s a roast chicken, but a very good roast chicken. The accoutrement may vary from night to night, though it seems safe to expect a succulent bird with crispy skin and some sort of root vegetable base that absorbs the bird’s juices. photo credit: Allie Conti Panna Cotta Same as the chicken, this varies from night to night, depending on what fruit is on hand. Get it if you love panna cotta, but otherwise this is skippable. Chocolate Sorbetto The quintessential Roman’s dessert, which is super dense because it’s made with olive oil. Order it to go and eat it on the back patio at the aforementioned dive bar. photo credit: Allie Conti" - Allie Conti
"Open since 2009, Roman’s is as good as ever. This restaurant from Andrew Tarlow — Diner, Marlow & Sons, Achilles Heel — specializes in pastas, like rigatoni with chickpeas and pork sausage, and daily-changing specials, hitting all the right notes more than a decade later." - Emma Orlow
"Roman’s is a great neighborhood Italian restaurant to know about if you live in the area. It’s from the people behind Diner and Marlow Bistro and much like those two spots, Romans’ sidewalk patio is always full of people who look like they might make ceramics for a living. The next time you need a casual place to drink a glass of natural wine and eat spaghetti with mussels, this is your place." - nikko duren
"A friend and I stopped by Roman’s at the edge of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill early on a recent evening, and secured a window counter seat just as shoppers were hurrying home. I’d reviewed it in the Village Voice in February 2010, a few months after it opened, and had visited again a few years later, but hadn’t been back since. The place was named after owner Andrew Tarlow’s son, Roman. Back then, I found the food fascinating, a series of small plates on a menu that changed daily — making it impossible to go back and enjoy a dish a second time. Under chef Dave Gould, fish and vegetables were high points, as were pastas — the thing I liked best was a spaghetti in brodo snowed with cheese, looking like a winter landscape. Well, here I was again, finding the same closely clustered two-tops, bar commanding the center of the room, and white tiled interior — signaling hospitality, rather than just hospital. The menu under chef Hannah Shizgal-Paris now changes more gradually, retaining a few dishes and swapping supporting ingredients in others, as I found after checking the online menu on subsequent days. More importantly — though I’d liked the food earlier, it knocked me out this time. Dishes were still organized in the traditional three-course Italian meal progression, but now the size was large enough that two could easily share each one, so that three dishes plus dessert, with one drink apiece, made a meal for two and ended up costing around $150. Here’s how our visit went down. Dishes are still designated as lists of ingredients, and from a choice of six in the first course, we picked roasted cabbage, anchovy, caper leaves, and breadcrumbs ($22). While this may sound uninspiring, the cabbage was flavorfully charred, the caper leaves astringent, the bread crumbs crunchy, and the anchovies like a shout rather than a whisper — adding up to a course to be remembered. A week later, its equivalent featured citrus, caper leaves, mint, and goat ricotta, another illogical but doubtlessly delicious combo. There’s a choice of three pastas for a second course, and it was actually a relief to have such a limited choice. All of them were unique combinations; there was no cacio e pepe, carbonara, Bolognese, or Amatriciana. In the one called mezze rigatoni, chickpeas, pork sausage, and broccolini ($28) — two items tossed with the stunted groovy tubes were common southern Italian ingredients. The garbanzos are less common, a brilliant addition that added a creamy texture, making the rough chunks of pork sausage somehow seem more special. The first two courses were hard acts to follow, but the third surpassed expectations. The choice was once again limited to scallops with farro risotto in salsa verde, flank steak with gorgonzola butter, and chicken fra diavolo, all priced in the mid-$40s. It being a blustery evening, the comfort bird won the day. Nothing too unusual about it: plump moist flesh, crisp skin rubbed with spices that didn’t interfere with the fresh poultry taste, a scatter of caramelized Brussels sprouts. The half bird easily fed both of us. For dessert we picked a panna cotta flecked with vanilla beans in a pool of fruit preserves ($12). Perfect in conception, but slightly lacking in execution, it was too salty, though salty is now a thing in desserts. This was not as enthralling as the other courses. The modest wine list offers seven by the glass, all but one Italian and all a little unusual. But why not go for one of the non-alcoholic concocted drinks? We particularly enjoyed the house soda ($7), with earl grey tea, cinnamon, and lemon. The bubbles were every bit as festive as Champagne." - Robert Sietsema
