Thank goodness they were open late! We were starving after a long (much longer than it should have…read morebeen, but shorter than it felt as we were traveling it) travel day, and after finally finding the hotel and checking in, we had zero desire to venture too far out to get food.
The restaurant was mostly empty when we arrived at around 9 pm, and there was no host at the front. We waited for a few minutes before a waiter came by to ask if we had a reservation (che?!) before taking us to one of the many empty tables.
I did like the vibe of the space - lots of open windows with interesting views and the bar at the center of the room was modern, sleek and vibrant. Our little table was to the side of the room, against windows and poorly lit with a small candle, but it worked for the feel of the space.
Because it was so late, and we were so tired, and we had to wake up so early the next day, we chose to pace ourselves and only order a glass of wine each, instead of our "usual" bottle to share. We each got a glass of red to sip while we munched on the basket of bread and reviewed the small-ish menu.
It didn't take us long to decide on the Rigatoni all'Amatriciana con Guanciale Croccante (rigatoni with Amatriciana sauce, €21). Last day in Italy and all that.
The piping hot food came out fairly quickly, which we definitely appreciated. The sauce was good, with a slightly floral undertone that took me by surprise. Maybe it was the tomatoes? The guanciale was crispy and cut into large pieces, but did sometimes resemble "bacon" more than "guanciale", though that could just be my bias coming through. It was a good dish for our final night in Italy, and much better than we had expected going in.
Our waiter was friendly and attentive, and made sure to keep an eye on us as we were making our way through the meal. He made it possible for us to get in and out at a decent pace, so we weren't hanging around too long at the table. Again, much needed after the day we had.
It's a good option for those staying inside the hotel, or those not looking to go too deep into the airport for other options. I'm glad it was available to us.