This is now called Marco Martini and it certainly deserves a Michelin star…read more
I arrived on time for a 7pm reservation and had the place to myself for the first hour. Romans don't believe in eating dinner until well after sunset and it gets dark. I'm more of the "Early Bird Special" type.
A casual atmosphere. I was overdressed wearing a sport coat and tie. Jeans and polo shirt was the norm. It's fair to say the focus was on food rather than decor.
The three types of bread presented a challenge: it was so good I was worrying about leaving room for the all the courses in the tasting menu.
I ordered the ten course tasting menu with wine pairings.
The amuse bouche was excellent. Five bites of various things, including carbonara in an egg shell that was stellar.
The first course was cuttlefish sliced thin like pasta in Marina sauce. It was good, but now a common fine dining dish in Rome.
Next, scallops in chorizo sauce with chard. This was an outstanding dish!
Mantis shrimp in broth followed. Also outstanding.
This was followed by ricotta ravioli with mussels and mussel foam. It was an unusual but flavorful combination.
The subsequent spaghettini and clams in almond milk was also outstanding. I'm running out of superlatives.
Fagotelli came next, stuffed with pork belly and in a broth with apples was quite good. But, nothing I've had anywhere can compare with Fagotelli La Pergola, which is in a class by itself.
Squid was the first main course. It was good and cooked perfectly. But, I'm not a big fan of squid/calamari/cuttlefish.
The next dish was pork belly or some other fatty cut of pork that I didn't care for, but this was a matter of personal taste not preparation.
Dessert was a cinnamon cream with raisins and frozen apples and grapes. It was light but tasty.
Petite Fours and cotton candy to conclude.
Only one of the wine pairings was a palpable miss, but all of the wines were from small, iconoclastic sources. Only the Sangiovese seemed typical of the varietals.
Service was impeccable throughout, even after the restaurant filled up a couple hours after I arrived. But, did seem to tail off towards the end.
One complaint as so often occurs: after dessert, offer me coffee or offer me the bill. Don't make we wait 15 minutes for one or the other.
The food was excellent and service was otherwise also excellent, until my last course or two. Really, why does it take 20 minutes to get the check?