Osteria dil Tempo Perso

Every time I visit Rome I am impressed by the amount of tourists around. Romans must be really tired of so many people.

In my eyes, the humungous amount of tourist blurs the charm and the magnificence of a city that has such an ancient history, with its majestic monuments. It is mesmerising to think what has happened there through the centuries, but when you see so many people around you get a feeling like you’re in a funfair. It feels disrespectful.

In any case, a walk on a Sunday morning through Vila Borghese is simply a pleasure. Vila Borghese is a huge park crowning one of the famous seven hills that surround Rome. It’s full of people practicing sports, different fairs, cafés, musea, and over all, nature.

Being a tourist, after Vila Borghese you will decided to take one of these routes: either Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps, or continue towards Piazza del Popolo. We decided upon the first choice, that was impossibly full of people. We wandered around, doing some window shopping in the most selected and expensive boutiques, till we reached Vial del Corso, which, by the way, ends in the aforementioned Piazza del Popolo.

It was already lunchtime. Even though I wanted to walk a bit further to try a pizza place close to the Vatican City, D decided it was better to find a spot closer. So went into one of the side streets in order to find a restaurant that didn’t look like a tourist trap.

Not far away from the square we spotted this osteria, which caught our attention as it has a very coquettish terrace. The restaurant seemed to be full, but they still had a table for two available. We were in luck!! 

The other guests seemed to be Romans, which is always a sign of a good choice (when in Rome, do as the Romans, right?). The demographics were however a bit different from Zi’ Umberto the previous day: older age and a bit more upscale.

The menu in this restaurant is really long: you can choose from the typical antipasti, a good range of pastas and risottos, salads, veggies, grilled meat and fish, cheese and even typical Roman pizzas. I don’t think they missed a single “typical Italian” dish.

After ordering two glasses of white house wine, we had a look at the menu and decided to share a Caprese salad, and the delicious grilled porcini. As a main dish, D ordered a grilled fish platter and I went for pesto.

The Caprese looked amazing. It was a tower made with one layer of mozzarella, and one layer of tomato, alternatively, topped with olive oil, oregano, and crowned by half a black olive. Of course it also tasted awesome. You really cannot go wrong with a Caprese, specially in Italy.

The grilled porcini were indescriptible. Really, I can’t find words. After having had them a couple of times, I really think it depends more of the type of mushroom than to the ability of the restaurant. If you like mushrooms and you find yourselves in Italy in Autumn, do order grilled porcini. As much as you can. The taste and the texture are challenging to match. Just look how delicious it looks in the picture!

It was time of the main courses (which we accompanied with another glass of house wine). The grilled fish platter was huge, I recommend to share rather than to order it just for one. I could see bass, swordfish, squid, scampi and prawns, all looking fantastic, and it tasted fantastic as well. I am not one to love fish, but this platter was really top. I just tried a bit because I needed to focus on my pasta.

My favourite has always been pesto. It’s extremely easy to make at home - and healthy - but when you order it in a restaurant and it’s as good as this one was, it’s the icing of the cake. I must add, the pasta in Italy is definitely different. I am specially fond of pici, typically Roman. They look like thick round spaghetti. Really a must. Look how clean was my plate after! 

After all the food, we couldn’t gather enough strength to ask for a dessert - but we ordered some house limoncello ;), and the bill.

The damage: I could tell by the type of restaurant (elegant and refined) and its location (close to touristy spots) and confirmed in the menu, that the prices were going to be higher here than in other places we’ve visited. The total bill was 120 Euro, but I must say, wine was to blame - almost 40% of the bill was on drinks (we also got water, of course).

I am surprised to find that in big cities in Italy, generally, ordering wine will hurt your pocket - taking into consideration that Italy is a wine land. It is not strange to order house wine by the glass and find that it is between 6 and 9 Euro. Of course, it’s top quality wine, but it is surprising to learn that in many places, there are really not cheaper options.

Overall we keep good memories of Osteria dil Tempo Perso. Coquettish terrace, the majority local guests - even though it’s steps away from Piazza dil Popolo), the pleasant ambiance and elegance, and the top service contribute to it. What’s most important, you taste there very good food, traditional, beautifully presented - it’s definitely a place to stop by when in the area.

Bear in mind, as in every other place, service and elegance have a price.