Armando al Pantheon

Classic Roman cuisine

Spaghetti, alla grioia

Armando al Pantheon is perhaps really high on the to visit list for many people when they travel to Rome, highly recommended on many leading travel sites, from Time Out to Eater. The restaurant is renown for its traditional Roman cuisine, in a simple, casual setting. Located next to the Rome landmark Pantheon, the menu format is your classic Italian 4 course affair, starting from a selection of starters, to pasta and mains, before finishing with dessert. Most dish cost around 10 - 20 Euro mark, along with a strong wine list that almost entirely based on Italian wines.

Walnut, quail egg and truffle on toast

Mozzarella and Roman artichoke

Spaghetti with fresh black truffle

For starter, I opted for the fresh buffalo mozzarella with roasted artichoke. The freshness and creaminess of the mozzarella were second to none, extremely light and soft, which worked nicely with the sweetness and bitterness of the artichoke. The classic Roman spaghetti, alla grioia was sensational, creamy but not overly rich, the pecorino cheese offered so much savory flavour to the pasta, and the pork cheeks absorbed all of the lovely richness from the sauce. For main, it was slices of veal meat with tuna sauce, an unusual dish of meat and fish combo. The bold taste of the umami profile from the tuna gave me a big surprise, it was a simple looking dish but with big flavours.

Veal with tuna sauce

Cheeseboard with honey

Tiramisu

Armando al Pantheon indeed offered me a warming, comforting meal. The food I had was nothing similar to any of the Italian food I have encountered back in the UK. It was far more rustic with strong character. The beauty of the food offering is that everything seems simple, but the flavours were all excellent. The service on the day was also outstanding, very friendly with great knowledge about wines, every single wine I had worked perfectly with the course I was having. As this is a popular restaurant, booking well in advance is required to secure a table.



What I paid

£55 with wine


Food 3/5

Average cost without drinks and services:
£40

Salita dei Crescenzi, 31, 00186 Roma RM, Italy

http://www.armandoalpantheon.it/