Moscardini Fritti

Stumbled upon this place recently and it has become my terrace of choice when I manage to get myself to Rome. The only thing I can’t figure is out why I never noticed this little restaurant before, when I actually lived in Rome.  Its sort of tucked away on the quiet Piazza de’Ricci, a stones throw from Piazza Farnese.  Pierluigi is the perfect place for an Italian meal with a large terrace and a spectacular selection of fresh fish. 

I like to listen to Giorgio, the waiter. He knows what’s good. (And he’s proficient in several languages). Last time I was there he recommended a selection of 3 antipasti that were fish based, delicious and digestible. Especially the Moscardini fritti. Tiny squid flash fried. Fabulous. I think I could live off these.

Look at these things!

Then we had two different primi piatti (pasta course). The pasta comes out in the pan. Home-style. 

Pugliese pasta with calemari and tomato

 Pugliese pasta with calamari and tomato. Good but you couldn’t taste the calamari as much as I would have liked.  

Pugliese pasta with tomato and calemari

The maltagliati ceci e vongole(literally, ‘badly cut’) pasta squares with  chick peas and clams were better. The starch of the chick peas gives a creamy texture to the sauce which I really liked.  

Maltagliati ceci e vongole

We were going to have secondi (main course), but we were full and I had a train to catch.

The late crowd is predominantly Italian and you get the feeling that it is a neighborhood place and everyone knows each other. It is very easy to drag out lunch there especially when Giorgio brings Vin Santo and ciambelle to coax you to stay a little longer.

As they say, when in Rome….

Oh and for the wine list. It’s pretty good. Nothing extraordinary apart from are a few prestigious bottles that are expensive. We had a Franciacorta Brut Zero from Satèn. Not the greatest producer and not the ideal choice for all the bitternesses in the food, but I like sipping bubbles on terraces in Rome and enjoyed it tremendously.