We experienced another culinary delight dining at Osteria La Quercia, near Piazza Farnese, last night.  Thanks for my lovely girlfriend Cat for a great recommendation.

Before meeting for dinner at 8.30, Zorba and I had an apertivo without food at Enoteca Il Picolo not too far from Piazza Navona. This cute little wine bar has tables that spill out onto the street busy with locals going home from work, tourists looking around, street performers entertaining anyone that will pay attention – in our case it was a quartet of Brazillians doing summersaults, cartwheels, and handstands.  Zorba and I had a drink here in 2010 and couldn’t resist going back.  A lovely start to our evening.

La Quercia is lovely.  A Roman restaurant offering amazing food and a good wine list.  I chose the Nero D’Avola from Sicily, not only because I know that this wine is good, but also because it was only 15 Euro a bottle.

We shared antipasto of stuffed zucchini flowers – light and crispy stuffed with cheese and an anchovy an absolutely delicious – and classic bruschetta with tomato and basil that didn’t disappoint.

Next was pasta. Zorba chose the Roman classic spaghetti carbonara and I went for a special – tagliatelle with asparagus and truffle.  Our friends Cat had vegetarian lasagne and Carmelo had the same as me. It was a smart choice. There was so much truffle in the sauce that my taste buds were throwing a party. The pasta was freshly made and I could have eaten two serves of it – it was that good.  Zorba thoroughly enjoyed his carbonara as did Cat her vegetarian lasagne.

Tagliatelle with asparagus and truffle YUM

The best part? Il conto – the bill. The total bill that included sparking mineral water, came to 94.50 Euro. That is 23.63 euro each.  Or A$28 each. SO CHEAP compared to what we pay in Australia. And this was a nice restaurant with waiters in white shirts and back vests, cloth napkins, and nice tableware.

Cat talked us into taking a walk to the famous Gelateria Della Palma near the Pantheon. This gelateria boasts over 150 flavours – there’s about 12 different chocolate flavours alone.  Gelato in Italy is rarely disappointing and this was no exception.

Thanks to Cat and Carmelo for a great night out.

Chocolate gelato flavours

FACT FILE

Enoteca Il Piccolo
via del Governo Vecchio, 74-75, Roma
Tel: +39 06 6880 1746

Osteria La Quercia
Piazza della Quercia, 23, 00186 Roma
Tel: +39 06 6830 0932

Gelateria Della Palma
via della Maddelena, 19, Roma  00186
Tel: +39 06 6880 6752