BrowsingRome Blogging about my experiences and sharing my thoughts about Rome, Italy and beyond
L'osteria di Cicerone
I’ve been to this Rome restaurant several times for lunch as it is close to where I work. The atmosphere is nice but at lunch time, expect a crowd as it attracts people who work in near by offices.
They have a menu of the day which is simple and priced reasonably as it caters to the lunch crowd. However they also offer a variety of items in their full menu including appetizers, pizzas and salads. It’s good that they have the menu displayed on the window so you can take a look at the selection and the price before taking a seat.
The last time I was there with my group of friends, everyone ordered from the menu of the day and I ordered the sciatellieli di pomodoro (pasta with tomato sauce), carciofi alla romana con patate al forno (artichokes roman style and roast potatoes) and broccoletti (similar to broccoli) to share with a friend.
Menu of the day
Pasta with tomato sauce may sound boring but if the sauce is good, it makes a world of difference. That day, it was perfect and on top of that sciatellieli is a different type of pasta as it is just made with flour and water (no eggs). Very tasty dish!
I was actually hesitant to share the carciofi alla romana as I am not really a carciofi fan and the only carciofi I had tried before then was carciofi alla giudia (fried artichokes). Well, to make a long story short, their carciofi alla romana was so good that I am now into carciofi and trying to find a good recipe to prepare carciofi alla romana at home.
We didn’t order any appetizers but we got the foccacia which is very good. I suggest you order them but let me warn you ahead of time – they are so good that you may just stuff yourself with foccacia and have no room for the rest of your order.
- First pasta and then side dishes!
No desserts for us – although I could hear the crostata di ricotta and cioccolato calling my name. Yes, I have a weakness for desserts but the group was going to the bar to get some coffee and at the same time ice cream. I guess it was a good compromise.
They ordered a half a liter of red wine and in total we paid €11 a person which isn’t too bad.
Address:
Via Cicerone, 22/a
00193 – Roma (RM) Italia
Tel. 06.3208468
Map – From Largo Argentina, you could take the #87 bus which stops at Piazza Cavour. Alternatively, the #30, #81 and #70 would get you very close to this restaurant. By metro, take Metro A and get off at Lepanto. It’s a about 8-10 minutes walk.