Eating in the Rome just got a lot more epic
Spending Christmas and New Year’s Eve in the Eternal City?
Is your contribution in the kitchen more dangerous than delicious?
A Culinary Countdown is truly upon us at this point in December, as any grand occasion demands a tasty spread around which friends and family can unite.
Yet, not all of us are blessed with the culinary brilliance to appease even the most bland of palates, or steely stomachs.
Avoid belly aches and keep your in-laws happy by checking out these 10 restaurants that are open during either Christmas, New Year’s Eve, or both!
1. Il Pagliaccio
In spite of its name (it translates into ‘clown’), those who share their skills at Il Pagliaccio don’t mess around. This prestigious restaurant
boasts the talents of Matteo Zappile, the manager, chef, and winner of sommelier of the year in Le Guide de L’Espresso Ristoranti d’Italia 2017 (which is a pretty big deal).
It will serve dinner on December 24th, lunch on the 25th, and a New Year’s dinner, with specially curated menus for these festive occasions. If you’re a terrible chef and care for your family, treat them to selections such as black dumplings with succulent lobster butter and red beets, or crab tacos with whimsical potato foam.
Google Il Pagliaccio’s dedicated site for more details.
Christmas Eve Dinner: €150 Christmas Lunch: €160 New Year’s Eve Dinner: €300 (all per person)
2. Life
Another high-end option, Life injects a dose of sophistication in your New Years taste buds.
Priding itself on its seasonal ingredients an freshly-made dishes, the Life kitchen is made up of a talented staff lead by executive chef Victor Norese, a familiar and respected name in culinary circles. He and his team of nine will be serving up a menu of fish or meat, each containing six indulgent courses.
Visit Life’s dedicated site to make a reservation and drool over the menu.
Tasting Menu for the 24th, 25th and New Year’s Eve
3. Stazione di Posta
A destination for foodies everywhere, Stazione di Posta’s Michelin star will lead your stomach to heavenly fullness. Captained by chef Luigi Nastri, who recently returned to Rome after a two year stint of wowing Parisians, Stazione di Posta New Years’ menu bursts with eight servings of unconventional yet exquisite flavours. Prepare for the best food coma of your life after experiencing the likes of parsley soup, yogurt risotto with smoked eel and mandarin, and a root mousse accompanied by vanilla and truffle broth.
Stazione di Posta will also serve an equally lip-smacking Christmas menu of six courses, which will include mixed pasta soup with chickpeas and red shrimps. Swoon over the full details on its dedicated site.
Christmas Menu: €100 New Year’s Menu: €150 (all per person)
4. Aroma
Dazzling its guest with an intimate view of the Colosseum, Aroma proffers a Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve menu.
The brainchildren of Chef di Lorio, whose expertise features up to five different types of fresh pasta, the menus serve traditional Italian cuisine with a luxurious flair. Aroma also prides itself on its sustainably sourced ingredients, hence Chef di Lorio’s decision to strike tuna from the menu, and only serve seasonal resources.
With options including marinated fish salad served with caviar, and Belon oysters (acclaimed as the best in the world and only sourced from the Belon river in France), feasting will be rich, opulent, and leave your wallet emptier than your stomach. Or maybe not. Maybe you’re a millionaire and reading this.
Either way, explore their website and menu to treat yourself.
Courtesy of Aroma
Christmas Eve Menu:€290 New Year’s Eve Menu: €950 (all per person)
5. Antonello
Set in the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Antonello invites guests to a New Year’s Eve dinner in the swanky refinement of its open space. The dishes are the manifestations of head chef and owner Antonello Colonna, who claims that “Rome is in my ingredients; internationality lies in that alchemy that comes from research”.
From that, be prepared for an interplay of the conventional with the creative. If you’ve never tried hare tortilla with beetroot and Barolo sauce, now’s your chance. Visit Antonello’s dedicated site for more delicious information.
Open for lunch the 24th and 25th, with a Tasting Menu. New Year’s Eve Menu: €270 per person
6. The Corner
While usually the designated space for misbehaved children or the socially awkward, The Corner in question is a Michelin star restaurant championed by chef Marco Martini.
Martini’s cuisine is inspired by childhood memories, his mother’s cooking, and traditional Roman fare. To sample the poetry of his food, explore his Dinner the 24th, Christmas Lunch or New Year’s Eve Dinner, which will dazzle you. A dish of Guinea fowl, porcini mushrooms, chestnuts and hazelnuts is but one example of a rustic inspiration with a modern polish.
Courtesy of The Corner
Christmas Eve €150 (with selected Wines €220), Christmas Lunch: €140 (with selected Wines €220) New Year’s Eve Dinner: €200 (with selected Wines €320). All per person.
7. Per Me
Developed by head chef Giulio Terrinoni, Per Me prides itself on a cuisine built from its daily sourced, and raw ingredients. An understated elegance belies the assertive flavours of his seasonal creations, and the essence of the winter season can be captured in his Christmas Eve, Christmas Dinner, and New Year’s Eve menus.
Raw beef straccetti with pear chutney, marinated rabbit, and calamari lasagna prove an alliance between the conventional and the creative. Pour through more tantalising choices on Per Me’s dedicated site.
Christmas Eve Menu: €150 Christmas Lunch Menu: €150 New Year’s Eve Menu: €300 (all per person)
8. Fernanda Osteria
Also known for its combination of innovative and traditional dishes, Fernanda Osteria offers a New Year’s Eve menu that will power up your Instagram Likes. Head chef Davide del Luca presents dishes of both aesthetic beauty and eye-rolling flavour in examples such as lobster lentils and foie gras, and lamb served with chestnuts.
Take a sneak peak at the menu before impressing your family and friends with your amazing taste in venues.
Courtesy of Fernanda Osteria
9. Glass Hostaria
Another New Year’s Eve option lies in the scrumptious renditions of chefs Cristina Bowerman (president of Ambassadors of Taste for Italy), and Fabio Spada. Together, they’ve created a taste experience that will make you greet the new year with a satisfied grin on your face. Indulge in yellowtail sashimi, fermented pears served with caviar, or lobster accompanied with lemon and parsley foam. Basically, the stuff you can’t make at home.
Plan to start 2018 with a full belly and a happy heart by trolling the Glass’s menu.
New Year’s Eve Menu: €250 per person
10. Marzapane
If you’re torn as to whether you should eat out for Christmas Eve, Christmas Dinner, or New Year’s Eve, Marzapane just made everything more complicated.
This year it’s offering a festive menu for either one of those days, and each is as delicious as the other. While December offers a lot to be jolly and grateful for, our wallets and bank accounts usually take the brunt of the holiday’s increased prices, and our own laissez-faire vibes. Apart from delicious grub, Marzapane offers comparatively economic options for its Michelin star cuisine.
Sumptuous and quirky options include sea bass seasoned with citrus, or a soup entitled ‘Grandmother’s broth…almost.’ No doubt its enigma adds to the flavour.
See which other Marzapane options tickle your delight and tastebuds.
Courtesy of Marzapane
Christmas Eve & Christmas Dinner Menus: €90 Christmas Lunch €90 New Year’s Eve Menu: €150 (all per person)
While you’re at the end of this blog post, you’re certainly not at the end of your Christmas and New Year’s adventures in Rome!
Prepare your stomach for the feasts ahead with any one of Joy of Rome’s Food Tours, and discover how and why Roman and Italian cuisine is both celebrated and emulated the world over.
Don’t forget to stay tuned on December 25 for the release of Joy of Rome’s Laundry Webinar, so you can strut into the new year feeling so fresh and so clean.