One of Rome's more celebrated outposts of luxe, El Toulà has the warm, welcoming comforts of a 19th-century country house: white walls, antique furniture in dark wood, framed prints, vaulted ceilings, and Venetian-style lamp shades. Along with the usual suspects of high-roller choices (caviar and blini), the chef offers a menu of contemporary interpretations of Italian classics, as well as those special El Toulà dishes with a Venetian slant (the mother restaurant is in Treviso): delicious, expertly prepared risottos, and a nod to the various sea creatures of the Adriatic coast and Venetian lagoon. Note that jacket and tie are required November through February.
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