Rome: A Short, but Calorically Gigantic, Stay in Aventino and Testaccio
Oct 26th, 2012 | 08:15 AM
#21
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Joined: Oct 2008
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<b>Trip Report Continued: a restaurant I forgot and I shouldn't have--Gregory a Testaccio</b>
<i>I'm interrupting this report for a total apology for how sloppy my entries have become. I just saw a zillion typos in my last entry, so please forgive me!</i>
Thinking about pictures on the wall at La Villetta and thinking about the service reminded me of the place where we had lunch the day we arrived in Rome--<b>Gregory a Testaccio</b>, which also seems to be named <b>"Trattoria nè Arte nè Parte"</b>. It's location is Via Luca Della Robbia 15 in the Testaccio area (Phone: +39 06 5750279).
I totally forgot about it because it was an accidental find. And we didn't even see it the next day on our food tour. It's closed on Monday, the outside tables were locked inside, and we had never seen the name of the restaurant when we ate there.
We had just gotten in that first day, headed down the hill from our hotel to the Via Marmorata to locate ahead of time our evening restaurant, Perilli, and realized we were dying of hunger.
We knew lunch time ended darn soon, and we'd better hustle. We turned down the Via Alessandro Volta and right at what I now know is the intersection of Via Luca Della Robbia, we saw people eating at outside tables. Heck, we're eating there!
There was some argument in Italian at the desk inside whether or not we could get served (I told you we were slipping under the wire), but they made room for us. It took quite awhile to get waited on, but as I've indicated, by that time, we were darn used to Italian service anyway and we sure weren't complaining.
When our waiter got to us, he was a sweetheart. I ordered the bucatini all'amatriciana and a salad; I forget what my husband ordered but I think it may have been pumpkin ravioli. No matter what, it was good.
Since we had so much time waiting around, I started looking at all the pictures on the wall which were obviously both family and celebrity oriented. The middle-aged waiter, who spoke limited English, looked like one of the young guys in one photo. When I asked him, he shook his head "no" but did show us a photo where he was included on another wall. Then the owner, Gregory, came over and took me on a tour.
His prize photo? One of him as a young man shaking Gregory Peck's hand. It seems he and his partners had careers in Italian film.
My husband said as we left, "I really like this place". But we never looked at the name!
So while this restaurant is not one of the favorites on the TripAdvisor ooh/ahh circuit and does not seem to be a favorite with foodies, we'd sure go back.
Especially now that I know the name!
They have a website with an English translation that's a hoot. Here's the page talking about the history of the owners:
http://www.nearte-neparte.it/inglese/idea.php
I'm ending my trip report here. As I had originally indicated, we returned to FCO via hotel-arranged transport. While the cost, 48E, was the same as what a taxi would be, if I had to do over again, I would have called the cab. We really have always enjoyed our taxi service in Rome, and I'd like to support those guys.
<i>I'm interrupting this report for a total apology for how sloppy my entries have become. I just saw a zillion typos in my last entry, so please forgive me!</i>
Thinking about pictures on the wall at La Villetta and thinking about the service reminded me of the place where we had lunch the day we arrived in Rome--<b>Gregory a Testaccio</b>, which also seems to be named <b>"Trattoria nè Arte nè Parte"</b>. It's location is Via Luca Della Robbia 15 in the Testaccio area (Phone: +39 06 5750279).
I totally forgot about it because it was an accidental find. And we didn't even see it the next day on our food tour. It's closed on Monday, the outside tables were locked inside, and we had never seen the name of the restaurant when we ate there.
We had just gotten in that first day, headed down the hill from our hotel to the Via Marmorata to locate ahead of time our evening restaurant, Perilli, and realized we were dying of hunger.
We knew lunch time ended darn soon, and we'd better hustle. We turned down the Via Alessandro Volta and right at what I now know is the intersection of Via Luca Della Robbia, we saw people eating at outside tables. Heck, we're eating there!
There was some argument in Italian at the desk inside whether or not we could get served (I told you we were slipping under the wire), but they made room for us. It took quite awhile to get waited on, but as I've indicated, by that time, we were darn used to Italian service anyway and we sure weren't complaining.
When our waiter got to us, he was a sweetheart. I ordered the bucatini all'amatriciana and a salad; I forget what my husband ordered but I think it may have been pumpkin ravioli. No matter what, it was good.
Since we had so much time waiting around, I started looking at all the pictures on the wall which were obviously both family and celebrity oriented. The middle-aged waiter, who spoke limited English, looked like one of the young guys in one photo. When I asked him, he shook his head "no" but did show us a photo where he was included on another wall. Then the owner, Gregory, came over and took me on a tour.
His prize photo? One of him as a young man shaking Gregory Peck's hand. It seems he and his partners had careers in Italian film.
My husband said as we left, "I really like this place". But we never looked at the name!
So while this restaurant is not one of the favorites on the TripAdvisor ooh/ahh circuit and does not seem to be a favorite with foodies, we'd sure go back.
Especially now that I know the name!
They have a website with an English translation that's a hoot. Here's the page talking about the history of the owners:
http://www.nearte-neparte.it/inglese/idea.php
I'm ending my trip report here. As I had originally indicated, we returned to FCO via hotel-arranged transport. While the cost, 48E, was the same as what a taxi would be, if I had to do over again, I would have called the cab. We really have always enjoyed our taxi service in Rome, and I'd like to support those guys.
Jun 22nd, 2013 | 03:47 PM
#27
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 5,135
Likes: 0
AlessandraZoe, I have been researching hotels this evening in preparation for a trip to Italy in October. That led me to this, your delightful trip report.
I am not yet sure whether we will stay at the San Anselmo (although an Anselm would feel at home there, I'm sure), but we will certainly find our way to Perilli. Many thanks for this.
I am not yet sure whether we will stay at the San Anselmo (although an Anselm would feel at home there, I'm sure), but we will certainly find our way to Perilli. Many thanks for this.
