Ristorante Santa Lucia

It was a sunny Tuesday afternoon in mid August, and after a hectic morning of sightseeing (Vatican; Pantheon) we decided that we deserved a bit of a treat - la dolce vita and all that.  Andrea, our wonderful guide, introduced us to a beautiful restaurant just off Piazza Navona called Santa Lucia, and it was on its outdoor shaded terrace that we settled ourselves for the next couple of hours.

Ristorante Santa Lucia

I decided to go for the pasta ai funghi.  Ok, so you're probably thinking that that is a very boring choice.  I mean, why go all the way to Rome to have mushroom pasta?!  But please hear me out.  My experience of pasta ai funghi outside Italy has been pretty dire: it is usually too creamy or buttery (read: sickly) and/or overcooked (either the pasta or the mushrooms, or worse still, both) and/or it lacks seasoning.  So, when I saw it on the menu at Santa Lucia, I jumped on it.  Was I impressed?  Very much so.  The pasta was perfectly cooked (al dente - just how I like it), the mushrooms were fresh, the dish was well-seasoned, and there was no heavy handed addition of cream in sight.  All in all, a great success.

Pasta ai funghi

My friend went for a rather different dish: the fritto sfizioso.  This was made up of a selection of fried items, including artichokes, whitebait patties, zucchini flowers with anchovies and mozzarella, doughnuts and eggplant meatballs.  Having tasted them, I must say that I wasn't a great fan of the zucchini - the taste of anchovies was perhaps a bit strong for me - but overall it was a great dish.  Each item was lightly fried and so not particularly oily, and the range of flavours was great.

Fritto Sfizioso

Unfortunately we were really too full after our main courses so I can't comment on their desserts.  It does mean, however, that I will just have to go back soon!  I absolutely can't wait 'til then, and if you are in Rome, please do pay Ristorante Santa Lucia a visit - you won't regret it!

(Oh and one last thing - Santa Lucia is a favourite of people like Leonardo di Caprio, Martin Scorsese and Giorgio Armani, so if you are into celeb spotting, it's probably the place for you!)

Ristorante Santa Lucia - +39 06 6880 2427 - www.santaluciaristorante.it

Largo Febo, 12 00186 Rome, Italy