A Good eating day. Except for breakfast -
The strength of this breakfast was much touted by the reviewers of this hotel (a primary reason for choosing this BnB), but we found the spread very so-so. There was a chocolate tart I wasn’t tempted enough to try, and a couple of warmed croissants which I didn’t try either. The scrambled eggs in a buffet warmed looked plentiful and fluffy, very yellow. But tasted of... nothing much. I ended up having couple of sweet clementines and calling it a day for breakfast.
Thankfully, lunch made up for it!
Lunch
Borgo Antico
Borgo Pio, 21 00193 Roma
Tel 06 686 5967
- tortellini panna e proscuitto cotto (tortellini with ham in cream sauce)
- gnocchi with alla Romana (with semola flour, burato, pecorino, sage, in tomato sauce)
- patate all papalina (potatoes baked with melted cheese, mushrooms and truffles)
One little place stood out - it looked quaint and small, without tables or chairs outside and it had the promising looking slow food (the little snail icon) on it.
We were the first guests, and the sole elderly waiter (proprietor?) waved us in welcomingly with “prego” and we selected a corner table. He recommended the potato dish, saying that the cardinal orders this regularly(!), at least, from what we made out in his heavy Italian-accented English. I wanted to order that anyhow, but hesitated because of the already carb-heavy meal, and had originally ordered the eggplant until he suggested this.
They were all pretty good.
The tortellini with ham in cream was something we’ve had not so long ago, but the cream in this one wasn’t overpowering, and was well balanced by the saltiness of the ham. The gnocchi, which I’d expected to be little dumplings, was in large plump round pillows, sprinkled liberally with cheese, and with a large dollop (but not submerged) of tomato sauce, subtly flavoured by the sage.
A french family of 7 (5 kids!!) came in soon after, then a mother and daughter, and then three men who had made a reservation, so the nice man was kept busy taking orders but found time to take a picture of us together, something we rarely do during our travels, so that was nice.
Hot chocolate at Sant Eustachio il caffe

Gelato!!!!
Della Palma Gelato di Roma
via della Maddelena, 19/23
Tel: 06 6880 6752
dellapalma.it
I’d been mooning for gelato for the last two days, and the ones in Rome near the Vatican looked watery and sad, which I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by. Della was on the way to the dinner area near the Pantheon, and crowded with twittering teenage schoolgirls.
Flavours were varied and interesting, I counted about 140, and there was a soy-only selection as well. They had a near-black coloured nutella (my all time favourite) and two other variations of nutella. Other noteworthy flavours I recognized (all in italian) were profiterole, chocolate with peppers, kitkat with yougurt, mars and bounty (like the candy bars), millefoglie (looked like a millefueille?!), zuppa inglese (english trifle! like the dessert the other night!), creme caramel. The sorbet selection was extensive too, including persimmon, grapefruit, lemon.
It was hard to choose only two flavours, and in the end, I ended up with a piccolo Biscotti and Nutella with variation. Delish! must come back tomorrow!
Dinner at Vini e Buffet
Pizza della Toretta, 60 00186 Roma
Tel 06 687 1445
Pumpkin pate with toast
Anchovies and butter with toast
Rice salad with cherry tomatoes, shrimp, basil, zucchini
Couscous with chicken (with chickpeas, carrots, spicey chopped tomatoes, parsley)
People started congregating in the bar area near the kitchen - staff? family, friends? they didn’t seem like dinnering guests, and it was all very convivial.
We enjoyed taking a break from pasta and the meat filled main courses, and the couscous was especially delicious with a touch of spice. Anchovies and butter were an interesting combination, although J would have preferred more items to be hot (the toast was hot but cooled rapidly in the cold, and the couscous was hot).
Overall, a reasonably successful eating day!
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