We can call SantoPalato a “new generation” trattoria where tradition is the cornerstone and the cue to give chef Sarah Cicolini’s trait a free hand.
SantoPalato is the prototype of the next-generation trattoria. Una trattoria “pop” che dagli arredi sembra saltata fuori direttamente dalla macchina del tempo che ti risucchia negli sixties. Siamo nel quartiere San Giovanni, nel cuore di Roma. This must be Trattoria reads the slogan.
SantoPalato opened in 2017 and the chef and owner Sarah Cicolini, from Abruzzo but Roman by adoption, calls it that in tribute to the Taverna del Santopalato that was a lair of the Futurist movement in Turin in 1931. Sarah with one hand holds firmly and proudly the baggage of the beautiful old world and with the other hand plays with the lightness of fast, contemporary style.
Simple furnishings then, full pop art style posters that bring to mind those of Depero but with a Roman food theme.
The retro style, however, stops at the tables and the menu board because on the table come dishes, yes traditional, but absolutely contemporary in technique and taste.
Upon entering, the equipment is spartan but neat. The service is crisp, young and friendly. Everything winks at communication that is very effective, “social oriented.” Beautiful T-shirts and sweatshirts with American university-style lettering but dedicated to Carbonara and Amatriciana.
The cuisine is precise, in step with the seasons and with a focus on the fifth quarter, regional dishes from central Italy, and a place of honor is obviously left to the Roman classics. The wine cellar is streamlined and with honest mark-ups. La scelta è misurata ma consente di bere una buona bottiglia in abbinamento ai piatti del menù, anche quelli dagli accostamenti un po’ più osé.
Not to be missed is the omelette with rigaje chicken and meatballs with lovage and cocoa among the appetizers, but also marinated liver, butter and shallots in a perfectly balanced sweet/sour mix. Among the first one of the best carbonara in the cityà. Made with rigatoni, guanciale cut into strips with the rightly crispy texture, and egg cream thick enough to envelop the bite. Oily and enjoyable.
La tripe juicy and soft, mint-scented I took it as a main course.
The icing on the cake though, don’t get me wrong, was the dessert. I tasted a brioche – simil maritozzo – as fluffy as a cloud, filled with a chantilly cream with a gauzy sweetness that is almost evanescent enough to keep the end-of-meal peccadilloes from weighing heavily.
So we can call it a “new generation” trattoria where tradition is the cornerstone and the cue but to give free rein to the chef’s trait that entertains from start to finish. The bill is about 45 euros from appetizer to dessert (wine aside).
PHOTO GALLERY.
