Chiodofisso is a Sardinian cuisine restaurant in the Balduina neighborhood of Rome and is run by two Sardinian doc restaurateurs. Simple environment and cuisine that lives up to expectations.
You know when you feel like eating out but there’s an absolute blank on where to go? I had no desire for anything in particular, and pitting in my mind the various known places and new openings there was nothing that particularly tickled my fancy. So as I drove through the streets of the Balduina, coming from Via Ugo De Carolis, thinking these things to myself, here my eye falls on this little place. I decide to stop and go on an adventure.
The name of the restaurant on the sign is
Chiodofisso Lab
, restaurant/pizzeria. Upon entering, the room is warm, cozy, neat, and with pleasant background music. Not a lot of tables, well spaced and some touches of designer furniture despite the simplicity of the whole. On one side is the wood-fired pizza oven (it is turned off at lunch, they only make pizza in the evening). On the other, a corner with risers where macaroons, almond treats, and papassini peep out.
The waitress, a kind girl with the sweetest smile, escorts us to the table and having read the menu I discover that it is a Sardinian cuisine restaurant. Yay I think, I have been looking for a Sardinian restaurant in Rome for a long time but all the ones I have tried have not satisfied me and even asking experienced friends the answer was always the same: there are no good Sardinian cuisine restaurants in Rome. But I am not discouraged, the menu is inviting and includes the island classics: sheep cheeses and cured meats, a few seafood selections, paella Catalan style, fregola, porcetto…
Lunch at Chiodofisso Lab
Here comes to the table the Melted Sardinian Pecorino, melted on a sheet of carasau bread and accompanied by sheep salami. A real treat! This is followed by the Culurgiones Ogliastrini, the typical stuffed ravioli, closed like a spike, with a filling of potatoes, pecorino cheese and mint, seasoned simply with some tomato and basil sauce and a generous sprinkling of Sardinian pecorino cheese. I must admit that they were very, very good. La Fregola Algherese of durum wheat with shellfish amazed me, cooked to perfection and the catch fresh and plentiful of mussels, shrimp, prawns, clams, and squid. Just barely stained by some fresh cherry tomatoes, it was a real surprise. Delicious.
As a second course we have a fried squid, served in the foil. A cornucopia of goodness. Also fragrant, dry and steaming.
Of course, there was no way I could leave without taking the Seada, the legendary fried dessert, filled with melted pecorino cheese and sprinkled with honey and powdered sugar. What can I say, everything delicious.
On my way out I linger to chat for a minute with the owner Joseph to glean some information, and I find out that the restaurant has been theirs for many years but that in 2021, after Covid, they passionately and enthusiastically took over the reins of the restaurant they had been running, bringing it to new life. He and Ryan Luca Spiga, both Sardinians, have another restaurant in Alghero (La Botteghina), and while I dream of one day going to try that one as well, I’m content to already plan another stop at the Chiodofisso Lab in Balduina to taste the porcetto.
The wine list, focused of course on wines from Sardinia, Has prices starting from 26 euros and up. Account about 45 euros per person for what I ate (drinking two Ichnusa).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
PHOTO GALLERY.
