Typography aficionados will be drawn to the green glow of Settimio’s vintage sign on Via del Pellegrino. With frosted glass and a buzzer at the door, you will first need to ask permission to enter this understated trattoria. If you are allowed in and given a table, don’t take the hospitality for granted; to the uninitiated, Mario, the bushy browed proprietor, can have a brusque, almost surly, manner. Be patient, though, and make your order after he has given you the day’s options for primi and secondi (menus are rarely seen; use what Italian you have). As soon as you take your first bite, you will be filled with a nostalgia for the Roman childhood you never had. Classic Roman meatballs, comforting stracciatella egg broth and simple roasted vegetables all have the caring touch of Roman grandmother: Teresa, Mario’s wife, who helms the kitchen. Don’t miss her Montebianco, a triumph of homemade whipped cream and chestnut paste… if there’s any left. Everyone should indulge in this trip back in time, by the end of which you might even catch a sly smile from Signore Settimio.
Via del Pellegrino, 117
Phone: +39 0668801976
open 12.00 – 15.30 / 19.00 – 00.00