Ar Galletto

 

Located in Piazza Farnese in Rome's Centro Storico, Ar Galletto is a restaurant with a romantic setting for dinner. When you are dining alfresco, the double fountains of the piazza lull you into a relaxed mood, even with the occasional mini bus passing through the piazza. The menu is filled with traditional as well as contemporary recipes, with a more than adequate variety of fish carpaccio appetizers and pasta dishes.

 

The first thing to hit the table after the menu was a basket of rustic bread, naturally. Making a decision proved to be difficult with such a selection to choose from, but since it was a warm evening, the winter squash and almond soup seemed like a good choice. The cold soup, made with a pumpkin colored squash and cream was thick and less refreshing than it was filling, but tasty. The sliced almond condiment added a textural contrast that was a welcome addition to this dish.

How can you start a meal in Italy without an order of Prosciutto di Parma? I'm not certain because we've never tried that. What really set this order apart was the generous amount of ham on the plate. We made good use of the bread by wrapping the prosciutto around it forming and an inside-out sandwich.

The soufflé of  porcini and Parmigiano cheese was so tempting, we ordered a third antipasti, for the table. It arrived fluffy, though slightly undercooked in the center. Not to be deterred we made do by dipping the rustic bread into it. The fragrance and taste were memorable.

 

Now for the pasta. Even in a good restaurant there are hits and misses and the gnocchi was a clear miss. It was bathed in a zucchini flower and what was described as red shrimp sauce. Full disclosure, but a flavor combination that didn't work well. Admittedly, I'm not one to enjoy crab "tamales" or sucking the heads of shrimp, because I find those flavors unpleasant. As a lifelong member of the clean plate club, it was embarrassing to have to leave half of the gnocchi on the plate, but I did. Even worse, it appears to be one of their specialties. Not to be deterred, I went back another day for lunch and ordered the cuttle fish pasta. It was rich in taste and beyond my expectations in flavor that can only be described as "of the sea". I was also surprised at the thickness of the sauce and admit that it was a bit difficult swallow, since I had no idea what it was made of other than the cuttle fish ink. Perfectly al dente and mixed with small pieces of shrimp which could not be seen through all the sauce, I regained my membership in the clean plate club. Or should I say almost clean? At any rate, all the pasta was gone.

Carbonara was the clear hit. The guanciale was sliced, then chopped into larger pieces than most restaurants serve. It was creamy, rich and passed my resident carbonara expert's litmus test, which means that the sauce was fluid and not over cooked with the texture of scrambled eggs.
As romantic as outdoor dining can be, I prefered the modern, spare interior that I discovered on my second visit to Ar Galletto. It seems we have also found a much better Italian beer than Moretti or Peroni to drink with meals. We'll be looking for Poretti  Originale in the future.
WEBSITE

Piazza Farnese 104

Rome, Italy 00186

+39 06 686 1714

E-mail: argalletto@libero.it