Here now is a report on our last meal out in Rome. For lunch on our last full day we’d taken the bus out to Testaccio and eaten at the Mercato Testaccio. In the evening we once again traveled out of the main tourist center for dinner—this time by the metro to the Ostiense neighbourhood, for dinner at Trattoria Pennestri. Like Santo Palato, this is a relatively new restaurant, helmed by an Italian-Danish chef (with the last name Pennestri) and an Argentinean wine director. They are known for their mix of classic and updated Roman cuisine and have received a fair bit of recognition in the press. We were very much looking forward to the meal. Well, I can report that the food was indeed excellent; alas, the meal was marred more than a little by another factor.

After a pleasant 10 minute walk from the Piramide metro station, we arrived shortly after they opened to find a large dining room and a fair bit of outdoor seating. It having been a very hot day in Rome, we were pleased to be seated indoors. But as it turned out, outside would have been the better place to be seated. The air conditioning was not on inside—and was not turned on during the course of the evening. A couple of large windows were open but there was no airflow whatsoever. Now, I know that Italians are far less driven by air conditioning than Americans, but the temperature inside the restaurant became oppressive quickly. And we weren’t the only people suffering. As far as we could make out, we were the only non-Italian speaking customers in the dining room and everyone was red-faced, sweating and desperately fanning themselves. At one table, a diner actually accidentally knocked over and smashed a wine glass while sweeping her menu back and forth. It got to the point that in the second half of the meal it was difficult to focus on enjoying the food. And that’s a pity because the food was very good.

What did we eat? The meal kicked off with a small amuse of a pesto of dried tomatoes. I’m not sure if we were supposed to eat this by itself but it was very tasty smeared on their bread. We then got two antipasti. From the regular menu, the fritto di animelle with sage and tartar sauce. Fritto di animelle = fried sweetbreads, in case you’re wondering. The batter was delicate, almost tempura-like and this was very good indeed. But we liked even more one of the day’s specials, a bowl of coratella or braised, mixed offal, which we enjoyed both with the bread and just by itself.

To follow, three pastas. From the menu, the mezze maniche with mussels, marjoram and ricotta. Very good indeed. From the day’s specials, rigatoni with braised intestines. Just excellent. Our third pasta was cacio e pepe with spaghetti. This is not on the menu per se but in addition to their regularly listed pastas you are able to order any of the classic Roman sauces. We thought it was apt to eat a cacio e pepe for the road and were very glad we did.

Two secondi to end the savoury round. First bacala fritto or fried salt cod on atop braised sweet peppers; and then roast duck breast with peaches and roasted onion. Both were very good but by this point we were labouring in the heat and it was difficult to finish everything. Oh yes, we also got a salad with tomatoes on the side (also good). Indeed, even though the desserts sounded enticing, we couldn’t countenance more than one (not because we were full per se but because we were uncomfortable) and the family abandoned me after a taste each to go stand outside where it was far, far cooler. Well, the dessert itself was very good: chocolate mousse with rosemary between very thin, cracker-like layers of pastry.

A few glasses of very good wine from the list of wines by the glass rounded out the meal: one white, one rosé, and one red.

For a look at the restaurant, the menu and what we ate and drank, please click on an image below to launch a larger slideshow. Scroll down for thoughts on service, to see how much it all cost and to see what’s coming next.

Service was very good—and, as at Santo Palato and Trattoria Monti, very fluent in English. Our servers were present and pleasant and the meal progressed nicely. At the end they very kindly offered me a glass of amaro on the house but the family were standing outside on the street and I needed to get the hell out of the oven as well. Of course, it was much cooler outside and none of the people sitting at those tables looked like they were suffering. If you’re going out to dinner there in the summer, I would recommend sitting outside if the air-conditioning is not on. You could also go for lunch, but that’s only on the weekends (and they’re closed on Mondays).

Price? 145 euros. Which seemed par for the course for how much we ate and drank. Santo Palato, again, remains a steal by comparison to both Trattoria Pennestri and Trattoria Monti.

Alright, that’s Rome eating in the rearview mirror (I’ll spare you an account of all the gelaterias we frequented and all the salumi we bought and ate at home). From Rome we went to Florence. My next meal report will be from there, of our first dinner, a few hours after arrival. That will be later this week.