Rome. Pizza madness
Rome and pizza go together like hand and glove, and it would be highly unkind to yourself and to Romans and Rome if you didn’t try a single pizza while here. Of course, on every corner you’ll find pizza joint making theirs the proper way – in a wood fired oven – claiming they serve the most delicious pizza in town. But let’s not fool ourselves – that’s not true, you’ll get pizza that is just pizza, whereas the places listed below will take your love to pizza to a whole another level.
Ai Marmi
An entirely baffling pizzeria – until you visit it. It’s like being at a pizza theatre, where the starring role is played by a baker, a somewhat nonchalant yet punctual waiter, and pizza itself. A place where on a weekend the waiting list can stretch to two hours, but you should know it’s worth it – the super-thin pizzas are utter perfection, and that’s well-known by locals and many guests of Rome alike. The only thing you hear at this pizzeria is conversation at such noise level that drowns out your own thoughts, and then also the beautiful sound that rolling pizza dough makes. The speed of pizza rolling is unbelievable, and every evening since the doors open at 18.30 to midnight or even later that speed never slackens.
The choice of pizzas here is classic, and one pizza will be enough for one person. Gorgonzola pizza with bacon – lovers of blue cheese will love it, and the bacon in this one is cured ham, so no worries. Before you dig into your pizza, try the antipasti as well – deep fried olives stuffed with meat filling, zucchini flowers when in season, bruschetta. Be ready for a wait, and then an adventure, some loud conversations and a perfect pizza.
Pizzeria da Remo
Another one of the pizza „theatres”, hard to get into, but when you manage that feat, enjoy it among locals and like a local – trying to work out what and how to order, how to shout loud enough and then how to eat your food. Pizzeria da Remo is one of the quickest and most famous pizzerias of Testaccio neighbourhood – here in the wood fired ovens they make pizzas that are super-thin but slightly different from other pizzerias, and their size is perfectly enough for one hungry person, as the amount of meat or cheese on any of these pizzas is far from small. It’s a good idea to also order insalata mista (a salad) and some snacks before that – like zucchini flowers with mozzarella and anchovies, deep fried cod fillet or deep fried stuffed olives. If you’re feeling like a dessert, you’d better find someplace else to have it. Because here it’s all about the pizza. Perfect pizza.
Antico Forno Roscioli
A bakery famous for its oven-baked Italian breads, pastries and white pizzas for take-away or eating in at the mini-cafe next door. If you like apples, don’t say no to an apple pie, but be careful when eating it – the apples with sugar are so juicy that they can easily slide off and end up on the floor, which you don’t want (such a treat must not go to waste).