Marzapane

Delicious overall. The cod was so good! Literally melted in my mouth. The risotto was prepared well so the texture was perfect. They also kept surprising us with complimentary snacks and desserts throughout the meal. However, I wish we didn’t order the carbonara which was super super salty. The pancetta was overdone and too crispy. Kinda put a damper on what could have been a perfect meal!

Marzapane is a great little restaurant on the East Side of Roma. The head chef is a 27 year old chef woman named Alba Esteve Ruiz who was the chef of appetizers at El Cellar De Can Roca. El Cellar De Can Roca has been considered one of the top 3 restaurants in the world for more than 5 years and currently ranked as the #1 restaurant according to the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best. Therefore, she knows what she’s doing like a guy who dates a girl with daddy issues. He treats her every way but the right way.
It’s a bit away from the Central Roma but definitely worth the trip. The service was meh and the waiter seemed to be annoyed he had to work. It wasn’t as inviting as other Italian restaurants I’ve dined at during my stay in Roma. The restaurant has a very rustic feel to it. The wooden tables, interior and chairs makes you feel at home in the Oregon countryside with your rifle, confederate flag, and pick up Ford. #YallQaeda #VanillaISIS
Overall, I would have to say Marzapene was a good dining experience and another one to add to my list of restaurants. However, it wasn’t one of my best dining experiences. It wasn’t as expensive as some of the Michelin restaurants I’ve dine at. However, it’s just another couple of dollars I dropped on a weekly basis on a tasting menu. I don’t usually mention or brag about the money I spend at these restaurants but I feel like being tacky today. It’s all fun and games until I can’t roll out of bed.

My hotel is not in the most touristy area of Rome, and thankfully this had the benefit of visiting two fantastic restaurants. The second of which was Marzapane. It was my birthday while I was in Rome, and this seemed like the ideal place to celebrate in style. Buckle in. This review is a long one! With chef Alba Esteve Ruiz, formerly of the celebrated El Cellar de Can Roca in Spain, at the helm I felt confident about splashing some cash. The menu is fusion in a sense, Italian predominately, with Spanish leanings owing to the chefs heritage.
I opted for the «Il girone dei golosi» (the group of greedy) 9 course tasting menu, with paired wines. While waiting I was brought some grissini and romesco sauce — delicious. I strarted with a meatball atop of vegetables with a barbecue sauce, to be honest I could have left the sauce. The meatball was fantastic, a total delight. Next was the scallop and beetroot seven with champagne. Amazing. Perfectly cooked and delightful with the beetroot. Next on to the carpaccio with aubergine sauce — served with a reisling. Who would’ve thought it?! Magnificent. Followed by most spectacular risotto I’ve ever eaten, with anchovies, butter and candied ginger. Risotto will never be the same again. Then on to linguine with salted and fresh roe. Amazing. Cooked al dente and making me want more. Again paired with a white wine, but by this point I’m hazy on the specifics. Followed by cod and foie gras. Truly wonderful! Next to the lamb with chimicurri and hot sauce. Jeeeeeso even by my standards the hot sauce was hot, but delicious all the same. Then the pre dessert, a kind of crème caramel — beautiful. Followed by the main dessert of a deconstructed carrot cake served with martinis. To finish delicious petit fours and a ristreto.
I had the chance to meet Alba after my meal, she was gracious and wonderful and I’m sure it won’t be long before Marzapane has a Michelin star to boast.

The people of the blogosphere seem to feel Marzapane is due a Michelin star. I’m not so sure though we had a very good meal there. There were a few tasting menus to choose from — which I liked as an idea. We both went with ‘Menu Marzapane’ because it had most of what we wanted to try from the a la carte menu and the other menus looked like too much food. Before getting to the food, a word on the service: while highly professional from start to end, I felt it was too attentive and too fast to clear dishes. I like a restaurant that doesn’t linger too long between plates, but it’s a delicate task not to rush the diner either.
The meal:
An excellent selection of bread and a very good amuse bouche that was a bite of Asian-​flavored tuna wrapped by a thin wrap of pickled cucumber. It was also topped by a single micro-​green and a single ‘piping’ of a savory cream.
Next, the Coppa di pancia di maiale, emulsione di senape, pomodori secchi, nespole e crostini alla cipolla («Coppa» bowl of spiced pork belly, mustard, dried tomato, crisp bread, medlar). A small, artfully plated dish that is quintessentially modern cuisine — delicate, expert, technically flawless, and a little disappointing. The pork belly was reminiscent of a pork-​head terrine. The crisp bread bits are fun to crunch, but it’s deep-​fried bread, which is one-​note tasty and too dominant. The mustard emulsion, smeared (the ‘flying tadpole’) on both sides, should have been more piquant.
The next dish, the Cappelletti alla Gallega (‘little hats’ in potatoes and paprika broth with roasted octopus), also had tiny flaws, but it was my favorite plate. This was very Asian in appearance in that the tortellini in the broth looked very much like a wonton in broth rather than a traditional tortellini. The broth was quite subtle, with a slight aftertaste tang from the paprika. But to be honest, I might’ve loved this dish if the broth were stronger and richer (try a little bonito or kombu). Also, there should have been more octopus. The octopus portion was not aesthetically restrained but downright meager.
The Carbonara 2013 was perfect on the pasta but far too rich and overly dressed. The traces of black pepper sprinkled around the perimeter of the plate looked dirty and unappetizing. Don’t misunderstand — this tasted good. But it’s not an impressive interpretation either.
The final savory plate, Stinco di Maiale, patate e peperoni e crema di aglio arrostito (pork shin-​pork knuckle, potatoes and pepperoni, roasted garlic cream), exemplifies everything right and wrong with our entire meal. It was artfully and expertly prepared, but it was quite ordinary and almost boring on the palate. The ‘sauce’ on the picked pork was excessive in quantity and unremarkable in flavor. The ‘piping’ of roasted cream was pointless.
The pre-​dessert was cute and pleasurable — a crunchy crumbling of a cookie topped with whipped cream (cookies and cream!).
The ‘real’ dessert, Cioccolato, nocciola, arachidi e cannella (chocolate, hazelnut, peanuts, cinnamon), was a 5 star knockout even though it didn’t need that sprig of fresh thyme on top. That thyme, however, is kind of emblematic of all the plates — it’s there for looks more than taste.
The petits fours — butter cookies, biscotti, chocolate with a liquid passion fruit center, a mini lemon meringue — all excellent.
In sum, for the price, you will eat quite well; but I still believe the tiny flaws have kept away the Michelin man thus far.

This place will have a Michelin star for sure. It was 69 € for their longest tasting menu, and they charged us 31 € for the wine pairing! In comparison to a typical Chicago 7 course tasting menu with wine pairing, the price would usually be at least $ 200 plus tip. We felt like we robbed the place for the value.
Creative amuse bouche with prosciutto and truffle. A red mullet (fish), risotto with smoked fish, beautiful langoustine, and a duck breast with a type of blue cheese were all creative with great flavor combinations. Dessert course with chocolate and gelato was amazing.
They said they’ve been open just two years. When in Rome, go here for sure. But I guarantee the price and ability to get a table will not last long.

My wife and I had dinner with a couple of friends at Marzapane. We all had the «tasting menu» Girone dei golosi. It was the most expensive (69 €) but it definitely worth it. Very delicate with a combination of tastes which you would never think to pair normally. Service was formal very precise and attentive.

Maybe it was my fault for being too hyped up for this restaurant, and for the dozen times the general manager and I had to exchange emails just to get a reservation. We sat down for a Sunday night dinner at 8:00pm and decided not to go with any of the 3 tasting menus (although in retrospect, maybe we should have because the table next to us had the tasting menu and they appeared to have just as much food as our regular orders). They did not have the suckling pig available, which was super disappointing. The hubs loved everything he ordered (tortellini in broth and his stuffed duck). I on the other hand, didn’t fancy their egg and noodle carbonara specialty (too much egg and cheese going on for me) or their cod fish. The cod fish dish was just too fishy for me. Before you tell me how absolutely absurd that sounds, let me just mention that maybe it just wasn’t what I expected: the fish broth was super salty, the shrimp and mussels weren’t cooked all the way (I think this is what they were going for) and the overall combination made me feel a little gaggy. The service was very efficient and polite.
So, the hubs would rate this place a 5-​star and come back and I would rate this place a 4-​star.
*And as others have said, this place is def a splurge. 1 appetizer shared, 2 first courses, 2 mains, 2 glasses of wine, and 2 mineral waters totaled about 110 Euros for us.
*Yes, the portions are not large, so you May leave hungry, although they do give you plenty of bread, wontony-​breadsticks, and a freebie (for us in the beginning).
*Reservations needed, don’t just pop in.

I just checked in for my flight back to NYC and my last meal I had in Rome was simply outstanding! The best I’ve had so far in Rome considering the «bang for the buck»… We had the 5 course tasting menu with a great and very rare white wine from a little island in Sicily produced by Hauner which was great for our seafood dishes.
The whole atmosphere of the restaurant is simply great and yes we had to reserve a few days in advance but it was well worth it. Definitely a place I will come back to on my future visits in Rome.
So glad I found this place. Now I can leave «happy» :)