Mino

Stumbled upon this great little restaurant just a stones through from the Termini Station, where we were staying nearby. Food, wine, service and value for money were all excellent. We had the Tomato & Mozzerella for entrée then the Seafood Risotto and the Spiny Lobster Butter Risotto for mains. The latter being one of the best risotto’s we both had ever had! For desert we shared the Tiramisu which not being totally traditional was still very tasty.

Ristorante Mino was our first full meal after we arrived in Roma. As part of our tour it was our «welcome to Rome!» dinner and the staff definitely pulled out all the stops for us. Four courses of delicious food + bottles of a lovely house wine + music = a fantastic way to start off our tour.
Our four course meal started w/​bruschetta, prosciutto and melon. The pairing of salty meats and sweet fruits was simple and delicious. Why don’t more restaurants in the States have dishes like this on their menu?
Next up was a glorious sampler of pastas. Pasta dish #1: rigatoni w/​mushrooms (fungo). The pasta was a perfect choice for this sauce– the ridges held onto the creamy sauce and didn’t let go. We only got a sampler of this one but I could have easily eaten a 2^nd bowl. That was until pasta #2 came out. Lasagna! Holy crap melt-​in-​your-​mouth lasagna. It literally melts in your mouth. The sauces, cheese and minimal meat was all perfect.
Our 3^rd course consisted of thinly slices pork, super tender roasted potatoes and a wine sauce. The pork was good, lacked a little flavor, but the potatoes more than made up for it. I don’t know what those chefs did to these potatoes but they were incredible.
Last but certainly not least was our dessert. Strawberry gelato + the freshest strawberries I think I’ve ever had. They were tart yet sweet, bright red and took the strawberry gelato to another level.
The staff at Mino was great. Food came out of the kitchen piping hot and waiters were good to explain the dishes they were placing in front of us. We were seated in an upstairs dining room but there were plenty of cozy tables on the first floor. Should we find ourselves in Roma again I wouldn’t hesitate to visit Mino again for dinner.

Very cute, unpretentious restaurant with friendly and pleasant wait staff. Our menu was the following: antipasti – grilled vegetables and caprese, primo – lasagna (melted in my mouth!) and tagliatelle and funghi (amazingly fresh pasta!), secondo – sea bass with potatoes (DE-​LI-​CIOUS!!! very nicely seasoned fish cooked to perfection and tender roasted potatoes), dolce – raspberry gelato and fruit (nicely sweet and lightly tart; perfect palate cleanser). Would definitely go back to this restaurant!