Osteria La Quercia

We ate at Osteria La Quercia this evening. Tucked back in a quiet little piazza (but very near the Campo de Fiori), the décor and ambience are absolutely charming — kind of modern rustic. The menu has both standard fare and interesting specialties, and our meals were excellent. The place was busy and there were lots of Italian speakers. Our waiter seemed harried (or just grumpy?), but the service was fine. I would go back.

Situé sur une jolie petite place, voilà un restaurant charmant où l on vous accueille joyeusement. Les plats sont délicieux et copieux. Les prix sont corrects et le service agréable.

yummy We were sent here by our hotel, it did take us two attempt to find it, but totally worth it! We had an excellent meal, the half bottle of house wine was good, and the dessert was to die for. I want to go again tomorrow …

hands down best cacio e pepe i’ve ever had in my life! The location, tucked behind a little plaza near campo di fiori, is so cool and romantic. The food is simple, fresh and homemade with the finest ingredients. It’s reasonably priced for Rome, too.

Everything a restaurant should be, welcoming, unpretentious, varied reasonably priced menu, consciously designed interior with good acoustics and a great, ‘though slightly hidden, location, and of course attentive friendly service. Healthy mix of locals and non-​locals, despite it being the Roman eat out evening of the year (Easter Sunday)
…and no English menu, which in mind is a positive indicator, even if you end up ordering tripe (and the new Google app had trouble with some of the technical terms in the menu — see screenshot :-)
So glad we had the chance to eat here before we left Bella Roma.

Wonderful and very tasty dinner at this quiet spot away from the noise of Camp Fiori. We had the lamb which was very flavorful, but not too meaty. Make sure you have the pistachio Creame brûlée. Wine was reasonable and my husband loved his Amaro. Very nice décor… modern and clean.

In a quiet alley off of the bustling Campo di Fiori, this restaurant offers a wide selection of Italian food. I had the lasagna ragu which was simple and fresh! I would definitely return to try more options.

Yum! Your basic excellent Ostoria in Rome. Good service, good ingredients, good location, good prices. A lovely experience. Carcoffi Romana with excellent olive oil. Tortolini with peas, cream, ham. Awesome

If I was told that I had to leave Rome today, it would have been worth the trip here just to have dinner at this local neighborhood gem. My hotel recommended La Quercia and I would go back again. The zucchini flowers stuffed with a bit of cheese and anchovy then deep fried was a flavorful delight. The pasta of the night — homemade was black truffle oil and shaved truffles was heavenly. The mille feuille with Chantilly cream and berries was one of the best desserts ever. Go !

The first time I saw this place was at night in the rain after the longest two-​hour flight from Paris that mankind has ever known: its soft yellow lights shining like a beacon of salvation in the mist and fog, awaiting strangers in the night who somehow stumbled upon the welcoming façade. They could have served cat food that evening and I probably would have thought it was the greatest food I had ever had. In reality, this place came recommended from our hotel and it was so wonderful that our group came back a couple of nights later to try some other things on the menu. That’s a testament to their abilities to prepare amazing meals and deliver them with equally impressive service: in a city with as many restaurants as this one, coming to the same one twice in the same trip must mean these folks are doing several things correctly.
The place can actually be a little tricky to find. There’s a swath of greenery overtaking the name of the establishment on the building so if you’re looking for it in the dark like we were, you might want to bring a flashlight or a flare gun, whatever works best. Maybe hedge trimmers. And even when you do find it, it isn’t anything spectacular in the «looks department.» Two dining rooms on both sides of the building with a kitchen and an ordering station sitting right smack in the center. The dining rooms get crowded fast so if you’re not up for socializing with your dining partners whom you have never met until they were seated down next to you, you better overcome your social anxieties.
So now that you’ve officially gotten over how small the place is and how chances are good you’ll be able to tell if your dining neighbors showered that morning, it’s time to turn our attention to the best points here: the staff and the menu.
We had the same server both nights and he was a study in delivering a memorable experience. He could jump back and forth between Italian (for the locals) and English (for the tourists… hello) like nothing, and he knew the admittedly lengthy menu better than most people I know who have spent years working in the restaurant industry. I believe he said they had Peroni (because there is not a single business in the city that does not have at least 17 Peroni bottles nearby) but wine is the way to go. I couldn’t tell you what we got but a bottle of red and a bottle of rose later and we were loving this place even more. The waiter recommended both and hats off to him and his tastes.
Your food «staples» are here — lasagna (vegetarian and meat-​based), tortelli (which was so tasty I considered writing this entire review on this dish alone), ravioli, salads, etc. You know what to expect here but I’m willing to bet you the one token green wooden cat they have on the wall right when you walk in surrounded by about six other plain brown wooden cats that you don’t know these dishes like these gentlemen serve. Everyone cleaned their plates, and I shamefully thought about licking mine.
For the more esoteric and adventurous diner, or for the person who likes to brag about «crazy» stuff they have eaten, there are a few other, uh, «unique» choices. I had ox tail and fried lamb’s brain on two different occasions. I did not see anyone in the restaurant on either visit eating these dishes, and that’s a shame because they are quite good! What started out as ignorant bravado on my part («How many times can you tell someone ‘Yeah, I ate fried lamb’s brain’? Facebook will love it, and my friends will love me! Validation!!!») turned out to be a brilliant stroke of luck as these dishes rank among the best meals I’ve had in the weeks I’ve spent in Europe.
Of course, there’s dessert to take in, too, and if you can get beyond the tiramisu and the pistachio crème brûlée (!), then you are a far better person than I because there are other tasty treats on the dessert menu that escape my mind at the moment.
I want to say there was a restaurant from years ago that had the slogan «Come hungry, leave happy.» Shoot, maybe that’s used today. I don’t know. I do know that it would easily apply here. Enjoy the staff, take in the company (as well as the glorious murals and selection of books in the corner of the right dining room), and eat well. It’s all too easy, even if you had to wander in the rain to find the place.

Learned about this gem from a native Roman, and checked out TripAdvisor to get confirmation that it was legit. It was great. Located just south of Campo de’ Fiori plaza, and West of the Jewish Ghetto.
Called and got a reservation, which was a good thing, as this place was packed for dinner on a Tuesday.
To start, the waitstaff were all very welcoming and forgiving of our inability to speak Italian. They have a pretty good wine list, and were willing to provide their recommendation. I had asked for a good red wine under 20 Euros, which he selected the Morellino di Scansano (414 Podere), which was very nice. There was a table of Italians sitting next to us who had ordered the same bottle.
For food, we started by ordering the lightly fried, and cheese filled Zucchini Flowers, which were ok, not great. We also tried the Strudel di Baccala e Broccoli which was a Codfish/​Broccoli tart, which was really rich and tasty. For the main course, I ordered the Pasta Amatricana (bacon, tomato, and percorino cheese) which was yummy, and my wife had what the waiter had recommended, Pasta Carbonara (which was spaghetti with cheese and bacon). I enjoyed this dish the most, and it was light yet really rich.
Our total bill was $ 80 dollars, which included 1 bottle of red, half bottle of white, 2 appetizers, 2 pasta entrees, and 1 dessert.