Where (And Where Not) to Eat Ethnic Food in Rome
Wednesday, 23rd June 2010 | 13 Comments
Siga wot, tikil gomen, missir, and alliccia at Enqutatash.
For a city with such a large and varied immigrant population, Rome has relatively few restaurants that serve ethic cuisines and even fewer that serve authentic food, that is, not watered down for mass appeal. Thankfully, there are a number of restaurants in Rome offering excellent food from around the globe. Here are few places I like, and a few more I don’t:
Ethiopian food is one of my favorite cuisines, right up there with Italian and Turkish. Nearly a dozen restaurants in Rome serve Ethiopian and Eritrean fare but, in general, I find them bland and disappointing (I’m talking ’bout you, Sahara and Africa). Enqutatash (Viale della Stazione Prenestina, 55; 06-273-767; closed Monday), an Ethiopian restaurant near Stazione Prenestina, is another story. I used to live two blocks from this place when it was a hole in the wall that felt more like a garage than a restaurant and the cook would bring in tupperware containers full of food from home. Now it is a proper restaurant with tablecloths and other modern conveniences. They still serve the same amazing, home cooked, liberally spiced Ethiopian food as before. And they serve Tej, which I love, a wine flavored with honey and spices wine.
Sambusa at Enqutatash.
I need Turkish food to survive. Fortunately, I go to Turkey and London frequently enough to get my fill. When in Rome, I go to Istanbul Kebab (Via Giulio Cesare, 126) in Prati for doner. For good mezes, great bread, and kebabs, I head to Antichi Sapori della Turchia (Via Nomentana, 81; 06-4425-1310; closed Monday).
There are a good half-dozen Korean places around Termini. I haven’t tried many of them. I’m kind of too obsessed with Biwon (Via Conte Verde, 62;
06-445-7605; closed Wednesday) to go anywhere else. They specialize in gogi gui in which you cook marinated meat at grills on the table. Once I manage to drag myself away from the personal BBQ, I’m headed to Inn King (Via Carlo Cattaneo, 1; 06-4465-5433) for bossam.
Pogi gui at Biwon.
In college I lived a few doors down from Mom’s Indian Kitchen. The restaurant’s enticing aromas wafted into my bedroom night and day, bearing the false promise of delicious food. Mom’s was a lot of things but delicious was definitely not one of them. Now I am reliving that experience. The spiced perfumes from Sitar on Via Cavour waft into my apartment, carrying their lie. The food there is awful. How great would it be to live above an Indian restaurant that served good food? Maybe I should move above Maharajah (Via dei Serpenti, 124; 06-474-7144), a place that serves reliable, consistent, good Indian food. They serve the best vindaloo in town, the service is cordial, and the ingredients are of a higher quality (especially chicken) than much of the competition. I had a disastrous meal at Guru (Via Cimarra, 4; 06-4890-4656; dinner only; closed Sunday and Monday) a couple of years back, but have heard good things since.
Cat food “chicken tacos” cooked in the microwave at Griglieria La Vaca.
And now for a list of well known places I find totally overpriced, disgusting, and overhyped (in that order): Green T (Chinese), Griglieria La Vaca (cross between South American, Mexican, and hot garbage), Sonia Hang Zhou (Chinese; How did this place end up in Gambero Rosso? This makes no sense to me. It is so mediocre!).
June 23rd, 2010 at 10:54 am
Can’t wait to try these out. Don’t suppose you know of any place serving half-decent mexican or latin american food, do you? No argentinian- or brazilian-italians in Rome?
June 23rd, 2010 at 3:40 pm
We’re glad to have found Parla Food–it will be a great source for our visits to Rome and Italy. Thanks for the wonderful writing.
June 23rd, 2010 at 6:52 pm
I love the Korean place in Piazza San Cosimato. The owners and staff are super nice, the place is always packed with Korean businessman and the bibambop is the bibam-bomb
June 23rd, 2010 at 6:55 pm
@sara i used to go to bistro by linda near piazza navona. havent been in a while. La Cucaracha (Via Mocenigo, 10) in Prati was pretty good when i went last and there are a bunch of others on my list. ill keep ya posted:)
@bill thanks! glad to be of service:)
@megan haha that is awesome i cant wait to try it!
June 24th, 2010 at 4:32 am
I do like Maharajah. I have eaten there several times andI feel like it is all I need to know about Indian food. But, remember, I live in the Middle of Nowhere, Alaska and anything that is tasty fits my criteria.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Hey Katie,
Great article! Sonia Hang Zhou is in GR???? Mamma mia.
I’m going to check out that Biwon place ASAP.
Think you could start a new type of guidebook: 1,000 Places You Should Never Eat in Rome Or You Might Die.
June 29th, 2010 at 6:54 am
My wife and I are Indian and recently had the misfortune of dining at Sitar. We agree with your assesment – it was awful, disgusting and completely vile. Surly service, mealy bread, and dal with all sorts of thickeners added. Stay away!
Thanks for your recommendation of 00100. We absolutely loved it – the Stilton + port reduction pizza was excellent, and we loved the Italian beer they served ['na Biretta rosso].
We didn’t enjoy da Remo as much though – found the pizza pretty average, especially the margherita which was completely lacking in flavor. We were there on a Saturday, however, and the pizzaioli were harried to say the least. Would give it another shot on a weekday.
July 2nd, 2010 at 12:41 am
@DMae i hear it. i feel like Maharajah wins by default. Its the best and most consistent indian i find in rome, with good ingredients but i hold out hope that a better plance exists.
@yeah insane right? well GR is wack anyway and their advice is super corrupt/unreliable. did u make it to biwon yet?
@Prashant im so sorry you had a bad experience there. but i fell validated bc several of my friends love that place and i presumed they were on crack but now i have confirmation. sitar sucks. glad you made it to 00100. amazing pizza. da remo is excellent as well but you are right the weekends are a fiasco! hope you made it back on a less busy night!
July 2nd, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Katie,
Thanks for your posting. Could you do one for Tuscany?
My wife and I were in Rome for 3 weeks last December and in January of this year. We were disappointed in the lack of and availability of good ethnic restaurants.
I had some very good sushi but it was more expensive than what I had eaten in the USA. BTW, are there any good Thai restaurant in Italy and Rome?
The next time we are in Rome, we’ll try some of your suggestions.
Thanks again for your posting. Ben
July 8th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
Sorry, don’t agree with your review of Sitar at all. I think it’s excellent, and it is my go-to Indian place in Rome. I also recently had a truly excellent meal at Africa, but will be sure to try Enqutatash. Too bad about La Vaca. So far, you’re the only person I know who’s been. I think that Sonia’s is pretty good, as far as Chinese goes in Rome. Not the best, but among the top ten.
July 11th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
@Ben I know next to nothing about tuscany. im all about southern italy.
@Elizabeth ill have to try Africa again. it’s been a couple of years. i find everything so bland there! what do you order at Sitar??? you wouldnt believe the texture of the seekh kebab i had the other night. since when is grilled meat supposed to feel like jerky. so gross.
July 17th, 2010 at 8:35 am
I’ve never ordered grilled meat of any kind at Sitar. Grilled meat is so much a product of who happens to be in the kitchen, and in Rome at all the ethnic restaurants, it’s often hit or miss. Other dishes, that rely more on recipes, are more dependable. Last night we had take out and the stand out was Ginger Chicken, which is actually not even on the menu (you have to ask for it) and the Bharta which (both Sophie and I agreed) was one of the best things we had ever eaten. We always order: Dal Makhni, Palek Paneer, Raita. Onion naan is excellent.
October 30th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
I ordered the Ginger Chicken out of curiosity last night. Not bad, not great. Definitely better than the vindaloo and chili chicken. I still find Sitar mediocre at best. As much as I want it to be good, it is consistently disappointing. I think I’ll walk the extra few blocks to Maharajah or Guru next time.