Acquolina — Restaurant in Rome

At the very first, I’m writing this review based on a Michelin 2 stars restaurant standard and comparing it to all the restaurants that I’ve been that that ever received a Michelin star.

Courses: I ordered the 7 course tasting menu.

Pros: The starters that are not on the menu are amazing. 5 ⭐️ The first and the second courses are good. I will give a 4.5 ⭐️. When we say we don’t like the third course, one server with a mustache kindly asked and prepared a new dish for us. I emailed saying that it’s for a birthday celebration and they prepare a cake with candle.

Cons: Too much breads and carbs. We are already full when it comes to the third course.

The third course comes with two parts. The first part is on a piece of bread and the second part is a creative presentation of Kebab. This dish is a disaster. Like I said, we are already full when it comes to the third dish but it is still on a bread that is too big. Also the idea of serving squid “sashimi” on a bread is weird. It does not match. The second part is what I call disaster. It’s a saltily grilled fat — or at least it tastes like fat. My partner cannot even stand the idea of putting it in the mouth. I finished half of it so that I can give an honest tasting review. It comes with pickle and sour cream to even the saltiness but it’s not enough. 1 ⭐️(To be fair they prepared a new course to make it up. Even though the make up dish is pretty and creative, the taste is mediocre. I appreciate the attitude still.)

The fourth course is Spaghetti with sea urchins. The sea urchins are delicious. But the Spaghetti is undercooked. It’s hard and teeth sticky. When I said so to the server, I was told that it is supposed to be this way. I have cooked and tried Spaghetti from Italian restaurants around the world a million times in my life and I know it’s undercooked. I don’t want to be explained that it’s supposed to be this way. If so, I would say I expected a much more creative way from a Michelin 2 stars restaurant when preparing a Spaghetti dish, instead of cooking it to 80% and told customer that it’s supposed to be like this. 1⭐️

The fifth course is Elica pasta and it is, as the servers said, more cooked. I am especially amazed that they can precisely control how much the pasta is cooked. If the third course is cooked 80% and this one is definitely cooked 85%. 2⭐️

The dessert is a cauliflower ice cream which is icy, like it was frozen in the fridge for a long time. From a Michelin 2 stars restaurant I would expect it to be at least soft. 2⭐️

There is one last dessert that is red bean on top of a soft cracker with ice cream beneath. Couldn’t say what it was and it’s weird for this sort of combination.

At the end the servers are rushing us to finish the course so I gave a three stars.

Atmosphere is 4 but actually as someone whose eyes are sensitive to bright lights, the lights...

Insights of the Senses: Acquolina and the Vision of Daniele Lippi

Dining at Acquolina is not simply a meal—it is an awakening, a journey through time, imagination, and the shattering of bias and assumption, guided with masterful artistry by Chef Daniele Lippi. In a city steeped in culinary tradition, Lippi dares to dream beyond it, crafting a tasting experience that is paradoxically playful and profound, deeply rooted and radically original.

Each dish arrives as a poetic composition, spotlit on a dinner table designed to be more stage than surface. The plating alone is worthy of a gallery, yet nothing ever feels forced—every element serves a purpose. Each bite unfolds like a chapter in a story, one that lingers long after the final course.

What sets Lippi apart is his emotional intelligence on the plate: he understands not only flavor, but feeling. He knows when to surprise you, when to comfort you, when to challenge your expectations—and when to simply let silence speak. There is a sense of risk, of curiosity, of art pushing against the edge of its own canvas.

I was particularly moved by a dish that transformed the way I now relate to food: a dessert course—a humble crème caramel—whose chicken eggs had been audaciously replaced with fish eggs. Upon hearing what was to come, I scoffed, my imagination arrogantly rejecting the proposed flavor profile before it even arrived. But on my first bite, I felt goosebumps ripple down my body—and a quiet sadness, as I realized how wrong I had been. The dish was cohesive, sweet, umami, and delicious—and more importantly, it was a lesson delivered through embodied experience: that I often taste with a presumptive mind before opening my senses to taste with my heart. Daniele's bold artistry serves not just courses, but insight on a plate.

The service at Acquolina mirrors this artistry—gracious, intuitive, and informed, but never intrusive. The space itself is an elegant frame for the experience: contemporary, intimate, expansive.

Daniele Lippi is more than a chef—he is a composer, a philosopher of the palate, and one of the most visionary culinary artists working in Italy today. Acquolina is a place where the boundary between food and art dissolves, and where the soul is invited to taste something unforgettable.

This is an artist, a team, and an experience not to be missed. Do not walk—run—to Acquolina the next time you're in Rome. And taste the crème caramel with an open heart, fish...

Had very high expectations for a 2-star place, especially the day after we were highly impressed by a 1-star in Rome (Zia). Totally lived up to those expectations, largely because they let us do two different menus and share (despite saying on their menu they don't do this). This always makes the experience so much better, getting to try twice as much, so I hope they make that a regular thing. It's a very formal place; I had to bring a 2nd pair of shoes on our 2 week trip specifically to wear here :-)

Food was tremendous overall, and often pretty challenging - if you're not into experimentation and creativity and you just want standard delicious food I wouldn't recommend this place but if you want to try a bunch of wonderful and inventive stuff you've never imagined, have your notions of what e.g. dessert is challenged, this is the place. Not to say it prioritizes different over good, either - my wife had a couple things that didn't work for her (out of 24) but I enjoyed every course quite a bit, with 11 new things added to my list of best-things-I've-ever-eaten.

$300/person, 26/20 score, priced right (for comparison it's slightly cheaper but not quite as good as Acquerello, also 2*, in San Francisco, which is my #1 restaurant)

Particular favorites: the carrot cocktail, potato napoleon with creamed cod, the fermented tuna heart with butter and bread (such an incredible and unique flavor), the lobster with pil pil (stunning), the sweetbreads with mantis shrimp aioli, the orzo with wild garlic sauce/clams/glasswort, the spaghetti with zucchini flowers, the ravioli with liquid bread filling and bready milk sauce, the duck liver savory meringue with truffles. Desserts were maybe the most memorable part - fig leaf ice cream with fig leaf oil and mulberries, a glasswort foam and sorbet with sour cream that would've been a salad if not for some sweet apple, & a creme caramel made with mullet roe instead of chicken eggs (felt like an Iron Chef judge, could totally taste the seafood but it was...