La Dispensa Dei Mellini — Restaurant in Rome

We were looking for a less touristy restaurant and ended up at La Dispensa Dei Mellini.

The first lady who greeted us was super nice, attentive, and had a great presence. She informed us that some items were no longer available, which speaks for the restaurant and its concept. Unfortunately, that's where the positives end.

We ordered the "Spaghetti di Gragnano cacio e pepe with zucchini flowers and lemon zest" (15 Euro) and the "Short ziti pasta with slow-cooked oxtail ragout 'alla Vaccinara' in tomato sauce“ (16 Euro). We had asked for the Cacio e Pepe to be prepared with Parmesan instead of Pecorino. The response was that the best they could do was a 50/50 mix, otherwise it would be too dry. Bullshit. In the end, we went along with it, and it turned out dry because either a) the sauce was pre-made and/or b) they didn't know how to emulsify the cheese with the pasta water. On top, there wasn't even a whole zucchini flower in/on it. The other dish was noticeably better in terms of taste, but the ragout consisted of, literally, 2.5 small pieces (see the picture) of meat…maybe 30 grams…which I scraped together between the noodles and the sauce to ask the waitress if they were serious. She confirmed it and tried to tell me, that the rest of the meat was inside the sauce. Unfortunately, she probably didn't know that I know very well how this dish is supposed to be cooked. We decided against giving it a second try and left the restaurant.

You all should be really ashamed of yourselves. Charge 1-2 euros more if you must, but please don't scam...

Pasta Perfetta 🍝🤌🤌🤌

We had dinner at this place over a holiday Dec 26th. We were looking for a place to have dinner and despite being close to the touristic areas in Rome, we wanted something with a local vibe and we found this spot.

Both the outside and inside of the restaurant have a cozy atmosphere. We were welcome by Georgia who was very nice during all te time we were there. There are just a few tables inside. The people that we found there having dinner were Italians so it reinforced a little bit our theory that the place was not so touristy.

Of course, when in Rome, we wanted to try the pasta, so we ordered 2 pasta dishes, an appetizer and 2 glasses of wine. The pasta was perfect! “Al dente” with the perfect amount of sauce and you can tell the ingredients are high quality with every bite. For the appetizer we had the Bruschetta with pear and honey.

As I mentioned, our waiter Georgia was amazing with suggestions and very welcoming. We wanted to tip but we didn’t have cash available. She explained that is not necessary to tip in Italy, and when you do, there is not a standard amount and anything you leave is welcome.

Our bill, including all the dishes I mentioned was $60 EUR. Not bad at all.

We might come back during our...

This was the last meal my wife and I had in Italy. I will argue that it was the best by far. The mood at this restaurant is casual, relaxed, friendly. The attitude toward the food is rigorous and professional. The wait staff is also professional, helpful and friendly. When we needed a wine selection with dinner, our server/hostess asked what we had ordered and then went into the cellar and brought out two selections that she thought would work with what we had ordered. Both were local wines, one from the coast, another from further inland. The coastal wine was a dry muscato. I had never imagined a dry muscato so we went with that, and it was a revelation, fruity as a muscato without the cloying sweetness. But that was only a side note to the food. We started with croquets of veal with a horseradish mayonnaise that was absolutely incredible. I have to confess, I forget what my wife had as an entree because I was so involved with the orange duck breast with roasted sweet potato that I was eating. It was perfection. While this restaurant may be off the tourist track, it is what I as a tourist came looking for, the Italian devotion to presenting the best ingredients in their best light served with enthusiasm...