La Renella — Restaurant in Rome

I discovered this back in 1999. At first sight it's not very impressive. There's no fancy decor, it just looks like an old bakery. There's no seating really - just a little counter area against the wall where you can eat what you've just purchased or take it away. There's almost always a crowd - in fact you need to take a ticket with a number and wait to be called to be served. Often it's quite a wait, too. But the aroma that hits you when you first walk in will be your first indicator that the wait is certainly worth it...

La Renella sells various types of bread, pizza by the slice (you tell them how much you want and they cut it for you), cookies and baked goods. Each bite of anything I've ever had there is a piece of heaven. Their products are simple and genuine, with amazing flavor in part due to the high quality of the ingredients they use. The perfect test? Try a piece of "pizza bianca" (white pizza), especially if you can get it when it's right out of the oven. At first glance it looks barely more than a piece of bread or simple focaccia - but one bite is like Christmas for the taste buds. It's hard to imagine sometimes that such simple things can be so truly delicious and full of flavor, but a trip to La Renella is a great reminder.

I'd recommend it for a quick slice of pizza or a snack on the go - or if you're taking food home - and it's excellent for what it is, but it's not appropriate for a traditional sit-down meal if that's what you're...

Welcome to the carb carnival. Next stop on our food tour, daring you to try just one more slice after your pants have already waved the white flag. This is no ordinary pizza place, it’s a forno, which is Italian for oven. Naturally, someone here looked at the bread, looked at the toppings, and said, Yes, this shall be pizza now.

We kicked things off with the Margherita, the classy queen of pizzas, literally. Named after Queen before Italy decided to liberate itself, this was your classic tomato-mozzarella-basil situation. Red, Green and White like the Italian Flag. Regal. Nostalgic. Tastes like a monarchy that actually works.

Then came the potato pizza, which, let me tell you, was a surprise carb ambush. Like, Oh cute, a slice of starch on starch. Bread with potatoes on it. For when your body is craving a food coma.

And then came the Marinara, my personal Roman romance. No cheese, all attitude. Spicy, saucy, simple. Like that one ex who was too intense but kind of unforgettable.

Let’s talk style: Roman pizza is not your floppy Neapolitan mess that folds into a pizza burrito the moment it hits your plate. No no, Roman pizza stands its ground. It’s a little thicker and definitely crunchier. You don’t need to roll it, cradle it, or whisper encouragement. It just is. And I love it more than I probably should.

La Renella is where bread goes to find its higher purpose which is...

Went into La Renella with my family while on vacation in Rome. We ordered cookies and a piece of pizza. After about 10 minutes of waiting, we checked on the status of the pizza with the clerk who was a young man. The clerk said that he gave it to us. We checked our bag and confirmed that the pizza was not in there.

We told the clerk that we didn’t have it and he said twice that he gave it to us and “he knows that he did”, as if we were trying to get a free piece of pizza out of them. We asked the clerk if we got the pizza, then where would it be. The clerk said I will give you another piece, but I know I gave it to you. As the clerk was bagging up the new cold pizza from the counter that he refused to heat, we saw the same type of bag sitting behind the counter. We were the only ones in the restaurant waiting for food, so we asked if the bag was our pizza and he looked over and it said all over his face that it was our pizza, but he said that it wasn’t and he knew what was in that bag. The clerk would not own up to it or apologize, providing terrible, accusatory customer service.

I would not recommend this place, and will not return. The cold pizza was placed in the trash on the way out and I’m sure the hot piece that came from the oven was placed back out on the counter.

Very...