Oratorio Bistrot — Restaurant in Rome

What a wonderful surprise! This is one of the few places in the area that offered live music, and so we reserved a dinner table in the hopes of having some evening entertainment that would allow us to retire early and be ready for our next day’s adventures. We didn’t refer to any other reviews, nor did we have specific expectations about the food. We ordered a brown butter and sage ravioli starter. It wasn’t really what we expected, but it sure was delicious. For dinner, my husband and I both ordered the chicken Palermo. In the US, we are accustomed to this being served over a bed of arugula with balsamic glaze. Here at Oratorio, the chicken breast is breaded in a cracker crumb with aromatic herbs and broiled fresh for 25 minutes. The result is the most juicy and flavorful piece of chicken we have ever experienced. The chicken is served with a light salad ( remember it’s only oil and vinegar in Rome) and roasted potatoes. I really enjoy having ketchup with my potatoes.( yes, how very American) but they were. unfortunately out of ketchup. A few minutes later, the waiter appeared with a dish of ketchup. He had gone to the store and bought it! Wonderful food, engaging entertainment and I can’t say enough about the service. It helps to keep an open mind when going to a foreign country (not everyone puts ketchup on their food.) so if you must have your food a certain way be sure to ask questions ahead of ordering. Most importantly, enjoy the wonderful experience of being...

Prosciutto with melon was beautiful, service was nice but unfortunately both my grecia and my partner's carbonara were way too salty to eat. We tried but it really was inedible and unfortunately, we left a little too hungry after having spent €16 for each (other places in the area are maximum €15 for pasta). The waiters were lovely and felt really bad about our experience and they gave us a shot of grappa to have with them. After the 2 waiters spoke back and forth in Italian, clearly trying to work out how much to charge us after we didn't eat our pasta, they only gave us a €2 discount. Not complaining, better than nothing I guess, just disappointing. Thank you to the lovely man who had a shot with us, he made us feel better about...

This was a great find - a lovely little restaurant beside an old Oratorio with fresh foods cooked to order. We shared the gnocchi with scampi/pistachio sauce (delicious), the grilled steak plate (juicy and perfectly cooked à point) and grilled vegetables contorni (great with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Perfect. The furnishings are very pretty and charming. There is even a rooftop terrace shaded by a huge ancient wisteria vine! Prices were very reasonable. The waitress was friendly and helpful. Such a nice oasis in the sea of pizza/pasta places. It's exactly the kind of restaurant you hope to stumble upon...