Osteria dei Cappellari — Restaurant in Rome

Starting with the positives, it is in a very cosy street, exterior is very charming, and if you are lucky enough to get one of the 2 little tables outside, very romantic. I tripped over and fell on the way there and they were kind enough to bring me a bag with crushed ice to put on my knee, so I am grateful for that. The older guy who looked as the owner was kind enough after a particular mishap with my starter, but the dark tall gentleman not very kind, or attentive, basically there was no service, despite nearly empty restaurant. Now my real gripe, I ordered Tartare of Scampi, it came out...cooked, to toughness! You can see in the photo that it is as far removed from raw (crudo) as you can get. I don't know if that is because 100% not Italian, sub-continent staff coming out of the kitchen are new and don't know the meaning of tartare, or they simply saw a foreigner, thought "what would they know", and try to offload onto me some old left over scampi from prep by cooking it (felt like microwaved, it was so tough, for safety, knowing it's not fresh). Mixed it with tomatoes, and voila. When we kindly asked the owner what was that about, it felt like he knew what was up, and even seemed embarrassed to be caught out, and to his credit went to the kitchen and brought me something remotely resembling fresher/not cooked to death) scampi, apologising. The mix now was so sweet with no acidity, a waste of a dish, and scampi again were no crudo. I had them crudo at Le Mani in Pasta in Trastevere, and that is what crudo (ie raw) should be (fantastic restaurant by the way). Either out of guilt or what, but my grilled octopus was perfection both in softness and seasoning. It just all left very unpleasant taste in my mouth, like when restaurants get rid of their dry stale bread to tourists, and cut it fresh for locals. My friend's pasta felt long pre-cooked (not even al dente) and just mixed with the tastiest fried porcini to make it edible. Nothing felt fresh on this Tuesday night. Overall, a very mediocre experience, which is a shame as i really wanted to like this place, it looked fab from outside but lack of any decent service and below par food with exception of octopus made for a very average experience. I am grateful for the ice on my knee though, but will skip...

It makes nearly one year since I was there and I still think about that restaurant, the service (Paci our waiter for that night) and the food. I think it's the best restaurant I've visited in my life and I'm definitely going back there in hope that Paci still works there!

I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't give tips to our waiter via card and I didn't had any cash. (If someone is going to eat there an Paci still works there, please give him some tip for me that would be amazing) Despite we found out that he had birthday that day so we asked the manager if we could offer him a drink so he can celebrate a bit with us and he allowed it!

Fun fact: they have hats as lampshades and hats on the wall and the logo includes a hat. They chose to use hats as decoration to keep the tradition that the whole street was some kind of hat market or the hats where produced in that area (as I sad, it makes one year and I don't remember every detail)

All in all, it was an amazing...

Oh my god. This was the best coeliac experience I had in Rome. I was well catered for as our wait person always knew EXACTLY what I could and couldn't have on the menu. The menu didn't have any "GF" signs but the staff were knowledgeable and spoke to the kitchen regarding my severe allergy. They made great recommendations and my partner and I went for dinner several times and were never disappointed. It's beautiful outside and in. The vibe is chill and a tiny bit fancy, but not too fancy: cozy with a lot of charm. We went in for dinner dressed in our gym gear one night after doing a walking tour and didn't get turned away. The wait for food was never long even when taking my allergy in to account. I will 1000% go back. The BEST coeliac experience in Rome. Non ho mai lasciato fame! Pasta perfetta senza glutine! (I nevs left hungry! Perfect gluten free pasta!) For more gluten free reviews hit up The Gluten Free Minx on Tripadvisor or Instagram. Let me help you...