Restaurant L'Eau Vive — Restaurant in Rome

+JMJ. A seminarian-friend studying in Rome invited me and fellow pilgrims, two friends of mine, to join him for dinner, once we arrived in Rome (2004) in what he described as a you-will-not-believe-how-beautiful-this-restaurant-is unless you see it. He didn't give any other details, but the evening we were scheduled for the dinner, we found ourselves entering a restaurant run by nuns! Surprise! And, the dining room we were seated in had/has the most beautifully painted ceiling! Brother Gregory (now Father Gregory) was in awe of it and was delighted that we finally got to see this artistic treasure! However, with all that beauty above us, what impressed me most was the menu, I had a native Tunisian dish, with an appetizer of escargot and a soup I had never heard of, lettuce soup. It was mighty yummy! My dessert was a sorbet (I might not be able to recall your name, but more often than not, I can recall a magnificent meal!!) And, yet another pleasant surprise occurred. The nuns stopped all activity and then commenced singing, "Salve Regina." That made my evening complete. And, because of my soon-to-be-a-priest friend, I was able to dine there again (2005) with him and a friend of mine with whom I would visit each time I travelled to Rome. An excellent evening in the company of two devout Catholics enjoying truly good food prepared by missionary nuns. For those reading this review, please make a reservation. You will enjoy your meal and the ambience and also lend great support to a very...

I was quite disappointed with L’eau vive. Lots of people seem to love it but I’m afraid I don’t. It is an interesting old building which I understand used to be a convent. It is staffed by kindly nuns from Africa I think. Their profits or proceeds go to a good cause. But that’s where the good stuff ends and it is after all a restaurant and must be judged as such. Firstly the decor is non existent. The old building remains charming with a fantastic ceiling, but the furniture is spartan and basic. It feels like a school canteen, or to borrow another reviewer’s phrase, a care home. The service was slow and no English spoken. The food was very basic, I had the set dinner menu at a very reasonable 16€ and as you can see the chicken was indeed a nice leg of chicken and a couple of boiled potatoes. But that’s it. Soup was, you’ve guessed it, a plain bowl of veg soup. It wasn’t bad, perfectly edible, but not in any sense like being in a restaurant. The slice of cake for pudding was quite nice. Unfortunately I didn’t benefit from the nuns singing as I left before 9pm. A party of about 30 school kids arriving was my cue to call it a night. In summary id say if you want a slightly unusual take on getting a cheap, basic dinner then it’s worth a try. For me, despite the kindly nuns, I won’t be making a...

Incredible food served by a lovely team of nuns. I ordered fish and my husband ordered duck. Both dishes were exceptional and the nuns were so kind. The food was made from high quality ingredients - I had actually been a bit unwell for a few days and the food at the restaurant made me feel so much better. My husband and I received the Sposi Novelli blessing from Pope Leo and after I told the nun serving us about this she was delighted and they served us a surprise dessert with a song. They promised to pray for us and took down our names. It was a beautiful experience and one of our fondest memories from our honeymoon. Thank you very much for the...