Vecchia Osteria Del Gelsomino — Restaurant in Rome

We booked a table for two a few days in advance through The fork and I recommend you do it especially on the weekend. Food was a blast. We enjoyed every single course. We started with two antipasti: mozzarella di bufala with prosciutto crudo and bruschetta with lardo and cicoria (if you like food just go for it). The first meals were spaghetti carbonara (fabulous) and home-made fresh fettuccine (pasta) with cacio and pepe (finger-licking good). The second course was agnello (Lamb) alla cacciatora with fresh salad as a side. We ordered costolette di agnello but they were already sold out, but it was equally delicious. As dessert we had normal tiramisù, but the strawberry version was also available. Good tip: if you are not a big eater, but you still want to have the full Italian experience please inform the waiter to give you more time between the service of the meals otherwise within 40 minutes you have already received all the meals. Consider that every meal is freshly made so not everything on the menu is always available and it depends on the season. The atmosphere is really cozy, it feels like you have dinner at your grandma's place, but it's more noisy. If you are a wine lover then this is the place for you. If you look for a non-alcoholic drink good luck cause there is only tap water, sprite, cola and aranciata available. We casually discovered that one of the owners was drinking a Moretti zero so we asked to have one. Thus, explain well what you need to the waiter because maybe they have the beverage you want in the fridge but they do not know what it is called. Here you can pay cash or by card. Small animals are apparently allowed to enter but always better to ask in advance (ask while making the reservation). Besides, This restaurant is situated in a not so busy road and it is ca. 20 minutes by walk from the...

Updated: Went back yesterday evening (first visit was for lunch) with 5 friends, and our experience was not as great this time.

Service was quite chaotic and way less friendly. The menu names a plate of the day, but when asked they said 'no no, we just have everything' and then quickly walked away. Also one of the pastas was missing, we had to ask for that since they didn't notice.

The pastas were fine, but not as good as the previous time, and the gnocchi was overcooked. The taste was good, but the structure really wasn't. The tiramisu was still amazing!

Don't know if I would recommend this place based on only the last experience, it was not much better than so many other restaurants in Rome. Maybe it's the best to go here around lunchtime.

A really nice place, which has some of the tastiest pasta we've had in Rome so far. We were with three and all of us really enjoyed our dishes. Also the sides (veggies) were tasty, although the insalata was slightly more salty than what we were used to. We didn't have secondi. The tiramisu was amazing, would really recommend it!

Portions are good; plenty but not too much, and prices are very decent. Service was kind, nothing bad I can say about that either.

Would be amazing if the restaurant gave more vegetarian options.

All in all a very good experience, we might return...

It’s a tavern folks. That means they love their wine. It shows. We got the 1/2 carafe of their “campaign” wine and was silky smooth with zero sulphites - we could have drank a gallon of it. Full disclosure we arrived here after getting lost and mistakenly eating at a tourist trap across the road, so this wonderful Romany sanctuary was put in stark contrast to the evils that surround and compete with it. I had their meatballs. It a like eating your grandmas home cooking. Nothing fancy but everything you ever want and it cost next to nothing. You have no idea how much we needed this, it was perfect. My wife had their tiramisu, custody and delicious. Come here drink and eat, I think we only scratched the surface of its many delights. The owner (I think) told me to shut up as soon as started babbling my British nonsense to her and told me to get the meatballs, my wife gawfawed with merriment at the exchange and we felt at home! It was a perfect repost to those goddam awful tourist traps...