Impero Romano Den Haag — Restaurant in The Hague

To begin with my journey, we had a reservation and when we got in the restaurant it wasn't really necessary for the manager to check my outfit from shoes to hair twice. Anyway we get past that we get that nice bruschetta served with some extra bread and some nice mix of extra virgin olive oil salt and balsamic vinegar. The bruschetta itself was nice decorated with a splendid amount of garlic, I really like garlic so I loved the bruschetta (I do not know how others would feel about that). We get handed a big menu of wine list, the wine itself (Chardonnay Le Busche) was incredible! The aromatics were there, along with the sweet tone of honey, a very nice semi sweet wine.

Let's get to the food part, the main dishes were Paccheri Baccala and Garganelli pasta dishes. The first was served with ragu cod fish and roasted breadcrumbs. To begin with, the breadcrumbs were minimal to none, I had a hard time tasting them as I think they were sprinkled as dust after being roasted on top of the paccheri pasta. The combination of the pasta and the fish was not in my opinion the best, the dish lacked some lemon or a spray of bitter taste to elevate it even more. The pasta were perfectly cooked, I think 10 seconds earlier would have been raw. I will add a 6/10 to this dish. I think there are better options in this restaurant for sure. The Garganelli was served with aubergines and vegan cheese ( we chose the normal cheese ). I think the dish was stuffed with aubergines way more than it should be. The sauce was okay in general, but nothing to special for this dish. Yes it was tasty, but from an Italian restaurant I expect much more. The pasta was cooked very close to the margin again, maybe even fewer seconds earlier and again raw. We love al dente, but I don't want to be afraid if the next single garganelli Im going to eat might be raw. That is for the second dish, 5.5/10. We would like to have tried the tiramisu (all time classic for me), but it was prepared with a liquer containing almonds. Since I am allergic to that I couldn't give it a try.

The atmosphere and the service were, I really liked the mood of the waiters, they were really nice, polite and with a smile. They didn't hesitate to talk with the customers if needed in an also more informal way to give it a laugh. They waiter for us did a clumsy little thing with the breads when asking what kind of seeds there were, but we also gave it a laugh as his reaction was fantastic.

All in all, I think we liked the atmosphere and the service more than the food. The wine was perfect so there was that and I am fine with that as well. I would definetely suggest going, maybe we will give it a try another time as well.

P.S please inform if you serve something that's on the house about allergies and what the...

Overall a lovely 4.9/5 experience and very good value, service was prompt, friendly and efficient, meals were excellent.

The carpaccio for starters was somewhat "rustic" in appearance with the addition of walnuts, chunky crumbles of a nice cheese and thick cut celery but worked well together.

The house special, Tagliolini Al Parmigiano, was spectacular and some of the best pasta we have eaten anywhere in the world. This dish was all about the rich, nutty, umami flavor of the Parmesan, the butter, and the aromatic, earthy truffle.

As one other Local guide mentioned, the Pappardelle with wild boar "Ragu" was "dry" for a ragu and to be fair, without prior warning or explanation by staff I too was expecting a more "recognisable" and "wetter" version of a ragù.

It turns out this is a classic Roman preparation where the focus is entirely on the slow-braised meat. The sauce is made from the rich pan juices and wine—not tomatoes. While it was different from what we expected, it was a great chance to try an authentic regional dish.

A quick explanation of this traditional style when ordering, or in the menu, would be a welcome touch and correctly set expectations for diners unfamiliar with the nuances of Italian regional cuisines.

A delightful bottle of Barolo was the perfect accompaniment and the decanting before serving was a welcome addition to the overall excellent service levels.

Finishing with a testy Limoncello for her and a welcome Grappa digestif for me was a nice way to complete an excellent first night...

By far amongst the best Italian restaurants I've been to in the world (including Italy). The dishes are fantastic, loaded with incredible flavour, even in something as simple as a caprese salad. The mains were spectacular - the pasta was flavoured so beautifully that we unconsciously found ourselves chewing slowly. This restaurant sets the bar for cooking "al dente" pasta - I had never before truly known a good al dente pasta until I ate here. It was almost as if the time to plate the dish and walk it to your table had been accounted for in the cooking time. It was perfect.

The specialty branzino in salt was beautifully simple, yet so rich in flavour. The fish was perfectly cooked (despite not being visible since it was encrusted in salt) - not a second over or under.

And finally, the Tiramisu. At the end of the meal, we found ourselves incredibly full and wondered if we should split a single tiramisu. This is not a mistake to be repeated - one (atleast) per person is HIGHLY recommended. The tiramisu here is perfectly flavoured, not too sweet, not too bitter from the coffee, and perfectly firm and fluffy sponge biscuits at the bottom. DO NOT SKIP.

There was a diverse selection of wines, plenty to choose from, all served in the right kind of glass. I appreciated the attention to detail. The staff is highly competent, very helpful and very friendly (and almost entirely Italian).

I HIGHLY recommend eating here....