Pipero Al Rex
at The Rex Hotel
via Torino 149 I
00184 Rome, Italy
39 06 481 5702
Official Site
Before I left for Rome, I spent much of my fall New York nights doing a lot of research of where to dine. One of the gems that I came across is a popular local called Pipero Al Rex. Finding out it was indeed a gem came much later after experiencing the real deal. Its home page offers no detailed information about the place, but a lot of the online reviews were favorable. In addition, Rome’s food community has been talking about how good this restaurant is and how it was a “must-try”. So, I had to try it.
The dual ownership of Alessandro Pipero and a young chef named Luciano Moncelino is behind this hidden restaurant in the lobby of Hotel Rex. Its location is in a heavy populated tourist area, within walking distance from Roma Termini station. Much like a restaurant close to public transportation, I expected the place to be littered with tourists—and yet it seemed like I was the only out-of-towner during my visit.
From the get go, Alessandro himself was there to greet me with his big smile when I walked in to the restaurant. He continued the warm welcome by ushering me to my table, and we even talked a little about Rome and how I liked the city so far.
The dining room is diminutive; there are only six tables for twelve covers a night. The space is elegant with minimalist designed. It has high ceilings which had two Taraxcum chandaliers hanging above. To add to the motif, there were half circled red leather seats, wood floorings, and an artisanal crafted fire place that display luxurious bottle of liquors. There’s also a painting of Alessandro on the wall that was very reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock.
Alessandro’s presence in the dining room allowed his guests to have a more personal experience with the restaurant. He visits every table numerous times to reassure guests are well taken care off. The staff mimics his quality of hospitality. They were attentive but unobtrusive.
There was a slight misunderstanding on what I wanted from the menu when I first made the reservation, so Alessandro, like the good host that he is, made me an offer on the tasting menu that I just couldn’t refuse.
Before dinner began, Alessandro made sure that I didn’t have any food restrictions. When I nearly scoffed at the idea, the dishes started to come out of the kitchen. First up is a fried chip with mayonnaise and yogurt, a palate awakener for more to come. Then came the small bites like Marshmallow with Parmesan cheese and orange; Waffles with chicken liver pate and sweet wine jelly; Blue cheese balls (should have ask why it was green) with fried potato, all hit the taste buds with a burst of flavor. Each dish was complimented with an Austrian sweet wine Cuvée Auslese 2010 Weingut Kracher.
The Mushroom porcini with turnips and shrimp were so fresh that when combined with the vegetables broth served in a lab test tube container, it gives a veggie and earthy taste. Scallops ravioli with anchovies was my favorite dish. Mixing anchovies with cheese was a cleaver technique to neutralize the saltiness and enough flavor to blend in with the ravioli. The al dente Linguini pasta with oyster sauce and fish roe was lovely and with the artisan genius of Alessandro’s excellent bread I was able to drain the sauce from the plate. The small plates were paired with an excellent Il Guardiano 2010 Montecucco Sangiovese red wine.
They fed me until I was stuffed. My gluttonous desire caught up to me that I had to raise the white flag early and agreed to an early offering of dessert. I complied even though the meat dish was not served yet. White chocolate cream with sorbet was the dessert. It serves as a period to end of an excellent dinner that night.
The only regret that I had with this place was that I never had a chance to sample their daunted Spaghetti Carbonara. I was lost in the moment of Chef Moncelino dishes that it totally slipped out of my mind as one of the key dishes to try.
Chef Moncelino’s contemporary approach to Roman cuisine combined with his technique and creativity earned Pipero Al Rex a Michelin star after a year it opened and held on to it this year. In just almost three years of existence this restaurant has become one of the Eternal City’s top restaurants.
The combination of Alessandro’s personality and Chef Moncelino culinary magic makes dining at Pipero Al Rex an experience that I will never forget. It is truly an excellent restaurant that needs to be visited when in Rome.
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