Aventina Rome, multifaceted, sparkling, delicious

Gastronomy, butcher shop, wine shop as well as an excellent restaurant thanks to the cuisine of the young and talented chef Matteo Militello.

Not far from the Piramide Cestia, on the Aventine Hill in Rome, this versatile restaurant opened last July. For those familiar with the Roman gastronomic scene, I would define it as a new Roscioli. Upon entering, you immediately get the feeling of the place, high shelves full of excellent products, preserves, pasta, jams, vegetables in oil, large bottles of wine ... and then a long refrigerated counter that slyly looks at you inviting you to come closer and explore. Like a child in a toy store, you get lost and your gaze wanders from one cheese to another, from one cured meat to another in a total embarrassment of choice. Hand-cut hams, bread and vegetables ready for the most classic of delicatessens and then a super treat, a refrigerator dedicated to meat that shows off at least a dozen different varieties of cuts from the finest selections from around the world. 

Here you can come for a quick aperitif, for a business lunch or calmly with friends. Informal and well-kept environment. All the products of the counter can be purchased to take home, like a real store, or tasted directly at the table accompanied by the rich selection of wines. But it is on the menu of the kitchen that the fifth gear is engaged, pushing hard on the accelerator of taste. In the kitchen there is the chef Matteo Militello, already known from Brado, the brewery dedicated to meat dishes raised in the wild in the Tuscolana area of which I spoke some time ago. This guy has style, imagination and talent and I'm sure he will be talked about a lot. Here at Aventina he seems to have found his nest, the place where he can express his cuisine without reins, and the results are obvious. 

The menu is thought-provoking and we read absolutely non-trivial dishes, all of which are inviting. We start with a selection of appetizers, as choosing one or two would be absolutely impossible. A triumphant Midollo alla Brace served with a flatbread stuffed with stewed leeks; the Girella Salata (made for the chef by the master pastry chefs of Casa Manfredi a few hundred meters from the restaurant) stuffed with roasted rabbit, zucchini scapece and porcini mayonnaise; a Carpaccio of venison from the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, cardoncelli, raspberries and misticanza accompanied by a raspberry sauce; the Tartare di Fassona piemontese, super scenic and just as good, decorated with a colorful vegetable giardiniera, salted zabaglione and caper leaves. We close the round of waltzes with the Roasted Artichoke with Val di Chiana Garlic Mayonnaise topped with a veil of South Tyrolean lard, crispy but melting, fragrant and meaty... simple and immensely flavorful.

As a first course we proceed with a crispy Risotto al Salto, red turnip, gorgonzola and crispy leeks: here the crispness of the rice, the creaminess of the cheese and the sweetness of the leeks chase each other like leaves blown by the wind. We are full but we taste a small second course anyway, completely vegetarian and surprisingly satisfying: Grilled pumpkin, puntarelle, hazelnuts, taleggio cheese fondue. You think "a slice of pumpkin" but no, a real second course that satisfies the palate intoxicating it with pleasant contrasts. To be applauded. I would like to underline how much care there is in the implantation of all the dishes. Color, textures, very beautiful dishes and imagination to spare. Nothing is left to chance.

The desserts were also very good: a taste of Sablé with hazelnut, white chocolate, coffee powder and black truffle, which would be the perfect ending to a king's lunch, but there was also a little gem that could not be missed, the Cannolo Siciliano. The wafer, explains Matteo, comes directly from Sicily and the filling is made at the moment with ricotta cheese from Lazio. Mariage d'amour. 

Among the thousands of new openings on the Roman gastronomic scene, Aventina is certainly one of the most successful. A delicatessen, a wine shop, a butcher shop that bow to the kitchen like a beautiful couple on the notes of a minuet.

Aventina Roma
Viale della Piramide Cestia, 9
00153 RomaTel. +39 06 66594151
info@aventinaroma.com
https://www.aventinaroma.com
https://www.aventinaroma.com/menu
From Monday to Sunday: 10:00 - 24:00
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aventina.roma
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aventina.roma
Chef: Matteo Militello

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