Ch1887, a cocktail bar with Roman cooking

Checchino 1887 has been a temple of traditional Roman cooking in the capital’s Testaccio neighborhood for 130 years. Located across the street from what was once the city’s slaughter house, it was the birthplace of a cuisine based on offal meats. The Mariani family has been the owner-operators of this historic site for six generations and have always been passionate, courageous and determined workers and innovators. Innovators because, as Oscar Wilde said “even in the most innovative ideas is a streak of tradition”.

 Today as before you can smell from the kitchen the tantalizing aromas of their typical sauces and dishes, including coda all vaccinara (stewed ox tail), the showcase dish of Roman cuisine that was invented here by Sora Ferminia. History is ever-present on the walls of the restaurant as well as in the cellar, where you can clearly see the foundation of Monte dei Cocci, a tall hill created in ancient Roman times from broken amphorae. And it was at Checchino 1887 that the practice began of pairing fine wines, even French ones, with the traditional Roman fare as opposed to just a jug of the local white or red as was previously the case. Further evidence of the family’s vision was the wine list they created in the 1970s that included over 600 different wines. They were also the first to offer a selection of grappas, in collaboration with the Nonino family, which Veronelli descried as “Checchino’s sunny grappa list”. All things considered, the Mariani family has over the years demonstrated how traditional Roman cuisine need not be limited to humble taverns but could also be served in a class restaurant.

Today they have made yet another historic and visionary step forward. Simone Mina, the son of Marina Mariani (pastry chef) and nephew of Elio and Francesco Mariani (head chef and maître d’), is a certified barman and brand ambassador of the Guatemalan rum Botran and on February 3 he opened Ch1887, a cocktail bar situated above the restaurant.

“I was inspired by the bars I visited during my travels, especially those in Spain and South America. These were gathering places with pirate-barmen ready to push the envelope. Places where everyone, starting with the barman, smiles, where everything is less formal and more relaxing than the bars we are used to in Italy”.

The list of cocktails is impressive and original with 64 drinks offered. These include the classics, twists like a Negroni made using run and white vermouth and a host of signature drinks. In a way it is like being given a small world tour that transports you to warm, exotic places where you can escape your day-to-day problems and the chaos of city life. Here you can enjoy drinks made with exotic spices and fine spirits as well as more typical Italian aperitifs like a Negroni or a spritz. Everything is made with a personal touch which may include adding a herbal liqueur from the Lazio distiller Sarandrea which has aromas of wild fennel and arugula.

Each drink on the list is accompanied by a brief explanation that can include information on how the drink is prepared or a small anecdote regarding a certain spirit’s history. But best of all is that all these cocktails are paired with samples of Checchino’s down-to-earth food. Pairing cocktails with food is a relatively new thing for Italy but not abroad and Rome’s rich and flavorful cuisine is perfect for this purpose. You can, for example, order ‘scarpette’ with sauces: toasted bread garnished with the sauce from the coda all vaccinara, pecorino sheep cheese and sage and amatriciana sauce. Or you can have a mixed cold cut platter, soups, the restaurant’s famous first courses and even sweets including their ginger and cinnamon cookies. Everything pairs wonderfully making this bar well worth a visit for an unusual aperitif or to spend different evening with friends. This is a young and fun place without any rules situated in a setting that could not be more traditional and thus creating a perfect mix.

Simone’s only suggestion is: #Dresscodesmile!