The Doppio restaurant in Trastevere

With Doppio (double), star chef Giuseppe di Iorio has doubled his presence in the Italian capital.

The undeniable talent of Giuseppe di Iorio has now spread from the Aroma restaurant, with its breathtaking terrace overlooking the Colosseum, to a small yet central street in the heart of Trastevere. The new restaurant is called Doppio and is distinguished by its elegance and attention to detail with a home-like setting for extremely gourmet fare. It seats only 30 in two rooms that have high, vaulted ceilings with their characteristics small bricks while the walls have been embellished by works by Trastevere artist Renato D’Ambrosio. Three partners believed and invested in this project: Maurizio Pontillo, Ronaldo Ruffini and Fabrizio Agostino, who insisted on involving his friend Chef di Iorio as a consultant in this adventure.

The kitchen is a reflection of his unique way work working, using modern equipment and genuine and territorial ingredients as local as possible. The team in the kitchen is young, talented and well-trained and led by Maurizio Bianchi, whose CV includes working at Padua’s Michelin three-star restaurant Le Calandre.

Together they have invented a set menu, which varies depending on the prime ingredients the season has to offer, complete with wine that costs 75 euros, while there are also a la carte dishes offered at lunch that are more delicate and quick.

I began my first-course samplers, after some enjoyable amuse-bouche (appetizers), with a delicious tartare di spigola con gel di mango e limone, polvere di olio extra vergine e patate viola croccanti (sea bass tartare with mango and lemon jelly, EVOO powder and purple potato crisps).

This was followed by polpo arrostito con variazione di peperoni e chips di olive nere (grilled octopus with assorted peppers and black olive chips).

The highpoint for flavor was reached with the ravioli fatti in casa farciti con astice su crema di topinambur (home-made ravioli stuffed with lobster on a bed of Jerusalem artichoke purée).

For second course I had baccalà cotto a basse temperature con crema di ceci neri, bottarga di muggine, chips di rapa rossa e dischetto di rapa gialla caramellata (slow-cooked cod with a cream sauce of black chickpeas, mullet eggs, red turnip chips and a caramelized yellow turnip disc).

The meal ended sweetly with an assortment of desserts that included a mousse di cioccolato alla fava tonka con cialda all’olio, crème brulée, una spugna di lampone e una crema all’arancio (tonka bean chocolate mousse with a waffle, crème brulée, raspberry sponge cake and orange custard).

A carefully selected wine list currently includes 250 wines but is still growing with a preference for natural and unique wines. My meal for the most part was accompanied by rosé wines beginning with an Apnea Rosé, a Nero di Troia sparkling rosé from Giancarlo Ceci, followed by a Tuscan Cassiopea Pagus Cerbaia from Poggio al Tesore and an Asonica from Colleoni that was not a rosé but an orange wine, a white that has been left to macerate long on the skins.

The evening could only end with a “wine to mediate upon”: Calisaya - Barbera d’Asti Chinato, which went perfectly with the chocolate and small cookies they offered.

THIS ARTICLE IS OFFERED BY BADIA DI MORRONA

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