Recently visited Rome for the first time and chose La Fiaschetta for dinner for myself and two teenage kids. We called ahead by about 20 minutes and they reserved a table for us, which was awesome given how busy they are.
My mom's background is Sicilian so I have my ideas on what the food should be. One of the things my family makes that I think is superior to nearly all variants is meat balls. Well the veal meatballs my son ordered at La Fiaschetta were fantastic and probably (definitely) better than my family's. They were the perfect texture and seasoned exceptionally.
My daughter ordered some pasta dish that was forgettable enough that I don't remember what it was. I do remember thinking the pasta itself was fresh made and cooked perfectly. I think it was fettuccini if I recall correctly. But whatever sauce was on it was forgettable to me. Then again, I feel that way about basically all pasta dishes that don't have a lot of other veggies, meats and cheeses. I'm just not a simple pasta and sauce sort of guy. But my mom always tells me that we put way too much stuff on our pasta (and pizza) in America, so that is probably just my bias.
I ordered a rib eye steak. At first I wasn't too impressed but that's because my first bite didn't include one of the salt crystals they use for seasoning. Instead of smaller kosher or table salt crystals, they use larger crystals which are spread atop the steak. Because of this, you won't get salt in every bite unless you pay attention. Once I realized this, I made sure to get a salt crystal in each bite and it was really good. It was cooked exactly as I ordered.
The service was, by American standards, not fantastic. But according to Google it is pretty common in Italy (and Europe as a whole) so my perspective is likely skewed. It wasn't bad, but when we needed something we had to actively seek it out. And I wasn't really sure who our server was, or if it was just service by committee. Some of this might have simply been a consequence of me not speaking Italian. My original server spoke a bit of English but not the others. Which, of course, is completely reasonable. After all, it is Italy not England :) I'm just saying that if I spoke Italian I might have been able to ask who our server was.
The price was really good compared to the other places in the area. The setting was intimate and attractive. It would probably be a better choice for a date than a group with Kids, because it is definitely a good setting for a romantic night (wine and Italian food with dimmed lights!).
We were dressed casually and that seemed to be ok. Not T-shirt and shorts casual. But jeans and button up casual.
All in all I think I made a good choice for our single night in Rome and our first-ever dinner in Europe. read more