Armando al Pantheon is just steps away from the nearly 2000 year old Pantheon. This restaurant however is only about 58 years old, opened in 1961. I went here for lunch on a recent trip to Rome. It’s a pretty small restaurant so reservations are probably a good idea. All of the dinner slots were booked up for the week already and I could only get a lunch reservation - you can book online. Armando al Pantheon is a trattoria that serves mostly classic Roman dishes.
The menu is in both Italian and English. To start, I had the tagliolini cacio e pepe (€13). This was the best cacio e pepe that I have ever had (I haven’t had that many cacio e pepes though outside of the occasional one I make at home). The taglioni is a fresh pasta made in house. A little less al dente than dried pasta. It was kind of like a squarish spaghetti. Great texture. Nice sauce that was cheesy and peppery but not too heavy, was actually kind of light. An excellent pasta dish. Cacio e pepe is such a simple dish (3 ingredients more or less - pasta, pepper, pecorino) that execution is very important, and this was just great.
Next I had the tripa alla Romana (€16). Tripe in a tomato sauce with pecorino romano and a little mint. The mint wasn’t very heavy in this dish. The tripe were good, tender but also with a nice chew. Covered in a light tomato sauce and accented with the funky pecorino cheese.
I didn’t have room for dessert. I asked for a wine by the glass and they poured me a glass of a dry minerally red that was quite good with both the pasta and the tripe.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
2
We had dinner there in 2011 and liked it. It’s location means that it could so easily be a complete tourist trap. But it isn’t. Unlike some other places that research had turned up, there was agood mix of customers. Yes, certainly international ones but, also, Italians - several welcomed as obvious regulars.
Menu was well constructed with a mix between light dishes and more substantial ones. All the food was good - except the tiramisu which needed more booze in it.
We have eaten at Armandos quite a few times over the years.
Last week, March '22, we ate there twice.
on our first day:
Lunch at Armando’s was wonderful except I got confused and we were a half hour late. Totally embarrassed, we sat down and the glasses of prosecco helped me get more comfortable. The meal was delicious, of course. We started with a simple hot artichoke; their olive oil is always the best there and it complemented the perfectly cooked, medium size artichoke. Then, we both had our favorites: for me spaghetti Alla Gricia and for Ken All’Amatriciana. We next shared the veal saltimbocca with the pretty sage leaf toothpicked onto the prosciutto and thin sauteed veal. So tasty! I drank a glass of very interesting Rosato wine with it
Second visit:
Our dinner at Armando’s was the first less than excellent one we’ve ever had there. I loved my dishes–guinea fowl/faraona with a rich, dark brown, mushroom and olive sauce, and the Sicilian red wine really enhanced the flavors. But Ken’s grilled lamb was way too fatty for him to enjoy it, and the staff on duty that night was off. Claudio was not in the kitchen. I think the lesson here is not to go on a Tuesday night.
When we are in Rome for short periods of time, we stay at Albergo del Senato. Its on the same plaza as the Pantheon &, therefore, a 2 minute walk to Armando al Pantheon. So, we’ve eaten there several times. And really like it. I don’t think that there’s ever been a dish that I haven’t liked. Even the time the waiter upsold us on a plate of mushrooms that cost more than our main dishes (well, we shoulda asked but…), they were great mushrooms and we got comp’ed after dinner drinks that more than made up for it. My conclusion? Thursday nights are fine.
Hi Jan, I was in there the last Wednesday of March '22 and happy to report that all was delicious as I had remembered. My cousin and I had just arrived from Piemonte (working on that trip report) on a rainy night (first rain we had seen in our trip), and were warmed up quickly with some pastas (I had the sublime cacio e pepe) and then we shared the saltimboca, potatoes, and each had one of those delicious artichokes you described!
We were just there yesterday, more info to come. Yes its still really good. Id start trying early in the day Rome time a month ahead and see how you do, especially if you have a short time in Rome or will be there in a busy season. They cant book up entirely online since their hospitality reality they have regulars and others who will not book via computer. I was really shocked when we arrived in Rome for a 10 day visit and there was NO online availability, for lunch or dinner. However I think if you call or perhaps visit when the lunch rush has died down you will get a seat. Most italians will call ahead and that is what I recommend. We observed a number of people without reservations arriving after 2 and being seated, and we ourselves were successful doing that and obtaining a booking for a later day. But if you insist on dinner, that has always been more of a tourist meal (i.e. a higher number of far in advance online bookings ) my optimistic strategies may not work. Just remember that they are not the only game in town by a long shot, you may even be happier looking back if you are NOT in a tourist heavy experience, though they pull it off with grace.
We ate lunch at Armando yesterday having personally made the res a coupe of days earlier on the fly. After overindulging the last couple of days we revised our lunch plan to include only 1 pasta for the two of us. The meal selected was a starter of small white beans with warm smoked herring and colorfulpickled onions, pasta alla grici - very strongly seasoned with the guanciale, fantastic- una per due, then a plate of tripe in a light tomato sauce with cheese and mint and one of osso buco with mushrooms and peas, along with a crispy puntarelle salad, we drank a beautiful cesanese red from the olevano romano appellation at ther recommendation, had a piece of their unusual and interesting cake - With layers of ricotta, strawberry jam, and significant sprinkling of sesame seeds at @ninkat’s recommendation And coffee to finish - acouple of relaxed, hours for €120
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
11
I had osso buco,with peas and mushrooms,when we ate there in 2011. It was the day’s “special”. My notes remind me that there were good flavours but the meat was overly chewy in parts. Hope yours was better. I also had a plate of mixed vegetables - peppers, fried courgette and romanesco cauliflower.
