Colline Emiliane [Rome, Centro Storico]

[Mr_Happy]

I went to Colline Emiliane for dinner on a recent (and first) visit to Rome. Colline Emiliane is in the historical center of Rome near the Trevi Fountain. As might be guessed from its name, it is a restaurant specializing in the cuisine of Emilia-Romagna, opened in 1931. I tried to walk in for lunch one day without a reservation, but they only had a late spot open so I made a reservation for that night instead.

Bread (2€) - ok bread, a little dry. I believe they get their bread from Bonci so I had higher hopes based on the excellent pizza I had from Pizzarium.

Started with the truffles with two eggs (22€). This was a simple, delicious dish. Two eggs, served sunny side up with oozing yolks (side note: the yolks in eggs in Europe are much more richly orange than the ones here in the US!), and covered with a generous shaving of white truffles. The simplicity of the dish really highlighted the aroma of the truffles. The egg yolk provided a nice fatty mouthfeel.

Next I had the tortellini alla zuccha (15€), which are tortellini filled with pureed pumpkin in a butter and sage sauce. This was delicious. Very nice texture in the handmade tortellini wrappers, and the pumpkin filling was a little sweet but not too much so. When I tried walking in for lunch there were some chefs preparing some tortellini that you could see through the front window of the restaurant. I wish that I had gotten a picture of that. These tortellini were covered in a light buttery sauce with a hint of sage. I sprinkled a bit of pecorino(?) cheese on it that was offered on the side.

For my main course I had the brasato di manzo (18€). This was also delicious! Very tender braised beef in a complex, comforting sauce that had a hint of orange(?) and raisin(?) in it. A little sweet and sour. It was served with sweet cippolini onions on the side, a nice counterpoint to the rich beef, as was the glass of red wine recommended to me that I forget the name of.

For dessert I had the zabaione (8€). A nice egg custard spiked with a bit of liquor (rum?). Very light and nice. The little cookies that were served with it were also nice and light and crispy and buttery.

All in all a very enjoyable delicious meal, and a nice break from all of the traditional Roman trattorias that I visited on this trip. I recommend making reservations.

More Pictures:

[tomatotomato (Denise)]

That truffle and egg dish looks especially sublime. White truffles, no less! Thank you for sharing this report.

[GretchenS]

Fun to read, thanks!

[jangita (Jan Keshen)]

Lunch March '22:
The lunch was awesome. I started with erbazzone, a spinach pie you often see in bakery counters. Theirs was, of course “elevated” into 2 small hand pies with a rich pastry and a perfectly seasoned green filling. Ken started with a plate of delicious salami from Piacenza with special crackers called Strega. Next I had duck with orange sauce which i enjoyed and Ken had the tagliatelle with Bolognese ragu. Both excellent. Lunch was doubly fun because an Italian Dad and son (who are living in Miami) were sitting next to us and great conversation ensued. The wines by the glass the waiter paired with our dishes were really perfect. I wish I had taken note. The excellent dessert, which looked like a simple, homey cake, had so many elements, including custard, cookie crumbs, and jam. was fantastic. We left there quite happy.

[SteveR]

Apparently, since we haven’t been in Rome for 4 years now, you’ve decided to torture me by going to the places we love. First Armando al Pantheon, now Colline Emiliane. I have nothing more to add other than I’m glad its still thriving and that you had a great lunch. Now, if you write up that you went to Trat. Parilli or our other favorite Testaccio places, I’m going to be really jealous.