At the Osteria Fortunata you don’t go just to eat, but to experience Romanity in all its essence. The cooks are true Romans, but Grandma Iris, the 89-year-old head chef who still divides her time between the four locations of the restaurant, which has also opened in Milan, rules the kitchen. And this says a lot about the kind of experience the restaurant offers.
La pasta fresca (foto dalla pagina Facebook “Osteria da Fortunata”)
The osteria opened in 1921, and since those days it has been everything a Roman osteria should be: family atmosphere, rustic ambience and rich traditional dishes. And it still is today. The menu boasts all the most typical dishes, from coda alla vaccinara to meatballs, but you come here for the pasta. Not only to eat it, in all the varieties that have made Roman cuisine famous, but above all to admire it. At Fortunata’s, in fact, fresh pasta is kneaded from morning to night, and it is not done in the back, in the kitchen, but in front of the restaurant windows. The table next to the window displays is the realm of Antonia and Rita, the ladies who tirelessly prepare fettuccine, tagliolini, gnocchi and pappardelle, working up to 30 kg of flour a day.
Le paste dell’Osteria da Fortunata (foto dalla pagina Facebook del ristorante)
The first forkful is enough to realise that the dishes are up to expectations. Carbonara, amatriciana, cacio e pepe, gricia: all the sauces are prepared to perfection, the portions are plentiful, and they are served in characteristic earthenware dishes that immediately make the customer feel as if they are in the Ancient Rome. Pasta is the star of the Osteria da Fortunata, but it is not the only item on the menu that is prepared by hand. Even the bread is homemade, the homemade desserts are excellent, and all the products used are organic. Prices are medium-high but below average, considering the area – but it is worth paying between €12 and €15 (the cost of the first courses) to admire Antonia and Rita’s skill and love they put into kneading.
