Trendy Eats in Rome

Image by kthread via Flickr
By Roo Sadegi

The former printworks of the Il Manifesto daily paper provide a post-industrial setting for Reef, a restaurant masterminded by Antonello Colonna, the Italian government's banqueting supremo. The design, by Marco and Ginaluigi Giammetta, is bold and raw-edged, right down to the sand on the floor which gives the place its name. Glass, iron, and light provide the ambiance for an inventive seafood cuisine that artfully marries the savours of vegetables, fish, and shellfish. Outstanding specialties include saltimbocca di rana pescatrice alla salsa di marsala (roulade of frog in marsala wine sauce), rombo (turbot) with artichokes, moscardini (small fish) kebabs with a salad of broad beans and Pecorino cheese, and swordfish couscous. For fans of raw fish, the sushi, sashimi, and makisushi menus change daily, depending on the latest catch.
Reef