Once again I face the challenge of writing about a place we’ve been before and finding something new to say. This time we had the pleasurable company of our good friend Michael Horne of Dall’Uva.  Michael’s business brings him to Italy several times a year, and when in Rome we like to share a meal. Sometimes it’s a fancy restaurant with exceptional wines, and sometimes it’s a more pedestrian joint where wine is sold by color, not varietal. Luckily Michael is open to both ends of the spectrum, so we ate fancy on Friday night and on Saturday we hit Da Remo. (See prior post here.)

Michael and I are both obnoxious food photographers. Helps me remember what I ate.

Da Remo is serious about seating: if your entire party isn’t present you must wait. We beat Michael there by about 10 minutes hoping to score a table and wait. No dice.  HOWEVER, the guy doing the seating kept track of us — and everyone else waiting — and as soon as he saw we were three, he motioned us to a table just being vacated. Great customer focus.

We had a leisurely meal as we dallied over fritti and the pizza did not come out super fast. We loitered over a litre of wine. Finally the waiter pushed: Dolce e caffè o no? We ordered dessert (I cannot believe I ate fritti,  a whole pizza, and dessert Michael you are a bad influence!) Usually Ric and I are in-and-out of Da Remo in less than 60 minutes. We lingered for 90. They were glad to see the backsides of us as the tables were still turning, but we left a nice tip. All three of us with too much food, lots of wine and beer, plus dessert: €70.00. Not bad for Rome!

Usually on our way home we take the tram #19. We walk about 15 minutes to Piramide to catch it. This evening we had a treat and a trick. The treat was seeing the just-reopened-and-restored Fontana delle Amfore in Piazza Testaccio. The mayor of Rome had dedicated it just that very day. The trick was that I couldn’t drift off on the tram ride, lulled by the rocking motion, as a large group of young people got on singing and dancing.  We thought they were fairly well-behaved, if raucous, but the driver apparently disagreed. At one stop she had the tram met by la polizia who escorted a few of them off the train!

Pizza Quality: 3 Thin, light, perfectly baked, high quality ingredients. Da Remo is definitely in our Top Three alongside Dar Poeta and La Pratolina. 

Service: 3 The waitstaff is amazingly patient and calm considering the madhouse they work in. Teasing, funny, great with kids. If they speak English, they keep it a secret.

Ambiance: 2   Crowded crowded crowded, but that’s part of the fun.If what your neighbor is having looks good, order it. Little outdoor seating.

Bonus: 1 Extra credit for great fritti.

Total Points: 9

Returnability:  The Best! Go out-of-your-way to eat here; take a cross-town bus or a 20 Euro cab ride if necessary.

I am upping the points from our last visit on the basis of perceived better service. Find them here on Facebook.