The streets of Rome are an absolute joy. Around every corner is another thousand year old treasure, from castles to churches to statues, it’s truly one of the most exquisite cities I have ever visited. Mr John and I visited Rome on our honeymoon and it blew us away. We stayed in a hotel, that had apartments separate from the main venue (we didn’t even end up going to the main venue, which I realise now was a mistake because I think they had a roof top terrace!). None the less, our apartment was very central and located right next door to a famous Rome, family run pizzeria: Baffetto.
Every night the restaurant had a queue so we had to try it out. Unfortunately, we visited the night after a theatre show had just ended and everyone was queueing up. Nonetheless, we took our place in line and was very surprised when we were shown through a backdoor, up a narrow stairwell to an upstairs dining room!
We took our seats and listened to the lively chatter of Italian around us. It was great to be submerged in the ‘real deal’ and enjoy “life as an Roman”. The restaurant had lots of photographs on the walls featuring the family members and famous Italian celebrities. We didn’t know any of them, but we understood the heritage story that was being told and appreciated the sentiment.
“When in Rome” I had to order something typically Italian so I went for the baby marrow flower pizza accompanied by a prosecco. Tasty!
The food was fresh, hot and absolutely delicious. What I’ve realised about proper Italian pizza is that napolitana sauce plays such a big role. In South Africa you just put any canned stuff you can get hold of, not in Italy. All the best pizza has really scrumptious napolitana sauce, which means you don’t have to drown the pizza in cheese because the sauce is as good. The pizza feels healthier too!
For dessert I ordered a classic – tiramisu! I’m not a big tiramisu fan because I can’t stand soggy bread or crumbs. Hate trifle too for the same reason. But this tiramisu was off the wall. One of the best I’ve ever had. SUPER smooth custard that tasted SO good, the biscuits were almost soft baked, not just soggy yukkieness and of course the coffee was the perfect palate cleanser. So simple, SO TASTY!
Whenever we’re in Europe people are a bit off to us because they think we’re British. As soon as they know we’re South African then they’re really nice to us! That was exactly what happened here. We asked for the bill and told them we were South Africans. They then halved our bill and gave us 2 shots of Lemonchello for free! What a celebration of life and love! Perfect on honeymoon!
We had a lovely, lovely time at Baffetto and would love to return one day. If you’re in Rome, please take a look out for it. It’s worth the queue.
