A Pescatarian Dinner at Per Me – Giulio Terrinoni

My travel companion and I decided to visit one Michelin starred restaurant while in Rome. There is no shortage of gourmet restaurants in Rome (currently 16 restaurants with one Michelin star, 2 restaurants with 2 stars and one restaurant with 3 stars), so the decision was not easy, but we finally opted for Per Me by Giulio Terrinoni. I liked the fact that he cooks mainly with fish and seafood. Others might say he is almost obsessed with everything from the sea. A warning at the beginning: This will be an instagram-like post with more pictures than text. The reason is simply that we had chosen the 10 course tasting menu. Also, you might notice stripes on all pictures. This is not some fancy filter; I blame the lighting and my old-as-dirt iphone (4S!). The atmosphere at the restaurant was very relaxed. The design was simple, yet elegant and above all functional: Nothing on the tables or on the wall to distract the guests from the delicious food.

To start the dinner we were served a creamy soup with some fish chunks in it:

The first course was an oyster with red fruits sorbet and milk foam:

Next we were served a scampi carpaccio with foie gras  and red onion sorbet – a delicate mixture of flavors.

The following course was my absolute favorite: Burned mackarel with burrata cheese, red cabbage and a dashi soup on the side. The mackarel actually had a real crème brûlée crust. This dish was Italian/Japanese fusion cuisine in perfection. The combination of different textures and flavors was absolutely beautiful. Salty, sweet, cunchy, creamy, umami; simply one of the best dishes I ever had.

Up next came a sea snail with a baby artichoke and mint oil:

The following dish is an Italian classic: Melanzane alla Parmigiana (eggplant parmigiana) with four different sauces.

The sixt course (amuse bouche not counted in) consisted of a red mullet fillet and bulgur. The fish was cooked to perfection. I am still waiting for the day that bulgur excites me though.

The next dish was a new interpretation of another Italian classic: Pasta alla Carbonara. This was a fish carbonara. So instead of bacon, he used dried salmon and fish eggs instead of chicken eggs. Interesting flavors, but given it was the seventh course, the portion was rather too big sized for me.

This dish was followed by another pasta dish: Filled fagottini with creamed sweet peas and grouper.

The last savory course was a composition of grilled foie gras on toast with rasperry sauce. It was very tasty, but I wouldn’t consider it that innovative or special.

My travel companion and I were served different desserts, which was great to taste even more of Giulio’s fantastic kitchen skills. Strangely enough, the waitress served me the fruity dessert and the chocolate dessert to my male companion. Anyway, on the left you see strawberry soup paired with basil ice cream and a tonka fave biscuit. On the right is a white chocolate ice cream with chocolate cake sponge and mango sauce.

The espresso was of course accompanied by some friandises: chocolate-coffee macaroons, lemon tart and vanilla cream puffs (we didn’t manage to eat them all).

All in all, the 10 course tasting menu (for EUR 130) was an oustanding experience, but for my next visit I would opt for the 4 course tasting menu (currently priced at EUR 80), as in the end it was bit too much food and overwhelming.

Per Me by Giulio Terrinoni
Vicolo del Malpasso 9, Rome (Via Giulia)
Opening Hours: daily 12.30-2.30pm and 7.30-11pm.
Reservation recommended; online reservation possible.