Restaurant "Betto & Mary - Ultra Rome Dining

Restaurants specializing in typical Roman cuisine are largely concentrated in the ghetto area behind the Synagogue on the right bank of the Tiber, but to sample one of the most Ultra Roman dining experiences you have to travel away from the historic centre and out to the Casilino-Mandrione neighbourhood, where you’ll find the restaurant run by Betto and Mary at via dei Savorgnan 99.

The Osteria includes two dining rooms and an internal garden. The decor is nothing special; the service is something else.

The friendly waiters have a penchant for making fun of unwary new comers; be warned Roman humour is not “lite”. Often it will be the owner himself who’ll sit down at your table to take your order and trade wisecracks.
The walls are decorated with funny posters and there’s also a tie rack labeled ”please leave tie here as they are not allowed in the restaurant”.

The atmosphere is robustly Roman – and so is the food. Many of these traditional dishes are no longer easy to find, or are only offered in five-star restaurants that cost ten times as much.
There’s coda alla vaccinara (oxtail stew with vegetables, see the post), la pagliata (a traditional dish primarily using the intestine of a young calf that has only eaten milk), la coratella (lamb sweetbreads) served with artichokes, granetti impanati (fried bull testicles) and tripe.

There’s a huge range of hearty home-made pasta dishes, including a vegetarian carbonara with zucchini instead of bacon. Vegetable specialities include fried broccoli, grilled radicchio and a host of succulent artichoke dishes.

If you’re a tad squeamish about the traditional meat dishes, anything grilled like sausage, chicken, and steak is perhaps a safer bet. They also serve a quite exquisite dish of quail.
To finish, how about cantucci – miniature, anise-flavored almond biscuits – dipped in a glass of romanella – a locally produced sparkling white wine.
Even if you go right through the menu from antipasti to dessert, you’ll find it hard to spend more than 30 euros a head and the portions are generous.

Betto e Mary is definitely worth the trek.
Booking is essential.
Closed on Sundays. And remember: don’t wear a tie or it will be confiscated at the door!
Restaurant "Betto & Mary" Via dei Savorgnan, 99 Rome
Tel.: 06-45421780