For more than three decades, chef Marcello Romano has helmed the food offering in Rome at the Hotel Hassler—Salone Eva, Palm Court and the 7th Floor Terrace—re-working Roman classics with sartorial technique and an inclusive style that appeals to an international clientele.
Joining the brigade in the early 1990s as a commis, Romano has climbed every rank to become the culinary engine of the five-star landmark overlooking the Spanish Steps: he now oversees breakfasts, room service, banquets and the hotel’s three casual fine-dining outlets, with menus that evolve each season yet keep their “luxury-pop” soul.
His cuisine draws on Lazio, Roman and Campanian traditions—the flavours of his family roots—serving them in elegant form: the Hassler Amatriciana, seasonal risotti, fried calamari with sea lettuce and precision-cooked vegetable dishes marry top-quality produce and technical rigour. The press has dubbed his approach “accessible luxury.”
As head of all food operations, he has turned Salone Eva into the hotel’s gourmet living room—from afternoon tea to late-night bites—and the 7th-floor rooftop into a vantage point where signature plates and aperitivi are served against Rome’s skyline, cementing the Hassler’s status as a meeting place for both travellers and locals.
After three decades “in house,” Romano continues to train the brigade, refresh the menus and champion an idea of hospitality he sums up as “elegant yet unpretentious,” convinced that true luxury lies in recognisable flavours, warm service and prices accessible to a broader audience of gourmets.
