A Place Founded on Unquestionable Raw Materials and Meat Enhanced by Modern Technology, Featuring the Best Italian Culinary Products to Enjoy in Comfort.
The story
Imagine a shop that selects the best of Italian culinary products, accompanied by an impressive range of meats and a kitchen team that, aware of the quality of the available ingredients, embraces the holistic concept of "from counter to plate."
Now, if you find yourself in Rome, you can stop imagining and head over to Aventina Carne e Bottega, a project born from entrepreneur Andrea Ceccarelli. He has provided the Aventino neighborhood – one of the most beautiful and historically rich areas of the capital city – with a place to taste and enjoy all of this.
The restaurant
The prominent counter that characterizes the dining area is the cornerstone of Aventina's philosophy, where the craftsmanship of ingredients is the fundamental value to uphold. From the historic Roscioli bakery's bread to a variety of cured meats and cheeses, including Nero dei Nebrodi black pig prosciutto, Cinta Senese Dop, patanegra, mozzarella, both Italian and French dairy products, and references from the Slow Food Presidia.
Among the shelves that decorate the establishment, you'll find award-winning eggs – such as those from Felici company – dried and fresh pasta – including pici from the Secondi pasta factory – preserves, tomato sauces, and marinated vegetables. The cellar, managed by the sommelier Bianca Maria Malagoli, houses national and international bottles, boasting around 400 labels. The selection includes a deep array of sparkling wines and champagnes.
In the kitchen, the young chef Andrea Serena crafts dishes that elevate taste through traditional recipes with a touch of artistic freedom, for example, Zaccagni's 4-tomato spaghettoni and charcoal-grilled lamb chop with white turnip cream and carrot barbecue. However, Aventina's centerpiece is its meat, presented in various forms such as Sashi, Wagyu, or Simmenthal. The chef employs the Broiler cooking method, using a professional grill atop three incandescent soapstone blocks that ensure healthy cooking and a perfect, uniform Maillard reaction. The innovation lies in the top-down heat source, while a lower-level water basin prevents the release of toxic flames, a consequence of fat dripping.
The dishes
For appetizers, the kitchen focuses on carnivorous crudités preparations. An example is the hand-cut Fassona beef tartare, accompanied by a fried egg from the Felici Farm, anchovy mayonnaise, and marinated artichokes. Another menu newcomer is the house-made fennel-scented pan brioche with goat cheese mousse and Coda Nera salmon. The bread-making is excellent, and the pairing of fresh cheese with Nordic fish is precise.
Certainly, you must try one of the many available platters listed on the menu. From Aventina, a palate-pleasing sequence arrives at the table: fennel-scented Cinta Sienese capocollo (pork neck), 9-month-aged Alto Adige speck, Alto Adige smoked ham, and Black Angus bresaola. Different Italian regions united by the authenticity of their native realities, which are treasures to preserve, as are the cheeses: Tuscan pecorino aged 12 months in a cave, Amarone wine-infused cow's milk cheese, blue-veined bear cheese refined with chestnut honey and wild blueberries. Outstanding.
After testing and approving these delicacies, Andrea Serena's kitchen takes center stage with Secondi factory's pici pasta in farmyard white ragù – chicken, duck, and rabbit evenly distributed as tradition dictates – releasing an intense and balanced meat flavor enhanced by butter emulsion.
As for meat types, we sample Grigio Alpina, a Slow Food-presidium northern Italian cow, notable for its advanced age – averaging between 7 and 8 years – and a dual life phase: first, free-range grazing at high altitudes, and then (still free-range) on the plains during the colder seasons. These characteristics allow the animal to achieve a medium-to-high marbling level that, in tasting, brings joy through the meat's excellence and the superb aroma of the fat.
The delightful evening ends in southern Italy with the authentic Sicilian cannolo from Piana degli Albanesi, a testament to the fact that quality always pays off.
Address
Aventina carne e bottega
Viale della Piramide Cestia, 9 - 00153 Roma
