Refined aesthetics, casual comfort, and hospitality as an added value to the venue: Genco is all this, but also a standout drink list paired with unique dishes.
The venue
The first cross street of Via Frattini in Rome is Via Luigi Angeloni, and just below the buildings of the Romans of Santa Silvia, at number 102, the tables of a contemporary bistro have come to life, bringing new life to the Portuense suburb. We are near Largo La Loggia and Via Frattini is a long avenue that ends overlooking Villa Bonelli, with a skyline dominated by the Palazzo della Civiltà. A precious and little-known urban panorama. The referred bistro, in a secluded nook at the neighborhood's edge, is called Genco.
A proper name that rises from street level by three steps and through an external veranda, very pleasant, enters into a brightly lit environment. We are in a unique space, with the lively area wrapping around the three sides of a counter reminiscent of American bars. Very warm lights in shades of light and dark, materials mixed between cement and porcelain, while colorful contemporary paintings on display stand out on the walls.
On the entrance side, almost entirely, two large windows of dark steel and light elegantly dominate the attention of a mixed, but pleasantly harmonious style. Compact tables, yet well spaced, with a mise en place that finds effectiveness in its simplicity.
The atmosphere is built on refined aesthetics and hospitality is the added value of casual comfort. The menu is the gastronomically restless expression of Alessio Benedetti, already known for Santo, Barred, and Marzapane in Rome, while the wine list tells of a search for drinking well focused on natural wines. Together, they offer a selection that arouses curiosity and a desire to taste more things than you would eat or drink. Black on white, there is no conceptual order, and the order of courses is surpassed in sequence. I like this.
The dishes
The Roman-style Artichoke with liver pâté and citron, among components of fat and vegetable, is an aromatic assonance of iron on iron that remains enveloping in sweetness and clean in the finish thanks to the citron. A satisfying full taste, perhaps a bit excessive in the amount of pâté in the plate's balance, but it's not tiring to finish in any circumstances. The Beef Tartare with yolk sauce, Brussels sprouts, and horseradish immediately proves to be a truly delightful dish on the palate. Sweet and spicy, pleasantly comfortable in the mouth in its freshness. The machine-ground meat has no resistance and finds contrast in texture with the layered Brussels sprouts that accompany it.
The Porchetta with chicory and anchovy emulsion, exuberant in its presentation almost vertically arranged in whole salad leaves covering the meats, is an interesting dish especially in the perfect cooking of the porchetta. Moist, tasty, fatty, and spiced to the most pleasant point of unobtrusive tasting on any front, but well balanced with the anchovy emulsion that accompanies the green leaves. The Quadrucci with hazelnut butter, clams, and chives surprise with the prominence of the clams. Savory, infused with the essence of the ocean and well blended with the fat of a delicate hazelnut butter. A simple first course that allows you to eat with appetite, where the chives play a fundamental aromatic aspect.
The Pappardella with lemon butter and shrimp is an equally satisfying dish. In this case too, the butter is delicate but persistent in aroma, while the difference is made by the shrimp, which are placed in the dish in small, well-fried pieces sprinkled on top. The wide-cut pasta and the daring bet on so much fat overall, although well balanced, do not actually spoil the overall taste of a good dish.
The dessert that arrives is a Basque cheesecake, caramel, and salted peanuts. Truly excellent and flavorful, respecting its soft, moist interior and burnt surface. The Milk Namelaka with chestnuts, on the other hand, is slightly excessive in the two components in assembly, for taste and textures, but it brings with it a garnish of incredibly tasty burnt meringue foam. As mentioned, the wine list is stimulating if you love so-called natural wines, capable of accompanying dishes centered around rich fats that satisfy and vegetal acidity that lightens.
Daniele Fadda, the creator and host of Genco and already the owner of Santo in Trastevere, creates a new format that aims at a cuisine that first intrigues you on paper and then entertains you on the palate. There's something to do in Rome, and without ever stopping growing and improving, Genco opens the glass doors of a cozy bistro with a short but entertaining menu, with dishes of great substance and a quality-price ratio that aims for quality. If the Via Portuense was built by the Romans to connect the slopes of the Gianicolo to the sea, "ab Janiculo ad mare" to be precise, with 24km of track that from Trastevere still reach today to the port of Fiumicino, today's Romans can certainly make a stop between the streets of Santa Silvia.
Contacts
Genco Bistrot
Via Luigi Angeloni, 102, 00149 Rome RM
Phone: 333 587 7444
