(Rome, Ristorante Da Pancrazio) "Crazybread" Near Campo de Fiori

After walking miles on cobblestone streets from Campo de Fiori to the Julius Caesar statue, Gina insisted on backtracking to where we started.  "I want to eat at the little restaurant near the tunnel," she said, "you know, the restaurant with the white umbrellas." 

Uh, sure. That Italian restaurant. 

Pedestrian tunnel somewhere near Piazza del Biscione

Of course, I didn't know what the heck she was talking about, but thank heavens for iPhone and Google Maps.  After retracking our steps toward Piazza Campo de Fiori, there is indeed an adorable restaurant located next to Campo and a pedestrian tunnel, and it is well worth the search once you find it. 

Positioned on a quiet plaza, the restaurant features both indoor and outdoor seating and has been here since 1922.  The tables are covered with buttercup yellow linens, and white patio umbrellas speckle the terrace. Inside there is brick and stone, uplighted by gas lamps and decorated with antique maps and paintings.  The whole restaurant has a cheery yet old-world feel.

While I haven't been able to find a reliable translation for "Da Pancrazio", my cruel "I-tanglish" mind (mix of Italian and English) tried to work it out.  If "pan" means bread,  uh, maybe "crazio" means crazy?  (Let me know if you find out, otherwise I keep thinking about it as "crazybread.")

Piazza del Biscione and Ristorant Da Pancrazio

After a bottle of still water ("acqua minerale sin gas"), two beers ("due birre"), and two glasses of white wine ("vino blanco"), and my dogs weren't barking quite as loudly, and it was time to eat.  The food is pretty incredible.  

The prosciutto and melon were fresh and tasty, as were the pastas.  The Carbonara (a Roman staple) was a solid performer:  Fettucine combined with egg, cheese, pancetta, and black pepper.  The Amatriciana was outstanding:  Bucatini (holey spaghetti) with bacon and cheesy tomato sauce.  I made a terrible mistake by ordering the Panzanella (bread salad) as a starter, however.  I am not a fan of anchovies, and this had anchovy paste on every bite of bread salad, so be forewarned.  (The bread is crazy afterall!)

Alas, there was no room for dessert, however there is always room for espresso ("due caffe, per favore").  Don't forget it is unfashionable drink capuccinos after breakfast, and so caffe (aka espresso) is the norm.  Here they serve some of Rome's best coffee - Tazza d'Oro -- which as luck would have it, has a coffee bar about three blocks away.

The service at Da Pancrazio was impeccable, and as with most Roman restaurants, the waiters favorite pasttime is people-watching.  Which, seated at a table here under a sunny umbrella with Peroni in one hand and a forkful of pasta in the other, I think it will soon be your favorite pasttime, too.  At least for the better part of an afternoon.

On a sidenote, it's ironic that we would visit the Julius Caesar statue on the same day. 

Da Pancrazio is located on the ruins of the Theater of Pompey, which happens to be where he was assassinated by Brutus and Cassius on the Ides of March in 44 B.C.  Just some food for thought, so to speak.

So now you've got "Caesar" and you've got "Crazy Bread", but I promise, it's won't taste anything like "Little Caesar's Crazy Bread".  It's just easier to remember the name of this restaurant, as opposed to the "cute Roman restaurant with yellow tablecloths and white umbrellas."  (Not an overtly successful word association, I'll admit, more like word assassination. Ugh, I did it again. Sorry.) 


Ristorante Da Pancrazio | Piazza del Biscione, 92/94, Roma | www.dapancrazio.it