Palazzo Manfredi’s delectable resto now has a Mich-star to go with her stellar city vistas.
During the Imperial Empire, the capital’s poorest packed into the cheap-as-chips seats at the Colosseum’s tippy top, but today it is the Eternal City’s epicureans clamouring to get near the upper echelons of the ancient stadium – more specifically, to the prime perches of neighbouring rooftop fine diner Aroma.
This crowning glory of the swish Palazzo Manfredi hotel is but a toga’s (vertical) toss from the very centre of Centro Storico, with unbeatable views stretching from the Roman Forum to the dome of St. Peter’s. In fact, the only rival to this scene queen’s panoramas are her equally gob-smacking plates – just ask the Michelin men who recently awarded the lofty lovely her first star.
Early risers can ascend the bella C.18th villa for a breezy breakfast or à la carte lunch on the flower-framed deck, but for something a little more fancy float up for dinner at dusk.
Start with a glass of sparkling spumante overlooking the Oppian Hill, then settle on the terrace or in the dining room for chef Di Iorio’s seasonal, locally-sourced dishes – think handmade pasta cushioning courgettes, baby calamari and bottarga. All that savoured under a star-speckled sky. Ahhh… Roma at its most divine.
Aroma, Palazzo Manfredi, Via Labicana, 125, Colosseum, Rome, +39 6 9761 5109, aromarestaurant.it
