Aroma is a Michelin-starred Italian restaurant, serving classic and refined Italian cuisine. Aroma is located on the top floor of the Palazzo Manfredi, a five-star luxury hotel in Rome, Italy. The executive chef, Giuseppe Di Iorio, has cooked at the restaurant since its founding in 2013. In 2015, just two years after opening, he helped the restaurant earn its first Michelin star. What separates Aroma from the 16 other Michelin-star restaurants in Rome is the view. Located less than 500 feet from the Roman Colosseum, Aroma has an unparalleled view that you cannot find anywhere else in the city. The tables are perfectly situated for everyone to have a view while they eat. In addition, because the restaurant is facing west towards the Colosseum, the sun perfectly sets behind it, adding to the already impressive view.
To get to the top floor of Palazzo Manfredi, you can either take the elevator, or there is a spiral staircase, that is adorned with pictures of famous people who have visited Aroma. Once at the top, the staff warmly greets you, and leads the way to your table on the terrace. There are five tasting menus to choose from at Aroma: Corinzio, Ionico, Dorico, Colle Oppio, and SmartMenu. When my family visited Aroma, we decided to do the Ionico, so that is the tasting menu that I will be talking about in this blog post.
A few minutes after deciding on our tasting menu, the servers brought the amuse bouches to the table. There were seven unique amuse bouches, all beautifully plated and presented. The first amuse was a very thin breadstick with flaky salt and Italian seasonings. The breadstick was very thin and crispy, and the salt enhanced the Italian flavors from the seasonings. The second amuse was a mini braided cracker, shaped like a mini bread roll. The shape of the cracker was very unique and differentiated it from crackers you would buy at a store. The third amuse was a arancini, which is a Sicilian fried rice ball with mozzarella cheese. The outside was perfectly crispy, with a great breaded flavor, while the inside was warm and cheesy, and added perfectly contrasted the outside. There was also a white, yogurt and basil-based sauce on the bottom, which added some freshness and coldness. The fourth amuse-bouche was a pakora, which is an Indian-style fried batter and zucchini ball. The pakora was sitting on a bed of cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom pods, which gave it a very autumn-like smell. The pakora with very moist and soft, and had a very earthy taste from the cloves and nutmeg. Even though it didn’t fit in with the theme of Italian cuisine, it still tasted amazing and was definitely worth putting on the menu. The fifth amuse was a fried pasty filled with a cheese-type filling, almost like a savory cannoli. The outside pastry had a very nice crunch and buttery flavor, while the inside filling was smooth and savory, providing wonderful contrast, and a perfect bite. The sixth amuse was a leaf-shaped cracker with cod foam on top. The leaf cracker had a great crunch and paired perfectly with the cod foam, which was cold and soft. The 7th, and my favorite amuse was cherry tomato stuffed with buffalo mozzarella. On the outside, it looked like a regular tomato, but when you bite into it, it was like an explosion of creaminess, which was delicious.
After the delicious amuse’s, the first course was brought out, which was Marinated “scapece” char, velvety peas, and nut crumble. The dish was served in a very uniquely shaped bowl, which was very twisty. The scapece char was very smooth and was served at the perfect temperature, while the peas and nut crumble added a change of texture, and were crunchy. Overall this dish was perfectly balanced and had great texture and flavor. After finishing the first course, the servers whisked away our bowls, and soon after, our second course came.
For the second course, there was Mullet stuffed with broad beans and pecorino cheese, all plated beautifully with green sauce and basil. The mullet was like butter, and melted in your mouth, while the skin was crispy and had a crisp crunch. The broad beans were excellent and added another layer of contrasting textures. One of my favorite parts of the dish was the sauce, which had a distinct basil flavor and was really fresh. This dish was plated very elegantly and tasted even better, with complex layers of flavors, and textures.
For the third course we were served battered and fried sea bass, with fried artichokes, cheese, and basil sauce. The entire dish was plated with precision and looked very professional. The batter on the outside of the sea bass was crispy, while the inside was soft and warm. The basil sauce cut through the fried flavors in the dish, and added notes of earthy and freshness. The fried artichokes were crispy, and combined with the cheese and sauce, were an excellent combination. This dish was a contrast of fried and earthy flavors, but in the end was balanced perfectly, and made for one of the best dishes of the night.
The fourth course was white fish (I could not find which type), with roasted artichokes, and a rich blueberry sauce. The fish was very tender and juicy and would be so soft and melt in your mouth. The artichokes added a bit of crunch, which added to the complexity of textures. The blueberry sauce was rich and tangy and combined well with the light and simple flavor of the fish. The fish was not seasoned a lot, which allowed the blueberry sauce to stand out, and exert its flavors across the dish.
In between the fourth and fifth courses, there was a palette cleanser, which was sorbet in the shape of a green cherry. The sorbet was light and cold and cleansed the palette very nicely. It was very unique that the sorbet was shaped like a cherry, which shows the creativity and ingenuity of the chef. Underneath the imposter cherry was a bed of pop rocks. The pop rocks added a perfect crunch and made it very fun to eat. This was a very fun, yet also effective palette cleanser, that readied up for the final course.
The last course of the day was dessert, which was white chocolate “pizza dough” with tomato jam “sauce”, some white chocolate “cheese” dollops, and a chocolate crust, which was served with basil sorbet. The white chocolate and tomato jam paired well, and added a lot of sweetness and texture. The Tomato jam was sweet and had a tomato essence that was very good, but not too overpowering. The basil sorbet was also very cold and smooth and had a very nice basil flavor. It was a very nice contrast to the “pizza”, because it wasn’t too sweet, and instead had a somewhat savory taste from the basil. I really liked how the dessert looked like a pizza, but instead was sweet, which was a very creative move by the chef. Aroma is truly one of the finest restaurants in Rome, and should definitely be on your bucket list, not only for the food, but also for the spectacular views and memories that you will never forget.
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