Contrario, Vineria Con Cucina In Roma

The ambiance, with its relaxed atmosphere perfect for conversation, was lovely. The food was excellent, and our waiter was fantastic. We went there on our first evening in Rome, and it certainly won't be our last. We'd love to come back!

My wife and I went there twice while in Rome. Normally we like to try different places every night but we loved it so much we had to go back again. They had a great mushroom pasta special, and excellent wine. The food was locally sourced and out of this world. Despite being so close to the Colosseum it wasn’t one of those more touristy restaurants. Our server, who was the owner gave us prosecco the second night. He was an amazing gentleman. There are lots of good places to eat in Rome and Italy as a whole, but this was and continues to be one of our favorite. If you don’t know, you don’t have to tip in Italy. We still tipped these guys, it was so awesome.

Absolutely superb! The food was delicious, everyone working there was happy and attentive and lovely atmosphere too. Soo good!!! One of our best meals in Rome!!

I booked in for lunch here last Friday. Today they sent an email asking me to do a review on their booking site which I did… and which failed to post. So here we are instead. This place is not far from the Colosseum but a few streets back. Tourists won't stumble upon it easily. Thus it's not a tourist trap, and needs to compete on quality. Which it does in spades. I was surprised that I was the only one there at the start. Being solo on this trip I booked at opening time so that I could get in and out fast and not tie up a table that could be used for two in peak period. On Friday that didn't seem to matter. I overheard the staff talking about how different Mondays are customer-wise, so that's worth bearing in mind. The atmosphere isn't that of a cheap and cheerful family run trattoria. The furniture and furnishings are elegant and refined. The wine list is the size of a dictionary. This is a serious restaurant for a serious meal. The biggest challenge here is measuring your order so that you don't end up feeling bloated at the end. (Guilty as charged.) The hungrier you can come here, the better. I had an antipasto, a primo, no secondo, one contorno (side) and un dolce. My "antipasto" was the Polpette al Sugo (meatballs of (usually) pork and veal in sauce). Describing that as an antipasto is like describing an SUV as a city car. It was more like another primo, especially as I agreed to the waitress' suggestion of adding focaccia. (I hadn't thought about how I was going to "fare la scarpetta", the time-honoured tradition of mopping up the remaining sauce, until she suggested that.) The good: The focaccia was excellent and served that role well. The bad: It was seriously filling. And indeed I did want to mop up the sauce which was exquisitely rich and tangy. The meatballs wanted for nothing either. My real primo was Cacio e Pepe, one of the "big 4" traditional Roman pasta dishes. This one was cooked in the traditional Roman way rather than the watered-down versions that can be found in most English-speaking countries. The cheese flavour is very intense, the pepper flavour is very intense, and the sauce is very thick. It almost goes without saying that the tonnarelli (a thicker pasta than spaghetti, and one which is also native to the Lazio region) was cooked to perfection. If you're not a big fan of pepper you may find this a bit hard going but there are plenty of alternatives on the menu. But unless you REALLY dislike pepper it's worth trying anyway just to get a taste for what one of the most iconic local pasta dishes is like when cooked authentically. If nothing else, the pepper will trigger the clearing out of your nasal passages. The contorno (side) that I had was Carciofo alla Romana (artichokes, Roman style). That was a mistake. Not because it wasn't good - it was, very rich in flavour and perfectly cooked - but by that point I had no space for it so a lot of it went to waste. I still had dessert (il dolce) however because after all of those intense, rich tastes I needed something sweet to balance out my palate. The waitress suggested tiramisu but despite the fact that I love tiramisu even that was a bit heavy for my liking. The Panna Cotta con Lime e Menta (cooked cream with lime and mint) on the other hand fitted the bill perfectly. The mint flavour was very subtle but the lime was less so. I don't think I've had a lime panna cotta before. I hope that this won't be the last time that I do. The bill? It's not "cheap eats" but nor is it outrageously expensive. It's a fair price for the quality you're getting, the atmosphere that you're getting it in, and the service that you're getting. Would I recommend this restaurant, and would I like to return if I can? Yes, and emphatically yes.

Wandering the streets, looking for a restaurant to eat something, we came across the opposite. The place was meticulously maintained, with a clean and fragrant bathroom and a stunning wine collection on display. We went for lunch. The fried appetizer was dry and crispy, perfect. The first course was orecchiette with sausage and carbonara, excellent. The young woman who served us was super helpful and courteous, and spent a lot of time talking to us. The other staff members were also all very courteous and helpful. Everything was perfect. Thank you.

Impeccable. We went on a whim since we were in the area, and it was one of the best restaurants in Rome. The place is beautiful, with wine bottles lining the walls, the service was impeccable, and the food was delicious. We ordered a salmon carpaccio (homemade marinade) that was truly excellent, and two pasta carbonaras, some of the best we had in the city. 100% recommended.

Great food and service. Everything was delicious. The pistachio tiramisu was heaven! It's a great idea after visiting colleseum.

Excellent and very refined cuisine. The taste was fabulous. I highly recommend it.

This place is lovely. It’s truly nice experience. The atmosphere is wonderful. The place is very elegant but easy at the same time. The staff is very friendly, smiling and helpful. The food is delicious. We had tagliere di salumi e burrata. I have no words for burrata, it was so good. We also had beef with potatoes, grilled octopus (yeah this one could be better), beef cheeks. Beef cheeks - the best. For desert we took something like lava cake or chocolate fondue, they serve it with ice cream and this was yummy, I’ve never tried better. As Vineria they have a wide selection of really good wine.

Excellent wines and a wide variety in the premium range. Very good quality and variety of food. Very friendly service from Mr. Tarek. On our last day, we chose to order another great wine.