Zia, Rome (*)

1. Gift from kitchen: fresh mozzarella ball, aged pork belly, relish, and melon marinated in a liquer (I unfortunately don't remember the name of the melon or the liquer – I hadn't heard of either before).

2. Primo: lamb ravioli in lamb broth with citrus, fresh bread, salted Italian butter

3. Main: venison with dolceforte and blackberries and a grilled vegetable skewer

4. Dessert: chocolate hazelnut tourbillon

5. Another gift: vanilla gelato with sour cherries

A bit of a late post – I visited back in November. This was my first Michelin-starred restaurant and my first time in Italy, so I do not have much experience to compare this to but I quite enjoyed it.

I arrived a few minutes late (couldn't get a taxi) but they were very gracious. I arrived at 7:15 and the restaurant was mostly empty, but it filled up as the evening went on (I understand Italians tend to eat late). The staff was friendly and attentive, and my waitress spoke excellent English. The other staff spoke good English but were a bit more reserved, but not cold.

I ordered a la carte, in part to keep the cost down, but I wasn't made to feel at all odd or unwelcome for that.

I dined in the front dining room – there was another, larger dining room in the back and I think a third downstairs. It was a little bit dark. There were some paintings on the walls but overall it felt comfortable but nothing too out of the ordinary.

The food:

The amuse-bouche was a nice surprise. The Mozzarella was very delicate and milky. The pork belly had a good flavor. The other bites had a nice texture.

The ravioli was my favorite part of the meal. The citrus balanced against the meaty flavor of the broth very well. The butter was also excellent – maybe the best I've ever had. Bread was good but nothing to write home about.

The venison was maybe the weakest part of the meal, but still quite good. The cook was great and the dolceforte was good. I do question the use of blackberries – there were only three and they were tiny (at least compared to the blackberries I'm used to in the US). It was about 6 bites of meat, so you're couldn't get a piece of fruit in each bite, and even if you did have a whole blackberry with a bite of meat you couldn't taste it. The vegetable skewer was also good and the smokiness complemented the dolceforte very well.

Tourbillon was also very good, crunchy and the hazelnut came through.

The gelato was another surprise and also very good, probably the best I had on the trip.

I didn't take a picture, but their espresso was good enough to convert me to an espresso drinker (I've never been a fan of coffee).

Overall I would go back. I left feeling full but not stuffed. The main negative that stood out to me was that it was a bit loud – I could hear sirens going by every couple of minutes the entire time I was there. Besides that it was a very positive experience.