Sigh. il Margutta. I wanted to love you. I really did. I wanted to be swept of my feet and sing your name with reckless abandon on the picturesque and historic cobblestone streets outside your home. In a city of tourist traps and meat-laden menus, I thought you might be my knight and shining armor. On paper, you seemed almost perfect. You are entirely vegetarian, source mostly organic ingredients (70%), make your pasta fresh in your kitchen, and you offer a large selection of vegan options. When I met you for our first date, you were as charming in appearance as you were on paper. You brightly colored walls were filled with colorful, local art. Your wavy bar weaved among your orange chairs. Your dining room was filled with the cool sounds of chill out music alternated with live jazz.
You had everything going for you. But when we started to get to know each other, it was almost entirely downhill. My first course was a spirited and eclectic mix of starters, almost all of which fell short in expectations. The dish was beautiful and abundant, filled with a tasting of ravioli, string beans, cous cous, quiches (asparagus and spinach), rigatoni and more. But almost every item was dry, bland or just simply unremarkable.
The next plate didn’t fare all that much better, though there was a bright moment with the corn salad on black rice and fried mozzarella (what’s not to like there). But again, the food was overall bland and unimpressive – an epidemic in many of the restaurants in Rome. So disappointing.
By the main (and final) course, I knew that this would never work. The chemistry was just not there. A trio of pasta dishes sealed the end of our relationship. Though the eggplant and wonton dish was not unbearable, the risotto and tagliatelle wouldn’t have passed in the States, let alone in Italy. In essence, our time together was a failure. I felt let down on the topic where it mattered the most: the food. I can only hope that, in the city of seven hills, I can find another like you where the food matches it’s potential and promise. So we part ways. I wish you the best. Farewell…I won’t be calling you again.
Il Margutta
118 Via Margutta
Rome, Italy 00187
+39 06 32650577
Currently based out of Boston, Jesal is a blogger, freelance writer, yoga enthusiast and lifelong vegetarian who spent four years eating her way through New York City and various other cities around the globe. After answering hundreds of emails and phone calls answering the question, "Where's a cool place I can take my vegetarian friend out to eat" she started Veggiewala to efficiently share her knowledge of the vegetarian food scene with curious carnivores, flexitarians and other vegetarians.