We got a tip from a friendly cafe worker named Matteo in Salerno that we should try Tonnarello when we hit Rome. WOW ! With 61,667 reviews at 4.7 stars on Google Maps how could we go wrong ? On our 3rd day in Rome we decided to have dinner here with no reservation. DAAAH ! My wife and I took a hard to find taxi here around 6pm . . we actually walked to the Colosseum to hail one. The taxi driver dropped us off in a main street and said walk down that alley.
ALLEYS ! There were alleys everywhere in Italy and we walked quite a way along an alley until we arrived at Tonnarello at 6.30pm. OMG ! Half of Italy was already lined up to get in . . you gotta be kiddin’ me ! I went inside and found a female manager named Jolanta who told me our wait should be no longer than 10 minutes for a table. OH NO ! To be honest I found that hard to believe and wanted to walk. THE TRUTH ! Amazingly within around 10 minutes we were ushered inside to a table. THIS IS A ROMAN RESTAURANT ! We weren’t quite sure what to expect on the menu . . . Roman ain’t Italian we had already found out. A colorful server named Aman looked after us perfectly during our dinner visit.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT ! We commented to Aman on how huge the restaurant appeared to be . . he said it can sit 600 diners in one sitting. BEER ! Sadly it was pretty typical Italian beer on offer . . when in Rome. I ordered an Italian beer that Aman suggested and it tasted okay. FOOD ! We ordered a Bowl of Mussels . . Aman said I would be flat out eating all 30 of them and the Hot Focaccia with Rosemary . . . for starters. From Second Courses we ordered 1 x POLLO ALLA ROMANA ( Chicken with Peppers Roman style and roast Potatoes with tomato sauce ) and 1 x TAGLIATA DI MANZO ( Beef Entrecôte with Rucola, Parmesan and Cherry Tomatoes ).
I went for a walk to the restroom upstairs while waiting for our food to arrive. You wouldn’t believe how big this restaurant is . . 3 levels plus a huge outdoor dining patio. Half of Italy must be here ! Before we knew it the Focaccia Bread and my huge bowl of 30 Mussels hit the table. I downed every one of those tender little suckers that was open . . probably 28. The fresh baked Focaccia Bread with Rosemary tasted sensational. OUR HOPES WERE HIGH ! Apart from the forgettable Italian beer everything was really good so far. WHAM BAM ! Our entrees arrived together and looked mouthsational. This was comfort food of the highest level . . everything just melted in our mouths.
At this point I went for a walk to check out the whole restaurant and ran into another manager named Lilliana who I told how impressed we were to be seated at a table so quickly. DESSERT ! Aman recommended the one we chose which was HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE SALAMI WITH WHIPPED CREAM. It came out fast, looked delicious and tasted pretty good. Overall we were very impressed with our dinner experience at probably the biggest restaurant ever !
