Seafood and Song
The best seafood in Rome must have the Sabatini touch
Nicco Vecciarelli is what you would call a modern Roman.
He favours Vans and Diesel over bespoke suits and mafia-esque shades. He will take you to celeb-hang, Celestina a Casa Tua (Viale Parioli 184, Rome, +39 06 807 8242) for pizza and a spot of star-gazing (yes, those are pap shots of Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell gracing the walls). He can point you in the direction of Tad (Via del Babuino 155a, Rome, +39 06 3269 5131), the ‘It’ trend store just around the corner from the Spanish Steps, stocking only the latest and greatest in fashion, homewares and design. He’ll even dare to take a couple of visiting Italia-philes for sushi at Ketumbar (Via Galvani 24, Rome, +39 06 57 30 53 38), a restaurant-bar housed in a former papal wine cellar, sharing its location with an ancient archaeological site in the Testaccio area of Rome.
But when it comes time to get serious – when the Roman gastro reputation is on the line – Nicco is the first to succumb to the pull of tradition. And for Roman seafood, tradition is synonymous with the two brothers’ Sabatini.
Taking up prime position in the Piazza Santa Maria, Ristorante Sabatini (Piazza Santa Maria Trastevere 13, Rome, +39 06 581 2026) is the kind of Roman institution that locals respect and tourists love. The service is first class, the wait-staff exceptionally experienced (and fluently bi-lingual), and the food, ah, the food: Sublimely unctuous Buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes so sweet you will finally be convinced of their fruity heritage, with seafood that will leave you sniffing the air for a scent of sea breeze, such is its freshness. And always, in the background, the Sabatini personalities shining through.
“See how it is? One brother works and one brother sings.” It is Francesco Sabatini, at 70-something the younger of the two, interrupting his expert filleting of our salt-crusted sea bass to playfully deride his brother and business partner, Silvestro.
It’s all part of the act. As Silvestro spends the evening waiting and spontaneously bursting in to more-than-passable Italian operatic voice (“he is singing of love and a girl called Nene”), Francesco welcomes regulars with kisses and tskks at the tiny errors made by younger waiters lacking the experience of the restaurant’s two elderly statesmen.
Getting back to the business at hand, Francesco shares the meltingly tender sea bass between our six plates, having gracefully cleaned away the fins, spine, head and tail in one smooth motion with his large spoon.
Nicco encourages us toward the black pepper and olive oil, though my grab for the cut lemon elicits a barely suppressed grunt from the lingering Francesco. “I you want to make me happy,” he says, as I catch his eye, “please do not use lemon.” I acquiesce (the acidity alters the flavour of the fish) and we are later rewarded with wild strawberries and home-churned vanilla ice-cream, downed with espresso and a shot of limoncello.
For those travellers obsessed with the notion of avoiding fellow-tourists a word of warning: If you are looking for red-and-white checked tablecloths and empty wine bottles covered in melted candle wax, look elsewhere. The Sabatini’s offers a different sort of authenticity – a melange of traditional cooking skill and modern-day business savvy, of old-school experience and new-era showmanship.
It is the restaurant that reflects Rome as it is – a mixture of historical theme-park and modern necessity, where snap-happy tourists play out their fantasies alongside the day-to-day grind of Roman daily life.
And if all that sounds like too much self-indulgent travel writer speak, then forget the philosophy. Just go for the fish.
Trip Notes
The original Sabatini Ristorante opened in Rome in 1954. You can now find two Sabatini establishments in the Italian capital, the restaurant at Piazza Santa Maria, +39-065898386, and the more informal pizzeria around the corner at Vicolo Santa Maria, +39-065812026. Advance bookings are recommended.