New Trastevere restaurant Rose Tartare Bar may be one of the most Instagram-friendly diners in the city, but don’t underestimate the idea behind its unicorn palate of soft pinks and peaches.
This Rome restaurant, with a focus on fresh fish tartare, bao buns, poke bowls and tacos, alongside select pasta dishes and artisan burgers at lunch, served with cool avocado, gazpacho or mango-infused sides, is also a spot for serious foodies.
While the Rose Tartare Bar menu gallops through fusion dishes to reinforce the sense of internationalism and escape in this pastel-hued eatery, there are enough Italian and Mediterranean references to ground it in a sense of place.
Where possible, ingredients are sourced locally, and veer from global hits such as jewel-like tacos, bao buns and poke bowls to rigorously Italian-caught fish dishes, and even a pimped-up cacio e pepe for fans of this Roman pasta dish.
Rose Tartare Bar is the brainchild of three women – Carlotta Santacroce, Alessandra and Fabrizia Cichetti – respectively, daughter, mother and aunt – and its colour palate reinforces its enticing female energy.
But this Trastevere restaurant is – of course! – not only for girls. Its location on Trastevere’s less touristy side, down towards Trastevere Station, in fact is already turning it into a lunch location for local workers, while Romans are the main diner customers at night – for now.
From September, Rose Tartare Bar will also launch lazy breakfasts to entice a co-working crowd to hang out all day, offering granola, pancakes, all-natural coloured shakes and more. Expect, too, a broader cocktail menu to kick off the aperitivo hour, and an evolving menu to suit seasonal ingredients.
I recently went along to Rose Tartare Bar to try a selection of dishes from the evening menu, but am planning to go back by day to sample the restaurant’s original edamame burger which is a vegan first in the city.
Our meal was accompanied by an award-winning rose, hailing from Puglia, which is ideal for pairing with fish. As usual, some of the portions I tried were slightly smaller than a standard portion, as I was sampling a tasting menu.
Dinner at Rose Tartare Bar started with fresh spinach tacos with avocado, mango, beetroot sprouts and spicy mayo (€9). These were light and tasty.
We also tried chickpea falafel with mango chutney (€8), another well-balanced combination of flavours.
The crispy squid starter is bursting with freshness, thanks to the carefully sourced fish served with a squeeze of mango and chili pepper (€8). Delicious.
Moving on to the Rose Tartare Bar tartare selection, this salmon and avocado tartare (€12) with a squirt of guacamole was another crowd-pleaser, topped with black sesame seeds.
The tuna tartare (€13) was served in an original style, on a fresh tomato gazpacho, with a dollop of cool stracciatella cheese.
Next up, we tried one of the mains – cacio e pepe with raw prawns (€11). The pink prawns successfully transformed what can be quite a wintery dish into a light alternative – a true success!
We also tried a dish from the dessert menu – apple tart served with a Japanese strawberry mochi. This was another fusion hit in terms of textures and flavours.
I was really impressed with the quality of the ingredients, the price point and the plating flair at Rose Tartare Bar. The pink theme isn’t at all cloying, and I am all in all really pleased that this restaurant has arrived in a neighbourhood near me!
Highly recommended.
Testaccina was a guest of Rose Tartare Bar
Rose Tartare Bar | Via Angelo Bargoni 62 | Rome | Tel 349 219 3487
