Trying to find the best steakhouse in Rome isn’t easy. While high quality cuts of meat feature on a vast amount of trattoria menus across the city, there haven’t been many great go-to places just for meat lovers. Apart from a few chain steakhouse options, up until now, you’ve have basically needed to stick to high quality restaurants and hope for a broad enough selection on the second-course menu.

The entry of Santa Brace into the Roman restaurant scene is promising to change all that. This a steakhouse, but Italian style. So don’t just expect ribs, sirloin and hamburgers, but an almost encyclopedic approach to meat. From Italian charcuterie to carpaccio and tartare, through tender racks of lamb, cuts of beef and even duck and foie gras, this is a restaurant which celebrates a rainbow of types and techniques, while proudly wearing a badge of provenance. Santa Brace’s farm-to-table ethos and glass-walled refrigerator area means that you know exactly where the meat has come from.

Starting with first impressions, the interiors, designed by Laurenzi Consulting, are an eclectic mix of bright upholstery in the bar area, which is a fun gathering spot, while the dining zones of this steakhouse in Rome, upstairs and in the basement, are distinguished by a mix of tables and booths in warm, earthy tones.

I went for a kaleidoscopic choice, sampling a charcuterie platter, followed by Angus carpaccio and a selection of tartares, pictured above, which were imaginatively seasoned with bottarga, dried cod roe.

To follow, it was straight into the steak menu with a superb selection of beef entrecotes and a rack of lamb. Choices include black angus, Danish and Italian beef, in entrecote, fiorentina form or ribs.

Look out too for picanha, tender lamb, duck breast and fillet with foie gras and truffle, as well as slow cooked favourites such as pork belly and wild boar braised in red wine. Entrecotes cost around €25, fiorentina steak up to €50 per person, while expect to pay between €14 and €25 for other choices. Definitely a good value steakhouse in Rome.

There is also a varied burger menu with six options, ranging from the classic bacon cheese to greek or barbeque chicken. Burgers start at €10.

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We finished off with a lovely grilled pineapple trifle, which was just indulgent enough, while successfully cleansing the palate. There’s a good wine list plus craft beers, as you’d expect, while you can also be confident ordering a cocktail.

Overall, an exciting new addition to the Colli Portuensi district and definitely worth a visit if you’re in south Rome and feeling carnivorous.

Santa Brace
Via Isacco Newton 100
00151 Rome, Italy

Tel 06 8693 3527

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