Located in Rome, Italy, Alfredo e Ada prides itself on offering a no-frills, authentic experience and luckily, this is exactly what I was searching for while in Italy.
I found Alfredo e Ada through The Beehive app. Their description was:
“One of the more unusual places in Rome for lunch or dinner. Run by Ada with the help of a few other elderly women, it’s like eating at Grandma’s! No menu, you just eat whatever they bring you which is usually a small pasta dish and then a main meat & vegetable course. White wine of their own production from their vineyard in the hills outside of Rome (Castelli Romani). Afterwards, one of them (usually Ada) comes round with a bag of cookies for dessert and pinches your cheek.”
I was immediate sold after reading “it’s like eating at Grandma’s!” I knew that I would love it because I am not a picky eater and I love blind tasting menus, but I really wanted to make sure everyone had a great meal and I was a tab bit scared about the ‘no menu aspect.’ Thankfully, we ignored my small fear, tried it out, and it was a hit. Actually, it was more than a hit. It was Ian’s parents favorite restaurant in Rome. And Florence. And Cinque Terre. It was that big of a hit. To be honest, it was so good that I was so absorbed in the food that I was an awful blogger and forgot to take pictures! These are just screenshots from our GoPro videos hah – ugh! But, sometimes that is a good thing because I know that I really got the full experience and enjoyed my meal. 🙂
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OUR EXPERIENCE
Wooden tables, fantastic house wine, and the fragrant smell of homemade pasta invited us inside the intimate trattoria, Alfredo e Ada. We were led to the table and our waitress offered us a liter of their house wine, that was only 6 euros. I remember preparing myself for a bad glass of wine because in Atlanta, an ‘okay’ glass of wine is not available for under $10 and even that is really stretching it, but I was wrong – the wine was fantastic.
We sipped on our wine and chatted about our first day in Rome before our waitress told us what was available to eat. I expected one or two entree options, so I was caught off guard when we had to ask her to repeat the verbal menu.
Everything sounded amazing. Lasagna, Carbonara, Oxtail, Chicken Parmesan, and more. We ended up ordering more than we should have, but every bite was savored and nothing remained on our plates (or in our wine glasses) at the end of the meal. Every dish was spectacular, but my favorite was the lasagna. The carbonara, a Rome specialty, was a close second place winner.
Throughout the meal, we all talked about how fantastic everything was. The service, the wine, the food, the environment. It truly felt like we were dining in the home of an Italian family. After paying the bill (heads up – it is cash only), we relaxed for a few more minutes before making our way out the door, with hopes that we would one day return to Alfredo e Ada. We passed the line that formed outside the door of the trattoria and knew that every person waiting was in for a fantastic experience.
SO sorry for the blurry pictures – these are all quick screenshots from our GoPro film. #BloggerFail |