[review] All’Oro: Michelin-starred restaurant in Rome

With our card American Express Platinum, we get 200€/year to enjoy a gourmet restaurant abroad (and 200€ for a gourmet restaurant in France, which JB got to enjoy all by himself). We chose Rome to take advantage of it, because we wanted to taste Italian dishes differently. We opted for the restaurant All’Oro, one Michelin star.

Reservations are made online, and you have to leave your credit card number to guarantee the reservation. The restaurant is located in a luxury hotel, but we couldn’t tour the hotel, as we were quickly taken to the basement, where the restaurant was.

The dining room was very cozy, well-heated (which felt good because it was very cold outside).

Surprise: all the waiters spoke French..

We were offered to take a tasting menu (there were several options, including a vegan one), or at least 2 dishes à la carte (excluding dessert). Given the price of the dishes (around 40€), it was more interesting to opt for one of the menus (starting at 115€). We each had a 115€ menu, including an aperitif, an antipasti, 2 courses, a pre-dessert, and a dessert. We just had to agree on the same menu and the same dishes.

I think the overall theme was fairy tales, as we found some elements here and there from Snow White and Alice in Wonderland.

For the aperitif, not everything was good (the fried spaghetti were meh), but 80% was good, innovative, and surprising (a fried ball with tomato sauce inside, the fake apple that’s not sweet but savory…). I didn’t expect to have so many things, nor such a presentation; it was very fun.

For the antipasti, we chose a nearly raw Sicilian shrimp salad, served with fried mozzarella.

For the first course (primi), we chose the handmade ravioli. It’s thanks to this dish that the restaurant earned its Michelin star. JB loved the ravioli; they were executed to perfection by Italian standards (not overcooked, cheese filling just right). I admit I’m not a fan of cheese (all cheeses, I’m not French, sorry), but I loved the sauce!!

Then, for the second course, we chose medium-cooked tuna, accompanied by an anchovy sauce (you couldn’t really taste the anchovies). However, it’s important to eat everything together. I made the mistake of tasting the vegetables alone, and they were, in my opinion, too acidic. But when you tasted everything at once in one bite (tuna, sauce, vegetables), the whole became harmonious all of a sudden.

I’m very glad the dishes were small, because for several months I’ve been eating little and can’t handle overly hearty dinners anymore. The portion size was perfect, and even JB was delighted.

Then we moved on to the pre-dessert: two fake Snow White apples, served with a mirror. The waiter assured us they weren’t poisoned 😀 I don’t remember what was inside, but it was very, very pleasant.

It’s when the tiramisu arrived that we were relieved about our choice. JB and I don’t like coffee to begin with. But we told ourselves we had to give tiramisu one last chance. If we didn’t like the tiramisu from a Michelin-starred restaurant, we could really say this dessert isn’t for us 😀 But the last chance was the right one! This one was wrapped in a very, very thin layer of meringue. Usually, I don’t like meringues either, but this one was PERFECT! The amount of coffee inside was just right, everything melted in the mouth like a little cloud. It was an exquisite sensation!!

Then, surprise: they served us the after-dessert (it wasn’t listed on the menu). I’m sorry, I couldn’t take a photo of all the mini-desserts served, but they were very good. The candy coated with sugar was my favorite: it was my madeleine de Proust, bringing me back to my childhood in Vietnam in seconds.

There were also two fake peanuts, made with 3 types of chocolate; they really looked like real peanuts, it was impressive. We had different experiences with those: JB said it was chocolate, while I really tasted peanut butter, finished with a very pleasant salty taste.

My herbal tea, for its part, was served with an hourglass, which was a real plus, because any connoisseur knows you need to let your tea or herbal tea steep for a certain time before drinking, and that time depends on each tea. Unfortunately, the herbal tea was just an ordinary bag from a well-known tea house (I’ve already forgotten the name), not loose leaf tea in a ‘true connoisseur’ style. But hey, we’re not at a tea salon.

In short, I really, really enjoyed the experience. In total, it cost us 260€, of which 200€ was reimbursed by Amex (2 menus + still water + a glass of wine + one herbal tea). It was wonderful to taste Italian specialties differently, with quality ingredients from all the Italian regions. Because after several months in Italy, we were a bit tired of the basic dishes (pasta, pizza, carpaccio) and needed something more refined. Don’t focus too much on my criticisms; they often say ‘there’s no accounting for taste’… you have to try it to form your own opinion.

Address: All’Oro Restaurant Via Giuseppe Pisanelli 25, Rome | +39 06 979 96 907 | [email protected]
Reservation: https://www.ristorantealloro.it/
Menu: from 115€/person
À la carte: minimum 2 dishes per person (excluding dessert), about 40€/dish