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Gioia Mia Piscipiano My favorite Trattoria in Roma Jacob (Giacomo) Fialkow
Last week was probably the 10th time I ate there, and I guess I will never be in Roma without dinning in this wonderful restaurant. In a small and narrow street via degli Avignonesi, located a few hundred meters from Piazza Barberini and Fontana di Trevi, I accidently enterd a liitle Trattoria named Gioia Mia and the taste of the gnocchi in creme and egg yolks that I ate there at my first visit,15 years ago is still in my mouth. As a matter of fact, this first meal at Gioia Mia broght me to the decision to start learning Italian cooking. The restaurant is always crowded and if you are not interested in a long wait at the restaurant's door, you'll better make a reservation, a few hours earlier. It is not going to be an easy task, while the restaurant staff speaks fluent Italian but hardly manages with English. You might ask your hotel recepionist to make this call for you.
Located at the center of Gioia Mia's hall there is a long table and the guests sit facing each other. If you insist on your own table, you might wait quite a long time until one gets free. This time we ordered mixed vegetarian antipasti (antipast vegetale misto) and a portion of Prosciutto Melone (raw meat with melon) - which were great as always. For first course (Primi Piatti) we ordered Pappardelle a la Gran Duca which is wide pasta in cream, mushrooms, bacon, tomatoes and cognac. For many years I prepare and serve this very same sauce in my own kitchen back at home, but somehow it never tastes the same as it tastes here. It might be the place, the atmosphere or the owner of the restaurant Roberto Stopponi who pays attention on whatever happens in the restaurant. Papparedelle for me and Risotto Monti e Mare (rice with mushrooms and sea fruit sauce) for my spouse, half a liter of red wine, a bottle of Mineral water and for main course (secondi Piatti) veal in Marsala sauce and a small portion of steamed spinach with butter and Parmigiano and Limoncello for deigestif (on the house). One of the best meals we ate in this visit in Italy. We will definately return next time when we are in Roma
Here are some critics I've found in the Internet about Gioia Mia.
· Great Food and Value By A Yahoo! Contributer, 04/23/08 In our 5 day trip we chose to eat there for two dinners and a lunch and were very very happy. Every dish was great, albeit I may have had a hint of mushroom problem that another reviewer noted in one of my dishes as a few were a bit soggy :(. Every other dish was really great and yes my husband is still talking about the papardelle Gran Duca and I really liked my Spaghetti Puttanesca. One word of caution however, Our first day we ordered the mushroom pizza and asked them to add prosciutto. Do not deviate off the menu w/o asking what it will cost. Big mistake. Ultimately when I complained they worked with me, but still I didn't like them charging 50% more to add 3 slices of prosciutto. In the end, if we go back to Rome, several visits to Gioia Mia will be in order. Oh, and one more word of advice, if you have time to plan try to make reservations. Our last night we ended up sitting by the entrace, not great. You'd be well served to avoid sitting there. Good luck! · The best restaurant in Rome By tropicallyhappy, 10/21/07 My husband and I stumbled upon this restaurant while we were on our honeymoon. We ate here 3 out of 4 nights that we were in Rome. The only reason why we were not there the 4th night was because Gioia Mia was closed on Sundays. The food was so delicious. Our favorites were the ravioli with vodka sauce and the trenette aglio, olio carciofi. The staff were very friendly and we got to practice speaking Italian with the staff. The prices were not bad at all compared to other restaurants and considering how bad the dollar is compared to the euro. My husband and I will definitely go back here and we will definitely recommend it to anyone who will go to Rome. · The best in Rome By A Yahoo! Contributer, 07/26/07
The place is not large. It is very busy and somewhat
loud. The service was very good. Food was outstanding. Portions were
generous even by Italian standards.
"Gioia Mia" Pisciapiano Via degli Avignonesi, 34. One block west of Piazza Barberini Tel. 06.4882784. stefano.tiribocchi@fastwebnet.it Menu: http://www.hoteljulia.it/imgioiamia/gioiamenu.htm |
