Osteria Bonelli {Eat Like a Roman}

The last thing I need is more plates. I have more than enough. They have been collected two by two over the past three decades from fancy shops in Cape Town and Hermanus, dusty stalls in Marrakech, garages and backyard pottery studios in Harare, in Umbrian hill towns and beachside shacks in Positano.  Nothing matches, but somehow they all go together. All that said, when my other ceramic fanatic pal called with a lead on a large collection of Buon Riccordo plates I somehow could not find it in me to say no.



The Unione Ristoranti del Buon Ricordo is an association of restaurants across Italy. Since the 1960's, each year a few restaurants are selected to have collectable plates made that commemorate a particular dish. They are hand painted near Vietri on the Amalfi Coast. These plates have become highly collectable, complete with an association. The best part of this slightly wild goose chase of plates was that it included lunch in a part of town that I rarely venture to.

Elizabeth and I headed out on the road named the Casilina and parked right next to some Roman era aqueducts that once fed the emperor Nero's baths. Osteria Bonelli is a very Roman trattoria and very popular. On a drizzly Friday afternoon almost every table was reserved. The menu is a chalkboard that gets moved around the room that lists Roman classics like spaghetti alla gricia and spaghetti alla congolese. There was plenty of offal too, like coratella and pajata. I got pappardelle with a white ragu and porcini and Elizabeth had Gricia. We ordered plates of vegetables; beet greens and potatoes and a Roman style artichoke, to share. The tiny carafe (called a "quarto" here in Rome) of house white wine from Abruzzo was perfect with our bold, hearty dishes. 

Osteria Bonelli is in the Roman neighborhood of TorPignattara which is definitely not on the map your hotel concierge gave you, but if you have been to Rome a few times, I recommend you make the trip.

Viale dell'Acquedotto Alessandrino, 172/174
Closed Sunday
329 863 3077