a review of Rome's most loved restaurant (by celebrities)

spoiler: it's bad

I don’t usually write outright reviews of places in this newsletter. But this lunch experience had me particularly inspired…

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Every city has that one place where you go for celebrity sightings. Whether it’s L’Avenue in Paris or Carbone in New York, these restaurants stay busy with their rich and famous clientele… or the people hoping to see the rich and famous clientele.

In Rome, it’s Pierluigi.

Note: this review is of the food at Pierluigi only. They are known for their impressive wine list and cellar. I have not explored that yet, though I was tempted to down a bottle of champagne at lunch.

I’ve been wanting to try Pierluigi for a while, to find out what the fuss was all about. A few colleagues raved about their seafood. And, apparently, Michael Jordan was apparently there like last week. Not that I care, but still - who wouldn’t be curious?

The thing is - Pierluigi is a “requires a reservation” kinda place. And, I can’t keep to a restaurant reservation booked days or weeks ahead for the life of me.

Still, I knew one day I would try the place. How can I commit myself to all things food and wine in this city without trying out one of its most famous restaurants? That’s been here since 1934, by the way?

Finally, the opportunity arrived.