Metamorfosi :: Rome

I have been wanting to try Metamorfosi Restaurant the last few years, but I shied away because I am often wary of contemporary Italian restaurants. Two of my favourite food bloggers, Elizabeth Minchilli and Katie Parla said it was definitely worth a try. So I took a chance, and was rewarded with an exceptionally good meal of excellent fusion cuisine with an eclectic, international feel.

The restaurant was not your typical trattoria but a chic, modern, minimalist environment, with a great relaxing and romantic playlist, in a moneyed part of town at Via Giovanni Antonelli 30. The food is prepared by Chef Roy Carreras, a young, one-star Michelin from Columbian, and his sous chef from Naples. Interestingly, his last sous chef came from the famed Noma. The dishes were all colourful, exciting and full of flavour. This is a serious restaurant, but not overly formal or pretentious. The servers are not snooty but friendly, polite and attentive without being overbearing. We perused the large wine list but decided to just order a couple of different glasses of wine, without going as far as a wine pairing. The sommelier couldn’t have been nicer, suggesting wines to go along with what we ordered, and they were outstanding.

Nothing is what it seems when it comes to the food, thus it is a “metamorphosis”. The food was creative, and the fabulous home made bread came with what looked like butter but was an olive oil ice cream. Sounds weird but was SO delicious. This was the first bread course, with more to follow, including six more selections. The Raw Red Prawns “Pisco Sour” is sublime. The signature dish of 65 Degrees Egg Carbonara is deconstructed, with the highest quality of Parmesan and a brilliant fried pasta along with some pork rind and an egg that cooks for 40 minutes at 65 degrees making it extra creamy. I would say it’s dreamy. Next up we had a fish soup ravioli with seafood two ways. It was great, but it did taste of the sea. The next dish was a show stopper of an encased risotto with mushrooms and hazelnut. They pour the warm creamy mixture on top and the encasing dissolves into the risotto. I was in love with the chef after that dish.

But, there was more, a squab cooked two ways, in a corn leaf with blueberries and a deep fried piece with truffles – also an excellent choice. For dessert we had an apple, pine nuts and jasmine blossom. There, of course, are the requisite petit fours.

Metamorfosi Restaurant is a special restaurant in every respect.

Highly recommend.

Happy dining,
Shanea