Antico Arco, Rome, 12/15/15

The restaurant has a couple different small rooms for dining, all well adorned for the holidays. They offer a la carte as well as a tasting menu, which we chose. There is a large wine list and the staff are most helpful in making choices. There is a casual vibe but the service pace is a bit on the fast side, but then they did turn the tables during the evening.

Frankie checked out the table decorations

Everyone starts with an amuse bouche from the kitchen but it seemed to vary from table to table. We got a fried mozzarella which was hot and quite tasty but I wanted to try all the other good looking stuff coming out too.

Amuse bouche: Fried mozzarella with light tomato sauce. Yum!

The tasting menu started with the amber jack tartare. It was great with a little crunch and tartness. Nice size chunks, good freshness and pretty presentation.

Amber jack fish tartare, ginger and cucumbers. Great with a little crunch and tartness. Nice size chunks, good freshness and pretty presentation.

The pigeon was served very rare and thus was wonderfully juicy. It was very tender and the stuffing and sauce were to die for. The salad mixed well with it to make a perfect plate.

Pigeon breast in a crust of pistachio crumbs, filled with caramelized figs and sprout salad

The chickpea soup and breadcrumbs were served separately. What a perfect idea! The crumbs stay crisp and you can add as much as you want, but they will thicken the soup if you add too many which is hard to resist doing. It was a mild tasting course but still quite nice.

Chick pea soup, chestnuts flavored with anis, crispy breadcrumbs and rosemary

Frankie tried to push the decoration out of the warm spot

The ravioli was served with a generous and tasty portion of artichokes. The pasta was a bit dull for me and the sauce seemed too similar to the one served on the fried mozzarella. This course paled in comparison to the previous ones.

Homemade ravioli of sea bass with shellfish bisque and artichokes

The prawns were barely cooked and so exceptionally tender and juicy. Some of the vegetables were served cold which was a fun surprise. A sauce was drizzled on and the remainder was left for you to add as needed. It had a strong flavor of shell reduction. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of it with the sauce but the appearance was similar to the previous course but tastier.

Bouillabaisse of roasted tiger prawns and sauteed vegetables

The burrata was odd in that it had a similar consistency throughout rather than being creamier in the middle. The tomato was tasty but overall I’d call this course a pass.