Following the success of Spazio in Rivisondoli, Milan and the temporary location at Eataly Rome, Niko Romito, the chef of three Michelin star restaurant Reale, in Castel di Sangro, will open the third Spazio in Rome.
The new Spazio, in the Parioli quarter of Rome, will retain the same format and philosophy of the other restaurants allowing the young students of the Niko Romito Formazione cooking school to gain experience in a real life restaurant.
This time, however, Spazio will be pushing the boundaries by housing not just a restaurant but also a cafeteria, bakery as well as a cocktail bar. The idea is to create a space that enables the students from Niko Romito Formazione to get experience not just in a restaurant environment but also in a space that serves as a bakery shop, a breakfast place, a place where you go for an apero or cocktail or even a healthy smoothie.
The restaurant will be open from breakfast till late at night.
Spazio Roma is set to open towards the end of January in Piazza Verdi, one of Rome’s most elegant residential areas in the north of Italy’s capital.
Both Spazio Milan and Spazio Roma have won critical acclaim for their quality price ratio with Romito creating more approachable and simpler dishes at Spazio. Spazio Milan is run by chef Gaia Giordano and she will also be involved in the set-up of Spazio Roma.
Like Niko Romito, chef Gaia Giordano only started her cooking career after studing law because her father, who used to work with Renzo Piano opened a restaurant in Chianti. After a first experience serving guests since her passion was wine, she started working in the kitchen and never moved out.
Recipes for Spazio are tested in the laboratory of Casadonna before they make their way to the restaurants in Milan, Rome and Rivisondoli (in the place where Niko Romito started Reale). The latter is open during the Christmas period and in summer.
We were given a sneak peek of what is expected to be served at Spazio Roma. The philosophy of the cooking is the same as the Reale, the restaurant which was given the highest number of points in Italy by food guide Gambero Rosso last month.
From the meat ball made with a bollito of veal, pork and beef to sautéed vegetables in a pumpkin and capers extract, the dishes that we tried were all perfectly executed in the new kitchen. We also tried the smoked mackarel, the roasted pack choi with almond sauce, charcoal oil and chilli peppers, handmade cappelletti filled with langoustines and served in a shellfish broth, ziti cacio e pepe, chicken with a potato crust that replaces the crispy skin and served with spinach and caramelised peppers and a panna cotta. All dishes were executed to a very high level.
This will be the first Spazio restaurant to serve breakfast and the benchmark will be the bread, brioche and pastries that are served for breakfast at Casadonna, the former monastery that houses the Reale restaurant and hotel.
Romans will be able to buy their bread from Spazio at the dedicated bakery.
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