Il Piccolo Grande Chef

I went to Il Piccolo Grande Chef four times in about a month and a half (and didn’t learn its name until the third time, but that’s ok). The place isn’t touristy at all, since it’s located in a residential neighborhood far from where the tourists normally haunt. It’s actually in Monteverde, near Stazione Trastevere, just off the fourth stop on the 8 Tram after the Ministry of Education (big white building) stop. The food is good, not the most spectacular stuff you could find in Rome, but it’s delicious and reasonably priced. My favorite part of the restaurant are the two owners. Actually, I don’t know if they’re the owners or not, maybe it’s the owner and head waiter, I’m not sure. Either way, the two older gentlemen who run the place are the best part about it. They bake you fresh focaccia bread when you come in. If you’re on a date or if they like you, you get heart-shaped focaccia. They’re very friendly and love to interact with their patrons. I brought my mother and grandmother in when they visited, twice actually, and the one owner (the one in my picture) bonded with my grandmother over grandchildren stories and my mother over a fondness for the Glenn Miller Orchestra (he likes the song “Pennsylvania Sessante-Cinque-Mille”). I came back with my roommate the night before my roommate left for the US, and not only did they give us heart-shaped focaccia and free wine and appetizers, but when we left they gave us each a couple fresh flower blossoms from their centerpieces with their stems wrapped in foil so they’d stay fresh. Whenever I get back to Rome, Il Piccolo Grande Chef is my first dinner stop.

If you go (and you should if you’re in town!), tell the two owners that their American friend Stacey and her mamma and nonna say “Ciao”.