Anna at the 20th in Rome. For their new restaurant in Rome, the entrepreneurial couple formed by Annalisa Polo and Roberto Tomasini (with already several venues active, such as Casa Carmen in Fregene and recently also Fiumicino and Fatto in Casa La Danesina) has decided to focus on a young chef who can count on an important wealth of experience. His name is Mattia D’Ambrosio28 years old, from Bologna but a European citizen: for three years he was at David Munoz’s three-starred Diverxo, in Madrid, where he held the role of Junior Sous Chef, and then among the creators of the Cantera project, with various offices in Italy and in Europe.
Bologna and his gastronomic tradition are protagonists of the proposal Anna at 20this is the name of the restaurant opened on May 7, 2024 a few steps from Piazza Fiumeprecisely in via Brescia 20. A small and intimate venue that seats 32 indoors, plus around 20 outdoors (but which will become 40 in the coming months). The name chosen? “It’s short, it sticks in your mind, it’s reassuring, it reminds you of home – explain the members -. It is present in almost all Italian families and around the world”. And it is also the name of the chef’s mother.
As soon as you enter, it’s special leaf pattern of the wallpaper to capture attention: the dominant color is green, to which are added details such as vintage paintings and chandeliersplants, LED writing and a bottle rack which houses a wide range of gins.
If the Bolognese tradition is at the center of Anna’s offer at 20, the cuisine is rich in contaminations by chef D’Ambrosio is the other piece that completes the menu. “My origins are the basis of my cuisine – tells -, I love i traditional Bolognese flavours but also the new and modern techniques that allow you to create fusion dishes: from vacuum cooking directly with oil, therefore a sort of fried in reverse, i.e. without immersing the product”.
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What you eat at Anna’s at 20 in Rome
Anna is at 20 open for lunch and dinner. At lunch you can order dishes written on a blackboard: sliced chicken served with vegetables, club sandwiches, salads and first courses such as spaghetti with fresh tomatoes. For dinner there is the actual menu which is essentially divided into two parts. In one there are the great classics of the Bolognese tradition: the lasagna (15 euros), the fettuccine with meat sauce (14), the Bolognese Cutlet (25), lo Emilian dumpling (6).
In the other they are welcomed especially Japanese contaminations. And when you ask the chef for the most representative dishes, he responds with the Tokyo-Bologna gyoza (12), filled with ragù and 30 month old Parmesan cream, and i dumpling Anna at 20 (11), filled with ricotta and mortadella, sage and beurre blanc, “typically Asian dishes, with an Asian pastry, but the filling is Bolognese and Italian, using national products. I tried to mix two different cultures which for me blend together perfectly”. Most of the raw materials used come from Emilia Romagna, such as the meat for the tartare which comes from Zivieri salami factory in the province of Bologna. For pasta, however, “there is a pasta factory that makes it specifically according to my recipe” says the chef. But there are also many local products, in particular bread, fruit and vegetables that come from nearby Piazza Alessandria market. “The menu will change often, about every month. We use few products and follow seasonality, but I always like to do new things”.
Space for seconds with duck breast, mashed potatoes and spinach (24). Tradition also in desserts, with fried gnocco with Nutella and siphon-whipped mascarpone cream
What do you drink at Anna’s at 20 in Rome
At the wine list he thought about it sommelier Letizia Di Bella (which also took care of the selection of the oil), researching small regional and national companies, for a total of about 50 labels. Also worth mentioning is the proposal of gin, which currently has 14 references but will soon reach 20: from the best-known brands to names to be discovered, including the Roman Distilleria Flaminia. It goes without saying that for the drink list it was therefore decided to focus everything on Gin-based cocktailsdesigned and created by Laura Cervone and Alan Ragniserved as an aperitif or after dinner but can also be combined with the dishes on the menu.
Anna at 20. Via Brescia 20, Rome. Tel. 06 98182496. Facebook. Instagram
