Il Marchese in Rome, Italy: Market, Osteria and Europe’s First Amaro Bar

Posted by Rowena Dumlao Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 10/21/2018

Il Marchese in Rome, Italy: Market, Osteria and Europe’s First Amaro Bar

Spacious, illuminated and a magnet to the passers-by along Via di Ripetta. Il Marchese has been a curiosity to the Romans and the city's guests from the time it opened last month where it enjoys a very central position just a few steps away from Ara Pacis and right in the triangular route of Piazza Navona, Colosseo and Piazza del Popolo.

Open seven days a week from 11:30 in the morning until 1 the following morning, it is the place to gather together, buy some basic fresh and dry ingredients to take home, eat well and enjoy a drink before and after dinner. That's because Il Marchese is an osteria and a market by day and when the night falls, it becomes one of the city's busiest amaro bar.

Davide Solari and Lorenzo Renzi, school friends from a very age, shaped the idea of having the modern trends of mixology and opened Il Marchese right in the city where they grew up in. Inspired by the homonymous movie of Mario Monicelli, Il Marchese del Grillo, the setting of the restaurant takes you back to the Roman tradition in the 19th century. With a capacity of 110 seats, is open to everyone who wants to have a genuine contemporary and traditional Roman experience at 360 degrees at a suggestive ambience.

Il Marchese has three faces: the osteria, the market and the amaro bar. The osteria has the soul of the Roman tradition with a creative spirit. The menu has innovative dishes in which the Roman dishes are revisited with modern touches. The kitchen team is headed by Daniele Roppo, schooled by Arcangelo Dandini and gained experiences alongside Marco Martini and Stephan Betmon for pastry making. The kitchen abides by simplicity and using of zero-kilometer ingredients wherein some of them are even procured by the chefs at the in-house market of Il Marchese.

Fresh flowers are available, as well as sacks of flour, coffee, bread, seasonal fruits and vegetables and an array of objects and ingredients. In support of Il Marchese's concept of serving quality and fresh food, a pastaia or pastamaker prepares the handmade pasta in the market area that are in turn cooked in the kitchen for the day's pasta dishes.

Night time becomes enthralling at Il Marchese where you can choose your amaro among the 500 labels available in the bar. Here, this popular herbal liqueur crosses the line from being a simple after-dinner digestif to fascinating cocktail drinks. The brainchild of Matteo Zed, a master in the art of mixology who came directly from the US, Il Marchese is the first of its format in Italy and the rest of Europe. Matteo has gained experiences in New York and Tokyo, the latest of which in New York are at Del Posto of Joe Bastianich as the Bar Supervisor, Zuma as the Head Mixologist, and Giorgio Armani Restaurant as the Bar Specialist. Now in Italy, he is setting the trend of the amaro bar in Il Marchese which he is confident will soar. Most of the amaro bars in the world have 30 to 40 labels. At Il Marchese, there are almost 500! The entries at the drink list are all based on bitter and they will be revolving around 30 different labels every month.

The proposals at the menu are seasonal and based on meat, fish and vegetables. Appetizers range from €7 to €12, platters of prosciutto and cheese at €12 to €15, salads between €10 to €12, first plates of risotto or pasta at an average of €13, main courses at €15 to €19 and desserts at €8.