At Le Brocchette in Fiumicino You Eat What the Mediterranean Sea Gives You

For Carmine Carli, proprietor of Hosteria di Mare Le Brocchette, the freshness of the sea is celebrated everyday with an ever-changing à la carte menu at his restaurant. The sea is rich with fresh raw materials and his aim is to surprise his diners with a menu made up of dishes that change daily because what he has in the kitchen always depends on what the fishermen of Fiumicino are able to catch in their daily fishing.

Thanks to the passionate work of Carmine who has embellished an outdoor restaurant where all the daily-caught freshness of the sea are the protagonists. “The strong bond developed over the years with the fishermen of Fiumicino allowed me to overcome the ‘fear’ of depending on the sea and its availability, understanding that the daily alternation of fish and shellfish could become the strong point of the gastronomic offer of the place,” says Carmine.

Carmine took his first steps in the restaurant business almost 40 years ago in Rome, who then moved to the coastal towns of Lazio, first to Fregene and then Fiumicino. The period spent in Fregene led Carmine to fall in love with outdoor lunches near the sea on beautiful spring days, giving rise to the desire to create a reality that could represent his passion for good seafood. In 2010, he opened Le Brocchette, a welcoming and informal place characterized by an outdoor space that is open throughout the year. Winter months are enjoyed in the perfectly insulated and heated outdoor dining room with large windows and a roof that can be opened or closed. “Catch of the day and availability of the sea are the guidelines of a menu on which I was able to eliminate the asterisk,” states Carmine proudly, testifying to the freshness of every single product used in the kitchen. In Italy, an asterisk on the menu means that the seafood has been frozen.

The Menu

Much of the proposals in the menu are worked on what has been caught by the local fishermen like the croaker, sea bream, seabass, clams, mussels, shrimp, cuttlefish and squid. Do expect some popular first dishes of pasta or risotto (€17 to €25) like the: spaghetto alle vongole veraci, made with clams that are more delicate; or the stuffed squid filled with Taggiasca olives, anchovy sauce and panko bread; fettuccella with local lobster (€35); risotto with seafood; and homemade tortello with skate and broccoli. The raw seafood appetizers (€25 to €45) merits to be tasted for their freshness like the platter of a variety of raw seafood; seabass carpaccio or the red shrimp tartare. Cooked appetizers (€9 to €30) are flavorful dishes to start the meal. In fact, there is a cooked appetizer tasting menu of 6 tasting dishes for 2 persons at €38. The seafood main course (€12 to €30) can be fried, grilled, baked in the oven or a bit creative. Some prices may also depend on the weight of the fish.

If attention to the quality of the food plays an important role, then the selection of the wine also receives the same kind of consideration. The list has more than 150 labels that underline the wine production of native vines from various regions of Italy with special focus on the local Lazio region. International wine labels are also present like South Africa, Chile, Spain and of course France for their champagne.

Caviar Tasting

One international point of Le Brocchette’s menu is the the possibility to taste different kinds of caviar. These prized salt-cured sturgeon roe that come from the Caspian Sea and Black Sea are celebrated for their high quality. In the menu, you can find the Siberian Classic, Osietra Classic, Beluga Siberian, Golden Sterlet and the most valuable, Beluga Imperial. For a 10-gram tasting, the prices vary between €20 to €30, while the Beluga Imperial is priced at €110 for 30 grams. A good way to understand the differences of some caviars is to try the tasting menu of three kinds of caviar (€80), the Osietra Beluga, Siberian Golden and the Golden Sterlet, and if paired with Mallol Gantoys champaagne, at €120.

Hosteria di Mare Le Brocchette

Address: Lungomare della Salute 33, 00054 Fiumicino (RM), Italy
Tel: +39 06 6504 8384
Website: https://www.lebrocchette.it/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeBrocchette
Opening hours: Open daily for lunch (12 to 15:30) and dinner (19:00 to 23:30)