Le Jardin de Russie Restaurant

Le Jardin de Russie, located in the prestigious Hotel de Russie near Piazza del Popolo, is one of the premier restaurants of Rome.  Recently, double-Michelin-star chef Fulvio Pierangelini, renowned throughout Italy, brought along his twenty-five years of experience to join Chef Nazzareno Menghini in introducing a true gourmet renaissance of traditional Italian cuisine.  Chef Pierangelini, having built his stellar reputation at his seafood restaurant Il Gambero Rosso in Lan Vincenzo, Livorno, creates signature dishes and menus, such as his Sunday traditional lunch, one of the many treats we discovered on the day we visited this magnificent dining establishment. 

As we passed through the lobby of the Hotel, we noticed the lovely garden area where handsomely decorated tables adorned the outdoor courtyard.  As the days grow warmer after winter’s chill, travelers will gather and dine here in abundance amidst this historic Giardino Segreto or “Secret Garden” in which also lies a world-class butterfly oasis.  Although the afternoon sun shone brightly on a few outdoor guests, we chose to dine indoors on this particular Sunday in February.  We were seated and welcomed by Mr. Mario Sciascia, the maitre d’hotel, who thoroughly (and enthusiastically!) described the menu's offerings.  Sunday’s traditional lunch, he explained, consisted of four items that might be considered typical of Italian family fare.  For the first course there is Culatello ham from Zibello, served with a small salad.  Next is lasagna with ragu, followed by roasted farmyard chicken with crispy potatoes.  For desert, a custard ice cream was to be served.

As we studied the rest of the menu and considered the vast array of options, we decided to try a variety of dishes to fully explore the talents of these much-heralded chefs.  For starters we ordered three items.  My wife ordered tempura of deep fried zucchini flowers and King prawns.  The bright, yellow flower of the zucchini was enveloped in crispy tempura batter and, after enjoying the light, crunchy taste, it melted deliciously onto the palate.  The prawns were both sweet and delicate, a fitting complement to the tempura.  I ordered the gratinated scallops with orange panure.  This was served in a lovely shell.  Every time I lifted my fork, I savored each bite, only grudgingly sharing a tiny morsel of a scallop with my two dining companions, who also thought my dish was outstanding.  As I sit now writing this review, I can confidently say that this dish may have been my favorite of the entire meal.  My son ordered the mixed salad “De Russie,” a blend of a dozen different greens served with balsamic vinegar and oil.  And, oh, not to forget, the delicious bread choices that were consistently replenished to our table were accompanied by Chef Pierangelini’s own extra virgin olive oil concoction.  It was magnificent.  To add to our enjoyment, we ordered a bottle of Ca’ del Bosco cabernet sauvignon, Curtefranca, 2004.  It had a hint of spiciness and a slight tannin aftertaste that was not at all unpleasant or overpowering.  Whereas a white wine may have better accompanied some of our delicate fish choices, the cabernet, it turned out, provided a nice overall balance to the meal as a whole, considering some of the dishes that were to follow.

For the next course I chose a Sedanini pasta Amatrice style.  This was a cylindrical noodle that came from north of Tuscany and had been introduced by Chef Pierangelini upon his arrival at the restaurant.  Since the number of pasta choices in Italy, it is said, equals approximately the number of days of the year, one does not have to feel foolish if he comes upon a selection of pasta that is unfamiliar.  Even our well-informed server told us that this particular pasta was new to him.  It was served with two kinds of peccarino cheese, which I thought brought out more of the flavor of the sauce and added to my enjoyment greatly.  My wife ordered ravioli with Roman broccoli, burrata and bottarga. This was particularly rich due to its buttery taste.  Our son, the young spaghetti connoisseur, was delighted with his guitar spaghetti with tomato and basil.  As an additional course, our server brought us a complimentary dish of the Culatello ham from Zibello, the appetizer found on the Sunday Lunch that accompanies the lasagna and roasted chicken.  Mario suggested that we add a small pat of butter to smooth out some of the tart taste of the ham.  Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have thought to do this, but we followed his direction.  There was a certain mildness to the taste, but since I didn’t try the ham without the butter beforehand, I didn’t have a means of comparison. 

For our main courses we distributed our choices evenly over the realms of seafood, poultry and meat.  My wife ordered a lovely fillet of John Dory fish with artichoke.  Each bite was mild, tender and succulent.   Our growing teenager ordered a very nice fillet of beef (well cooked) served with spinach.  Whereas he had been served a rare steak on another occasion elsewhere in Italy (after requesting that it be cooked to a medium color of pink), this steak was actually cooked without much color remaining.  Nevertheless the taste, flavor and texture were perfect.  My choice was the roasted chicken that came with the typical Sunday Italian lunch option.  I found the chicken to be tender and more moist than other chicken I had eaten in Italy.  The flavor of the chicken had truly been enhanced by the roasting process.  I learned that Chef Pierangelini was responsible for introducing his own line of chicken to his new assignment.  Our server also informed us that Pierangelini would be consulting and training chefs throughout the Rocco Forte Collection of hotels.  Evidently the management discovered something uncommonly brilliant about his unique style of culinary art and expertise and decided it would be advantageous to spread his influence.

And then came the desserts!  Mario asked us if we could wait another ten minutes or so, inasmuch as it would take some time to make the preparations.  Why shouldn’t we?  We were in no hurry, and we didn’t want to miss out on the choices ahead.  First of all, you should know that we found at least ten different dessert choices on the menu, so making a choice is not such an easy proposition.  However, I don’t think you could go wrong, in whatever you decided.  The dessert listed at the top of the card and recommended by our server was Chocolate fondant with passion fruit sorbet.  This was the dessert that took ten minutes to prepare (for it was like a soufflé), and it was worth the wait!  Once again, as we each shared a taste with our dining companions by passing it around, we found it difficult to surrender this particular plate.  Mario confirmed that this dessert was, indeed, the most popular of all the selections.  My wife could never resist tiramisu, and the presentation of the Tiramisu “De Russie” may have been one of the most spectacular we’d ever seen.  Custard ice cream, the choice on the Sunday Lunch, was also delivered to our table.  It had a refreshing, palate-cleansing taste to put a satisfying finish to our wonderful meal.  In a final gesture of warm hospitality, Mario brought us a plate of petit-fours accompanied by freshly made cannolo siciliano, a regional specialty.  Accompanied by a cappuccino, our meal was now complete. 

Because the day was so lovely and the Secret Garden was beckoning us, we decided to stroll outside and up the steps to have a closer look at this incredible terraced garden.  More than one thousand years earlier (in the 7^th century, actually) there had once been a modest vineyard in this location.  Later, Cardinal Caffarelli Borghese bought the land to create a “Villa of Delights,” and the nearby Gardens of the Villa Borghese remain to this day.  By the early 18^th century architect Giuseppe Valadier re-designed the interior of the antique building that is now the Hotel De Russie, along with the secret garden that today stretches back on the property as far as the Pincio.  Valadier followed the garden fashion of his period with paths and resting areas.  Today, under the direction of Antonella Daroda, the Secret Garden is being restored to enhance its original design.  In Valadier’s time the garden contained an orchard, and today there are still orange and fig trees to be found.  New lawns and flower beds are being replanted to give the garden a typical Mediterranean look and white roses have been planted to flourish throughout.  Here we found an oasis of peace in the heart of Rome, an elegant resting place and a stunning complement to a truly marvelous gastronomic dining experience. 

Hotel de Russie
Via del Babuino 9
00187 Rome, Italy
Telephone: +39 06 32 88 81
Fax: +39 06 32 88 88 88
www.hotelderussie.it, www.roccofortecollection.com
E-mail: reservations@hotelderussie.it