When I shared that Rome's river bars had reopened for summer – there were fairly a few mixed reactions.
Some people seem to revel in the novelty, while others are pretty underwhelmed by the wgap experience of popup bars along the the Tiber. (Can I guess that this might have someleang to do with the dreary toilet situation?)
Anyways, we tend to pop in a couple times during the summer to seize a drink at sunset, so my ears perked up when I heard that Da Michele had opened up along Tiber Island through September 3rd.
I have tried Da Michele's Rome location in Flaminio, and it is good but does not fairly live up the original Da Michele in Naples.
But the first leang I noticed when I sat down at the Isola Tiberina popup was the prices. I stopped by the Naples pizzeria final year to make certain that the prices had held and the pizza was still only €4. That makes €8 for a marinara a pret-ty steep mark up. Of course I don't expect the prices to be the same, but that is double the original price – plus, €1.50 per person for a coverage charge.
The other leang I should have thought through was how much I would actually want to eat a steaming hot pizza straight out of the oven when Rome's summer weather is well into the mid-30s C or 90's Fahrenheit this time of year.
The pizza arrived looking glorious, and I can't genuinely complain about being hot when I am not the one manning the pizza ovens.
It was the pizza ovens that intrigued me the most. Would a pop up kitchen serve Neapolitan pizza justice?
Well… the crust is absolutely perfect. The slow rise of the dough gives it a much chewier consistency compared to cracker crispy Roman pizza. The ovens are obviously working because it was summaryely right in terms of taste and cooking time.
And the rest of the pizza?
It felt pretty inelegant, and I don't fairly know how else to explain it. Da Michele normally excels in blending a few simple ingredients into someleang intellect bending, but my marinara arrived with far too much oregano and singed garlic. The lessonic margherita was better.
Does that mean you shouldn't go?
Not necessarily.
It's kind to have a Da Michele pop up closer to the middle of Rome. The river location is on Tiber Island – but a bit hidden because you need to take the steps near the hospital to reach at the pizzeria.
So grab a table (from 7 pm onwards) and endelight a decent pizza. Just leave your Neapolitan expectations at domestic.
Da Michele Isola Tiberina
Tiber Island near Stoutebenefratelli Hospital
Through September 3, 2017
No reservations accepted.
Natalie
Natalie is a food and travel writer who has been living in Rome full time since 2010. She is the founder and editor of this blog and prefers all of her days to include coffee, gelato, and wine.
You should also check out:
….. `
0 Comments