Perpetual Ristorante in Rome, Italy

Posted by Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 2/05/2018

Perpetual Ristorante in Rome, Italy

Perpetual Ristorante is a 750 square meter space of gastronomic multi-purpose venue in Rome. It's a restaurant, a bistrot, a wine bar, kitchen and experimental food laboratory that are spread out in three levels. Half of the space is dedicated to the kitchen, another 80 square meters are assigned to a food laboratory while 150 square meters are committed to the dining areas. The spaces are elegant, minimal and there's a lot of space to move around. Wood, metal, and glass make up the interiors while the dramatic lighting of Davide Groppi plays a key role in the three floors of Perpetual which changes the mood. significantly. It has crossed the line of being just a restaurant to an oasis for gourmands where a team of chefs take them on gastronomic journeys of multitude of aromas and flavors.

It's easy to be overwhelmed with the interiors of Perpetual. Upon entry, the first thing that will catch your attention is the bar made with fossil wood from Kazakhstan. Just behind it is the large open kitchen separated with a glass panel door. In the next room is the bistrot which is dedicated for more informal dining. Leading up the stairs is the second level that opens to a small lounge with a wine cellar that leads the path to the more formal dining area. Behind a sliding wall, which communicates with the kitchen, lies the yeast and pastry laboratory. Finally, the last floor is reserved for the staff, with the gastronomic research laboratory and service areas.

Perpetual's kitchen is in constant motion in which it is built around the diners. Executive Chef Cezar Predescu and his 16-strong team of young, experienced chefs who have gained their knowledge and experiences from different corners of the globe take care of the kitchen while Cezar's wife, Daniela Ruse completes the circle being the pastry chef of the restaurant.

Chef Cezar Predescu moved from Romania to Italy twenty years ago. With deep comprehension of two cuisines combined with his team's international backgrounds, his kitchen reflects multiplicity. Knowledge, experience, diversity and new culinary techniques using high-end equipment complete the union of high gastronomy at Perpetual's kitchen. But it doesn't stop there because great attention is given to the nutritional aspects of the dishes as studied together with Chef Paolo Cappuccio. The right balance of fibers, proteins, carbohydrates and fats are placed in the same level of importance as the gustatory and visual impact of every dish.

The menu of Perpetual is decisively contemporary but it keeps a traditional base. There is a careful research for raw materials that are transformed using modern techniques. The entries dynamize a normal meal. Dining at Perpetual is extraordinary, fun to discover new things, consistent with excellence and an unforgettable experience.

There are two options for the Tasting Menus:

11 courses at €85

7 courses at €60

If you choose à la carte, the prices of the each of the dishes remain constant at:

Antipasti (Appetizers) at €22

Primi Piatti (Pasta) at €20

Secondi Piatti (Main Course) at €32

Dolci (Desserts) at €14

Wine Pairing:

3 glasses of wine at €18

5 glasses of wine at €30

Note: Prices can always change. Please refer to Perpetual's website for current prices.

Getting the Tasting Menu is always the best way to get to know the chef's concept of cooking. His beliefs, his stories, his personality and his capacity shine through the dishes that he creates for the whole course of tasting. For my dinner at Perpetual, I was treated to the 11-course meal with wine pairing. It was a remarkable dinner with perfectly-paired wines. Including a couple of sake in the wine pairing was an interesting opener for more diversity of combinations. If you have the time to relax over good food, a dining experience at this restaurant is highly recommendable.

Menu Degustazione (Tasting Menu)

Millefoglie

Olio e Pane (Selezione 46° Parallelo)

Carabineros: Carpaccio di gambero rosso, mela acida e crème fràiche

Indivia e Radicchio: Pralinè alle noci e pinoli

Carbonara 2018

Gnocchi

Merluzzo

Sacher: Coda, cioccolato e demiglace

Lampone Candito

Nuvola: Kefir, beraamotto e lici

Panino al Cioccolato: Gelato al lievito madre e cioccolato caldo

Millefoglie con fegato di vitello e scorza d'arancia (millefeuille veal liver and orange zest) paired with Bera Moscato d'Asti DOCG 2016. Liver is not one of my preferred ingredients but this millefeuille has the right quantity of everything. The orange and liver blended together quite well and with the aromatic effervescence of the wine cleansed the fat in the mouth.

Agraria Riva del Garda 46° Parallel extra virgin olive oil, a blend of Casaliva, Frantoio and Leccino olives and their own freshly-baked bread paired with Vezzoli Franciacorta Pas Dosè Vendemmia Zero. Three kinds of very good bread with different consistencies that you can dip in harmonious fruity oil.

Carabineros: Carpaccio di gambero rosso, mela acida e crème fraîche (red shrimp carpaccio, sour green apple and creme fraîche) paired with Tohokuizumi Toku Sake. Sake may not be so commonly paired with food in Italian restaurants but I appreciated eating this dish with fermented rice wine because it gave a wider perception of exquisite tastes.

Indivia e Radicchio, pralinè alle noci e pinoli, osmosis di camomila (endive and radicchio, pralinè of walnut and pine nuts, osmosis of chamomile) paired with Rosé d’un jour” 2017 Ferme de la Sansonnière. This is the most distinct of all, both the food and the wine. Endives and radicchio are known for their bitterness that when grilled or roasted, mellows down a bit. I love the simplicity of this dish and the amalgamation of all the flavors together spiked by the peculiar complex wine with its well-pronounced earthiness.

Carbonara 2018: spuma di uovo, guanciale e bieta (egg foam, guanciale and chard stalk) paired with Sergio Mottura Latour a Civitella 2011. This is a very curious representation of the carbonara wherein the pasta is replaced by chard stalks that tended to exude a bit of water.

Gnocchi fatti con le patate cotte sotto la cenere, con tartufo bianco (gnocchi made with charcoal-roasted potatoes sprinkled with white truffles) paired with A. Christmann Gimmeldinen Riesling 2014. Perhaps this is the one of the strengths and it is decisively the most favored dish in the tasting menu. Soft and fluffy gnocchi with a touch of smokiness exalted by the aromatic white truffle.

Merluzzo, essenza di spine, crema di casa nostra (cod with house cream) paired with

Tenuta Dettori Dettori Bianco 2016. Tender and moist cod on a bed of delectable cream with pronounced herbs and spices paired with complex, unfiltered Vermentino fermented and aged in cement vats. The fish and wine together rendered such richness in the palate.

Sacher: coda, cioccolato e demi-glace (sacher: oxtail, chocolate and demi-glace) paired with Amerighi Syrah 2014. Very distinct dark and bitter chocolate, tender meat and luscious demi-glace. A great pairing with the Syrah.

Lampone candito (candied raspberry) and Nuvola: kefir, bergamotto e lici (kefir sorbet, bergamot orange and lychee cream) paired with Casale Certosa Malvasia Puntinata Passito 2015. The raspberry was a refreshing bite after the long dinner. It's just the right size to rejuvenate the palate to the coming succession of sweet tastes. The Nuvola is just like its name. It's a dreamy, soft and fresh dessert with absolutely beautiful and delicate flavors. I can easily eat ten of these!

Panino al Cioccolato: gelato al lievito madre e cioccolato caldo (chocolate sandwich: gelato of mother or natural yeast and hot chocolate) paired with Konishi Hiyashibori Gold Sake. Another curious creation with a very good outcome served with sake.