The Simple and Quality Cuisine of Moma Restaurant in Rome, Italy

Posted by Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 3/10/2020

The Simple and Quality Cuisine of Moma Restaurant in Rome, Italy

Embracing two styles of culinary offerings throughout the day, Moma Restaurant is a unique kind of restaurant with two chefs directing two kitchens. It is set in a two-storey building wherein the ground floor functions as a bistrot with a large bar, open for breakfast and lunch with simple and fast gastronomic offers while the second floor is employed as Moma's Michelin-starred restaurant, the gourmand soul which offers a well-researched menu.

Franco Pierini, Andrea Pasqualucci and Gastine Pierini

When Moma was opened by brothers Gastone and Franco Pierini fifteen years ago, they had a clear objective: to make the place a cozy and elegant dining room serving approachable gastronomic proposals with carefully selected ingredients that can sustain the whole span of the day. The brothers grew up in the world of catering when they started working in a small bar opened by their mother. This experience was the jumping point of their successful stories in the the culinary world at the La Fattoria Restaurant, Caffè Italiano, La Buvette and Pro Loco Pinciano, a landmark of the excellence of Lazio region products. 

Bistrot 

The bistrot on the ground floor is a place where the kitchen, manned by Franco Pierini, is expressed through simple and fast gastronomic offers but without losing sight of the qualities of the cuisine that Moma stands for. The bar service accompanies the clients throughout the day from breakfasts of freshly-baked croissants, biscuits, pastries, and an assortment of sandwiches while lunch, which starts at 11:30 AM, adopts a healthy quick and light menu of different dishes depending on the ingredients procured for that day. Do expect delectable Italian dishes of fish, meat and vegetable like eggplant parmigiana, rice sartù, codfish pie, meatballs with tomato sauce, and octopus salad.

  Restaurant 

An easy and quality cuisine, as described in the Michelin Guide, which earned its star in 2019, Moma offers gastronomic proposals that are easily approachable to the palates of its guests made with modern techniques and well-selected raw materials directly from local small breeders, farmers, fishermen which highlight optimum quality and seasonality. The choice reflects the philosophy of the Pierini brothers and the Moma Restaurant chef, Andrea Pasqualucci, both life and in the kitchen. The goal is to enhance the ingredients used in the dishes by working on them properly and as little as possible while preserving their original flavors. It's a goal that Pasqualucci has attained in his outstandingly delectable dishes.   

Directing the kitchen of the restaurant since 2017 is Roman-born Chef Andrea Pasqualucci. Coming from an impressive line-up of working experiences in the kitchens of important Michelin-starred Italian chefs before Moma, Pasqualucci considers mentor Chef Armando De Giorgi as the one who helped his passion for cooking mature after graduating from catering school. From Aroma with Chef Giuseppe Di Iorio to Chef Oliver Glowing at Hotel Aldrovandi and finally to Madonnina del Pescatore with Chef Moreno Cedroni, Pasqualucci has refined his knowledge in proper techniques and the importance of choosing the right ingredients.

Moma Restaurant offers both lunch and dinner services. For lunch, the à la carte menu is available as well as a three-course Tasting Menu called Uguale Per Tutti (€55) including coffee and petit four, which is designed for the working clientele with limited time available. For dinner, in addition to the à la carte menu, there are two Tasting Menus: Moma 2.0 (€75) with amuse-bouche, appetizer, pasta or risotto, main course, pre-dessert and dessert. Wine pairing of 3 glasses (€30) can also be added. Cambiamenti (€95) is comprised of amuse-bouche, two appetizers, two dishes of pasta or risotto, one main dish, pre-dessert and a dessert. Additional €40 for wine pairing of 4 glasses is an option.

  The menu has options for appetizers between €14 to €22, first dishes of pasta and risotto at €16 to €18, main courses at €30 to €32 and desserts at around €10. The wine list, handled by Sommelier Federico Silvi, represents the best Italian and French wine regions focusing on the big classics, best bubbles and small artisan productions.  

All the dishes at the Cambiamenti Tasting Menu in February 2020 praiseworthy and the most notable ones are the Chamomile Risotto with Smoked Eel, Honey and Oregano and the Pumpkin Cappelletti, Amaretti and Provolone Cheese Fondue.