In a city where restaurants come and go, it’s nice to have an “old dependable”-a place that doesn’t change with the trends and is a comfortingly consistent presence.
That’s what Trattoria Sant’Andrea is for me. Located in the upscale area of the Spanish Steps, this is a district where new eateries crop up with carefully constructed “Contemporary Style” and “Trendy Furnishings” to attract wannabe fashionistas but, too often, offer mediocre food of miniscule portions at elevated prices, because it’s all about “The Atmosphere” and “The Concept”. You might have a good meal at those places, but then the next time it will be dull, and, honestly, usually the service pretty much sucks.
Not so at Sant’Andrea. This place looks like it hasn’t been redone since the ’80s with its mirrored walls and simple furnishings. And that’s just fine by me because the menu and quality haven’t changed, either. Nor has the staff, most of whom have been there since long before my first foray into the joint. Nor has the clientele. There in the corner, there’s the old guy who comes here every day. He’s a reassuring presence whenever I walk in; he greets me, and returns his attention to his plate of cacio e pepe. Every time.
We’ve been dining at Sant’Andrea since one of our early trips and have fond memories of dinners with family members who are no longer with us, of good meals in good company regaled by laughter, warmth and good food. It’s like a refuge in the sea of “tourist places,” it is a place where Roman cuisine becomes comfort food, and where workaday Romans mingle with the tourists. The spaghetti with cacio e pepe is perfetto; the pasta with lamb sauce in bianco is lip-smacking good. The saltimbocca alla Romana was a dish I tasted on my first visit to the Eternal City and one which I eternally order because, despite its simplicity, it’s just so darn delicious. The puntarelle with anchovy sauce is amazing (and I don’t normally like anchovies!).
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Sant’Andrea just delivers. No fuss, no frills. But they’re nice and the food is honest-to-goodness, and the prices aren’t bad, either. The only concession to “modernism” or “tourist trends” that we have noted since our first visit is that they now put a little ceramic oil bowl on the table for those foreigners who insist that bread *must* be dipped in olive oil come-what-may (nevermind that Italians don’t do that). I don’t agree, but I can live with it. (The owners were also clever enough to offer the bowls for sale as a souvenir, so there ya go.) There are a few tables out on the street for nice weather dining al aperto.
Otherwise, the trattoria is just that – a trattoria, without marketing or gimmicks or fancy furnishings. And that is why I always go back.
Trattoria Sant’Andrea
Via Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, 8