This is a hard one to write and I will admit up front that it’s not terribly fair. I’ve been wanting to eat at Roscioli New York since before it opened in July 2023 on one of my favorite little streets in the West Village. I’d been to the Rome establishment in October 2022 and loved it.
So what do they have in common? Both restaurants have that unique “eating fancy food in a deli” vibe. Lots of jars of marinated vegetables on the counter tops and chunks of cheese and salumi in the refrigerator case. With surroundings like this, you’d expect to be eating a panini so there’s a welcome counter-intuitiveness to the setting. Both places are thriving scenes, with people sitting close and talking energetically. Some may not like the noise, but it wasn’t hard to hear my dinner companion so it was fine with us. There’s also a good amount of crossover on the menu, especially in the pasta and antipasti sections.
If you’re looking for good Italian food, Roscioli NY will make you happy. But if you’re coming, like me, hoping for a piece of that Rome amazingness right in the heart of Manhattan, you are going to be disappointed. Take for example the above photo of one of Rome’s best known pastas, Cacio e Pepe, a simple, three-ingredient dish — pasta, pecorino cheese and black pepper. Four ingredients if you include the magic of hot water. If you look at these pictures, they don’t even look the same. The pasta in NY is served in a deeper bowl, with sauce pooling at the bottom where in Rome it lightly coats and sticks to the pasta and the pepper is more generous.
The mortadella appetizer is similar in NY and Rome. The above is what we were served in NY. One doesn’t need a photo of the Roman version to know charcuterie should be sliced much thinner than these thick pieces. And it wasn’t clear how we were supposed to eat those parmigiana shavings. They were too small to put on the ham or bread. I had expected small chunks you could dip in the balsamic.
On the positive side, the porchetta was sublime in both places. Don’t have a photo of the Roman version but this one was beautiful, topped with chanterelle mushrooms (my favorite) and served on a bed of celeriac puree. We shared all three courses so we’d have room for dessert. Alas, the Rome establishment gave us these incredible house-baked cookies at the end of our meal, shown below. Made from red wine and dusted with sugar, they are served alongside warm melted chocolate. You get them even if you don’t order dessert. I tried my hand making them once; they were fine but not even close to the real thing, so disappointed not to have this signature item available.
So where does that leave us? If you’re still reading, you know Rome clearly won. It’s not even close, but they did kind of have a two-century head start. So if you’ve never been to the one in Rome and you’re better at avoiding unfair comparisons, go to Roscioli NY. It’s a lively scene with good food and wines by the glass on one of the loveliest streets in the Village.
