Restaurant Review: Ciccia Bomba Rome, Italy “Reasonably Priced & Delicious”
One of our favorite restaurants when we visit Rome, Italy is Ciccia Bomba located at Via del Governo. We found the restaurant in our Rick Steves Rome book and Steves has never steered us wrong. Ciccia Bomba is a traditional trattoria that serves fabulous homemade pasta, great pizzas as well as Roman and Sicilian specialties. It is located about one block West of Piazza Navona, a perfect and convenient location in the heart of Rome.
You can sit inside the restaurant nicely but if the weather is good, and it almost always is, we prefer to sit outside and watch the people go by. It is a great people watching location, as long as you don’t mind the cars and scooters going by as well! The restaurant is frequented not only tourists, but by locals and in numbers – always a sign of a great Roman restaurant. We end up eating here several times each time we are in Rome.
One of our favorite appetizers at Ciccia is the Bruschetta with tomato and basil, it is the best we have had in Rome. Writing this makes me want to eat it right now.
Because we enjoy the Bruschetta so much our waiter, who spoke excellent English, suggested we try a trio. We selected olive crema, tomato and basil, and tomato with mozzarella they were all scrumptious. If I had to pick a favorite I would say mine was the tomato basil and my husband’s was the olive crema.
For my Primo, or first course, I started with the Rigatone Alla Carbonara (pasta, bacon and egg) and it was absolutely fantastic, the pasta cooked perfect. It was homemade and fresh. It had just the perfect combination of eggy taste and pancetta. My husband had the Gnocchi with Seafood and he loved it. The seafood was ample and fresh, the sauce delicious, and the Gnocchi simply out of this world. He claims that food just doesn’t get much better than this!
After this course I just could not eat more food so I skipped the Secondo or Main Meal. My husband had the Sliced Steak with Cherry Tomatoes Sicilian style which was excellent – he forced a taste or two on me. The large portion of tender marinated prime cut beef was mouthwatering and perfectly cooked. My husband often orders beef when in Rome as he says that it is the best anywhere.
Even though I could not order a Secondo I did manage to find a little space to fit in dessert. I ordered the Carmel Panna Cotta. It was the perfect ending to a perfect meal, creamy and carmely and obviously homemade.
The portions are generous and the taste always fresh and fantastic while the prices are very reasonable at Ciccia Bomba. But we need to mention the service as well. At every meal, lunch or dinner, the diner is made to feel special and welcome. This kind and attentive service just adds to the great experience we always have at Ciccia.
Our meal was approx £50 Euros and that included several cans of Pepsi light. The owners are very nice and always offer us a complimentary aperitif after our meal. On our last visit the owner invited me to come back and take pizza cooking lessons with them. I think I just might take them up on the offer next time I visit Rome.
So next time you are in Rome don’t miss Ciccia Bomba’s great Italian food at reasonable prices, we most highly recommend it!
Ciccia Bomba is located at Via del Governo Vecchio, 76, Rome, Italy