Ok. Bear with me.
I know you’ve become used to seeing gorgeous photographs of food, landscape and other pieces of Italy on my blog. And I realize that the above photo looks kind of like the type of dive you’d not only pass up, but probably not even notice. Rusty sign out front, cars almost driving through the dining room, and architecture that is reminiscent of an illegally built addition to an illegally built strip mall.
And when you saw the words ‘Santa Marinella’ in this post you were probably thinking more along the lines of this report, from my last visit to this sea side town north of Rome.
Last Sunday we headed back there, once again to visit my friends Doug and Guido. And once again Doug said “I know a great place.” But he’d been describing this place for a while, and it didn’t sound promising in terms of setting. And when we walked across the busy Via Aurelia (taking our lives in our hands) and headed into this place, you can imagine my trepidation.
Doug did warn me. He said it was kind of like eating in someone’s garage. He also swore that it was the best seafood restaurant in a town full of seafood restaurants.
Doug don’t lie.
Once we sat down in what has got to be the most jerry-rigged restaurant I’ve ever seen, the food started to arrive. Directly from the sea, with the all important stop in the Sardinian cook’s kitchen. Because while this place – a simple tavola calda – has rotated through a succession of owners over the years, the current proprietors hail from Sardinia and are now preparing and serving what everyone agrees is the best sea food in town.
First up: antipasti. Small plates alternated between fish and land. But by land I mean vegetables. And before we get to the fish, can I ask, when is the last time you had wonderfully cooked, fresh vegetables brought to the table with as much pride and care as the main event? These included zucchini tossed with mint; lemony bean and red onion salad; and a plate full of paper thin finocchio with big chunks of orange tossed in olive oil. We all agreed that the house marinated olives – with fennel seeds and red pepper – were the best any of us had ever had.
But back to the fish, which was of course the main event. Slowly stewed cuttlefish; snails bathed in tomatoes; raw squid ‘cooked’ in lemon juice and olive oil; tiny, crispy fried anchovies; the best seafood salad, full of crunch celery and carrots, ever; crayfish that held on to the tender morsels of sweet flesh for dear life. And since the owners were from Sardinia, brittle sheets of freshly baked carta musica, drizzled with oil, to make sure we pushed every last bite onto our forks.
And that was just the beginning.
We opted to for two pastas to share among the table. One spoke Sardo in a big way: mezzamaniche tossed with plump mussels and strong pecorino from Sardinia. The other was more local, and just as good: a tangle of spaghetti and every kind of bivalve imaginable.
Our attempt to skip a main course was thwarted by the table next to our. The couple had ordered lobster, and when it arrived the portions were so generous, that our table was the happy recipients of half. Fresh lobster, steamed just enough, piled dramatically atop a salad of potatoes, winter tomatoes and crunchy celery.
Needless to say, we didn’t order dessert. But that didn’t stop the waiter from bringing us each a perfectly made, dark chocolate truffle. And, (since they are from Sardinia) chunks of the lightest, fluffiest, almond-studded nougat.
I know you can go to other restaurants and get similar looking dishes. But believe me when I say, someone really knows what they are doing in this kitchen. Every single dish was perfectly prepared, using not only the freshest fish (which isn’t hard in this part of the world) but combining them with just the right seasonal vegetables (which is harder than you think and takes way more effort and skill).
We went in the dead of winter and ate in the wood-paneled architectural folly they call their addition. I guess in the summer you can nab one of the outside tables. (No. You won’t have a seaside view. And yes. It may feel like you’ll be hit by one of the cars speeding by on the Aurelia. ) Or eat in the main dining room, which makes no claims to be anything other than the flourescent-lit tavola calda it sort of is.
But do go. Did you notice the photograph I took of the bill? We were 8 people. The bill came to 170 euros (yes, we also had 3 bottles of wine). Did you do the math yet? That is 21 euros a person. Which is gonna make me really not care about the setting. You shouldn’t either. 
Tavola Azzurra 2
Via Aurelia 111/B
Santa Marinella
0766.510.632
389.973.9256
Open daily. Closed Mondays during winter.
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Oh this post makes me so happy that I could cry! The photos are amazing. I am headed to the area and will be sure to stop, eat and stay awhile. Than you for sharing.
Don’t cry!!
Oh I loved this post (I know, I seem to love all of them and am gushy, so be it). There is nothing, nothing better than a hole in the wall with insane food. I remember a taxi dropping my Mom and I off in New Orleans at the address of a restaurant friends sweared by. We both looked around because there was just a beaten up shack in front of us in a rather dodgy (at the time) neighborhood. It turned out to be Uglesich’s and to this day I have never eaten better fish (true, I haven’t been to Santa Marinella).
A bottle of Cannonau?
I read this mourning my location in charming, charming Marblehead on the other side of the sea from this fabulous-sounding meal. Even this veggie looks forward to checking it out. Thanks Elizabeth, as always, for helping me miss Italy to my bones.
That’s what I liked best, that there were so many veggies.
Often the worst looking places have the best food. We found an Asian place in Australia where the cooks would walk through wearing gumboots carrying buckets of who knows what….but oh wow the food was incredible and yes cheap as well. Your place looks amazing and worth the trip!
ciao lisa
So what does it matter if the surroundings are somewhat less than snazzy, after all you’re not eating them! Surely it’s all about the food and the company and wow that is some feast, it looks and sounds utterly divine – yum yum!!
Why do you post things like this! You make my mouth water —Thanks for sharing!
Janet
Florida, NY
Oh my!!! I’m going to spend 5 days in Rome, and i’ll definitely go to that place..
Thanks to Elizabeth for keeping us informed! It’s really great to learn about these little understated and hidden places. The photos of the desserts look pretty tempting.
My pleasure. The desserts were just the right thing after all that fish.
Never eat in a place with a view if you want the good food:) And say hello to Doug and Guido from me!
a Swedish girl in Rome
So true! (and I’ll say hi to Doug and Guido too!)
Wow-what an amazing meal and your photos complete the scene for us! Thanks so much.
Went there Sat for lunch and loved it – Except for the lack of Crayfish & Fennel salad (And lobster-ordering table neighbors 😉 ). Paid a tad more, since (as I suspect) as newcomers we were instead presented with a “registered” check… thank you Elizabeth for a great tip!
Wow, that was fast! Don’t worry about lack of crayfish – they were kind of dangerous to eat, with lots of sharp bits in between the tender morsels. Glad you liked it.
I am so excited and adding this to my next trip south! I plan my travel in Italy around your finds/adventures as it helps me explore areas I would unlikely go otherwise 🙂
Kristi (a greatful northern Italian ‘transplant’)
You’ll love it!
WOW! want to go there too… We found an amazing ‘Garage’ in Tulum, Mexico, where they grilled cactus leaves, we still speak about that experience, and the place was full in half an hour of opening! Nicky@Siena
Often the worst looking places have the best food. We found an Asian place in Australia where the cooks would walk through wearing gumboots carrying buckets of who knows what….but oh wow the food was incredible and yes cheap as well. Your place looks amazing and worth the trip!
I love your site! I am so glad I came across your post while planning a casual, fun & inexpensive day trip for my husband’s birthday. (Not to sound cheap but he’s in school here and I don’t have a work permit.) We had a long lunch at the restaurant before a quick dip and a long lounge on the beach. The meal was delicious, the server hilarious, and it was a wonderful day! The roundtrip train from Rome was 9-10euro/each & took about 30-40 mins each way. It was perfect.