Fraschetta Osteria Dar VignaroloAriccia

Mandatory caveat: visit this place armed with plenty of patience, at least if you go on weekends or holidays when everyone flocks to Ariccia. The service is simply not proportional to the number of covers. The restaurant has three dining rooms plus an outdoor space under the arch of the bridge—too many for a small kitchen and for waiters who are charming but decidedly makeshift. You could probably shorten your stay by ordering only the mixed antipasto, which is very good, and desserts, thus skipping the first and second courses altogether, which seem to be the establishment's real bottleneck. As for the food, the antipasto is excellent: a mix of cured meats (various salamis, prosciutto, coppa and coppiette), mixed cheeses, ricotta, mozzarellas, some marinated vegetables, and an outstanding porchetta. The first courses are clever—we tried gricia and carbonara, where a creamy pecorino-based sauce satisfies less demanding palates for both dishes without offending tradition too much. The spartan semi-express tiramisu is good too. Overall, I'd call it an excellent fraschetta, understood in the original essence of a Roman fraschetta—that is, a place where you spend holidays in company, in a simple, almost rough manner, drinking, eating, and singing for several hours, without watching the clock too closely and without expecting to be pampered, served, and revered as if you were in a Michelin-starred restaurant.