Osteria Bonelli

I stumbled upon this place almost by accident, walking by around lunchtime. No frills from the outside, your typical old-school Roman trattoria.

Let me start with the gricia because it's the dish that left me most puzzled. Yes, it's good. Only, it's not a gricia in my opinion. Too much pecorino, a thick creamy coating that smothers everything. It becomes more of a cacio e guanciale, tasty for sure, easy to eat, but not what I'm after in a gricia. The pecorino should play second fiddle, but here it's calling all the shots. And then the guanciale—scrawny, neither crispy nor tender. Meh, it made me wince. I know plenty of people love it, but I just didn't get it.

The supplì, on the other hand, I enjoyed. Crispy breading as it should be, rich ragù throughout. The filling was slightly dry with a hint of pepper I'd never come across anywhere else. Not bad at all.

Tiramisu to finish: good but with some rough edges. There are bitter notes, crunchy bits, all fine. The problem is the cream was too sweet and the balance between sweet and bitter a bit all over the place. You eat a spoonful and taste one thing, the next spoonful is completely different.

Service is what you'd expect: friendly but gruff, very Roman. The price is fair, 17 euros per person for a trattoria like this.

I've got that annoying feeling I ordered the wrong dishes. Like if I'd gotten something else, things would have turned out differently. So yes, I'll be back, but I'm changing everything.