Osteria Palmira

I stumbled upon Palmira almost by chance, looking for a place where I could take my time. And that's exactly what you get: the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to linger, relaxed, not one of those spots where you eat and dash off.

Let's start with the guanciale, because that's the thing. It was rather soft in both the amatriciana and the gricia. A shame, because the rest was solid. The amatriciana had genuinely good tomatoes—you could taste the quality—but that slightly limp guanciale leaves you thinking "it could have been." Same story with the gricia and its guanciale, except there was also way too much pecorino. Way too much. It overpowered everything.

But anyway, it's not like I left disappointed. Actually, at the start they brought us a warm panzanella, like a gently heated tartlet. Simple, nothing fancy, but spot-on. Balanced flavors, nothing complicated, one of those things that just works without trying.

The tiramisu at the end was very soft, delicious.

What struck me is that you can sense real attention to the ingredients. They don't just throw random things together. There's a genuine commitment to doing Roman cuisine properly, even if a few details could use some tweaking. The place makes you feel good—that's the real point. It's not just about the food.

Would I go back? Yes, maybe trying something else. Or perhaps the carbonara, who knows if the guanciale there is...