Pasticceria GruèRome

Viale Regina Margherita, Sunday morning. We went there on purpose, because Gruè has the reputation of serving the best maritozzo in the capital. High expectations, let's say.

The place is beautiful, no question about it. Small outdoor seating, and inside a display case packed with everything: pastries of all kinds, puff pastries, savory croissants, salted pain au chocolat. You look around and want it all.

We start with the maritozzo, which is why we're here. Four euros, small size — and that already brings expectations down a notch. The cream, though, is serious business: soft, light, perfectly sweet. I found it genuinely good, almost sophisticated. The pastry holds up too: fluffy, compact just right. So yes, it's a good maritozzo. The best in Rome? Well, probably not. Among the best? Fair enough, sure.

The pain au chocolat: good chocolate inside, you can taste the butter. Except the surface wasn't shiny enough, looked more like it came from a bakery than a pastry shop. A small detail, but in a place like this you notice these things.

The profiterole — three choux buns stacked on top of each other, frozen cream and chocolate on top — was nice to look at. Pretty decent. Six euros is six euros, though, and for six euros you expect something that sticks with you. This didn't.

Between the two of us we spent 22 euros. Fair? More or less. The maritozzo yes, the profiterole less so.

Would I go back? For the cream on that maritozzo, yes.