Restaurant Review: Gelateria la Romana

A couple of weeks ago I tried a new gelateria for the first time.  It's on Via del Ostiense and at night it that good or if the line was just because it's a new gelateria in an area that doesn't really have a gelateria has a line going right out the door.  I wasn't sure if the line meant that the gelato was
Well, I discovered that it is really that good.  The gelato is rich and creamy and the ingredients are fresh.  The gelato is made right in the back a couple of times a day as they run out of flavors.  They also have some really unique flavors that are spectacular.

The first time I went (it's so good that, yes, I've gone back a few times) I tried a large cup with 4 flavors and chocolate whipped cream.  They have 3 types of whipped creams: panna montata allo zabaione (a more traditional whipped cream), panna montata al cacao (chocolate whipped cream), and panna montata al caffe bio (organic espresso whipped cream).  The chocolate whipped cream was delcious but quite heavy and dense. It was almost like a 5th flavor of gelato.  I would get it again with lighter, fruity flavors rather than the flavors that I actually had.

That being said, I got some wonderful flavors.  I tried the cioccolato fondente, dark chocolate, my usual go to flavor.  It was rich and dense but not too sweet which is just how I like it.  I also tried the marscapone al caffe e cioccolato fondente. It was a cream based gelato made with sweet marscapone cheese (weird I know, but taste it! It's delicious) with a swirl of espresso and dark chocolate running through it.  It was rich and creamy and the flavors worked beautifully together in a great balance. The third flavor I tried was bacio di dama con mandorle tostate, a hazelnut gelato with toasted almonds.  It wasn't my favorite flavor but it was also quite good. For me, it just wasn't as memorable as the other flavors.
My favorite flavor was the croccante all'amarena. It was a delicious cream based gelato swirled with cherry and some crunch (I have no idea what the crunch was made of but it was amazing). It was a beautiful combination that wasn't too sweet or too heavy.
Another night I got a smaller cup with 3 flavors and their panna montata allo zabaione (plain whipped cream).  The plain whipped cream was quite good and definitely a little lighter than the chocolate whipped cream but it was still denser than I like.  I prefer my whipped cream even lighter and more airy (the way that I make it). I decided to stick with the croccante all'amarena and the cioccolato fondente because they were so good and I only tried one new flavor.  I decided to try their pesto di pistacchio, or pistachio ice cream.   They call it a "pesto" because there is freshly crushed pistachio in their gelato. It was so amazingly good and utterly delicious. The pistachio was lighter than the dark chocolate and full of fresh flavor.  It was one of the best pistachio gelatos that I've ever tried.  I highly recommend it.
Then two days ago I went again in the heat of the afternoon with my cousin from Torino. We decided to try their granita which is quite traditional in Sicily.  It's essentially flavored crush ice.  Different places serve it in different consistencies but I like it best when it has the consistency of a slushy.  Gelateria la Roma had amazing granitas. I tried the peach granita and the lemon granita in one large cup.  It was so delicious and I could probably drink/eat a gallon of it.  The peach granita was smooth and had the consistency of a lovely slushie except it had pieces of fresh peach in it. It was refreshing and amazingly creamy.  I could really taste the freshness of the peaches. The lemon was also really good and refreshing.  It was a little more icy than the peach but equally flavorful. I really, really recommend trying both because they're great in the hot sun.  They also had a coffee granita that I didn't try, but I imagine it's also delicious.
If you go at night, it is absolutely worth waiting on the line!

bright, clean and beautiful