GLASS HOSTARIA

Cristina Bowerman è una chef senza pari. I suoi piatti giocano su dei sottili equilibri fatti di sapori concentrati e consistenze eteree. Magnifico il menù vegetariano che consiglierei a tutti carnivori o meno con una menzione d'onore al cavolfiore alla brace (con una zuppa di miso infusa della fermentazione stessa del cavolfiore), ai ravioli liquidi di parmigiano 60 mesi e agli spaghetti di cime di rapa. Ma ancora più interessanti alcune aggiunte al menù (chieste da noi o pensate dalla chef) con il sashimi di ricciola che si distingue anche grazie ad uno zenzero lavorato in maniera eccelsa e le linguine miso e tartufo che fanno saltare sulla sedia. Per contro i prodotti da forno giocano sulle consistenze e sulla masticabilità eccellenti ma in stile diverso dal menù. Ottima la carta dei vini e molto buono anche il servizio. L'architettura del locale è interessante. Torneremo certamente. Ritornati confermiamo il giudizio e aggiungiamo alla menzione le linguine con funghi croccanti e l'oyster mushroom. Ormai habitué del pranzo del primo gennaio da Glass torniamo ancora e fra classici riconfermati, nuovi piatti e il tartufo siamo sempre più soddisfatti. La nuova menzione va al fungo glassato alla soia con gelato di nocciola e tartufo che chiude alla grande il menù vegetariano cui siamo felicemente fedeli di anno in anno.

Une belle expérience culinaire

This was our first Michelin star experience and perhaps we expected too much but we felt quite let down by the end of it. We ordered the tasting menu each.
The food: creative, most were mind blowing; although some were just mediocre. The dessert was to die for - I’m still dreaming about the passion fruit cream.
The ambiance: dimly lit, was quiet when we walked in at 7pm but became lively from 8:30pm. We were sat on second floor so it was more private and dark compared to ground floor.
The service: very formal but quite soulless. Towards the end we felt as if we were forgotten because our last 2 courses took half an hour to come out, whereas other tables had gotten theirs before us and we were there first. No explanation, no apologies.
Would I recommend? Maybe. Would we come back? Maybe not anytime soon.

Tutto perfetto stella meritatissima

Reality didn't meet expectations. Stars deducted for wine and incomplete balance of flavors and textures.

We selected the vegetarian tasting menu. Glass Hosteria was listed as 1 of 7 in the Rome list of "Discovery" from the 50 Best. We were excited having never been disappointed by any top 50 or 100 Best Restaurants or those on their Discovery lists. We chose the vegetarian option as how a chef treats non-meat dishes can showcase their ability. Unfortunately the menu we received seemed like an afterthought, often feeling like the dishes just removed the meat rather than coming from their own conception.

Wine - We also selected the wine pairing - 4 wines across 8 courses (each wine covering two courses). While the wines themselves were probably fine and paired well with the dishes, the issue was the amount. Each pour was ~1.5 oz, meant to be "savored" over 2 courses. We've had many tasting menus with wine pairings - 1.5-2 oz may be typical for 1 course, however dividing over 2 means guests receive 1-2 small sips per course. Overall leaving very little wine for the 2nd of the intended paired courses. With 6 oz of wine over 3.5 hours, by the end we just wanted to leave and put the whole thing behind us.

Food - With a tasting menu, the guest trusts it will be a complete meal experience - most plates should (with small exception) be composed of textural interest and balance of flavor. Throughout the meal, the general theme was soft texture and lack of acidity.

After some promising amuse bouches, the dishes started with Palak with paneer spheres - while this was our favorite dish for flavor, there was a soft texture throughout. Texture interest could easily be added by including 1 of the crisps or crackers provided at other separate points in the meal during this dish instead.

The next was salsify with chard black garlic - this again had pretty good flavor but could add another textural component.

The next dish unfortunately really hastened the decline of our experience, orzotto cacio e pepi with candied lemon and orange peel. Half our table choked this dish down out of politeness while the other half was unable to finish it. This was a full bowl (1 or 2 bites could be palatable, but a bowl became over-powering very quickly). Texturally it was all the same - soft with the exception of the al dente pasta and the diced lemon and orange peel that was the same size and texture as the pasta. Flavor - while the name says cacio e pepi, the only thing we could taste was salt - yes, aged parmesan is salty, but this tasted like the water to cook the pasta had been double salted and then added to the sauce in addition to the cheese. While you would expect pepper to have some heat, there was no heat, only salt. Wine would have helped to cut some of the salt, but unfortunately being the 2nd of the 2 courses to share the wine pairing, hardly any wine was left to wash away this dish. Many things could be done to help save this dish - acid, bitter, texture diversity - but weren't.

The ravioli with 60-month aged parmesan was technically perfect, pillowy soft ravioli with delicious cheese and truffle, but after the orzotto and other soft dishes it was starting to feel very boring.

The roasted cauliflower - texture getting somewhat better, however based on the named spices, more flavor could have been present but wasn't. I appreciated the addition of kefir which did add acid to this dish, however the ratio overpowered the rest of the ingredients leaving the dish unbalanced.

The chocolate, hazelnut, and porcini dessert FINALLY had some textural contract and was perfect as is.

To finish the evening the petit fours also left room for improvement - it was only sweet across the board. While the raspberry gel was an opportunity to let the tartness of raspberry shine, it was unfortunately just sweet and lacking in interest to compete against the 2 other sweets.

2-stars due to wine (skip the pairing) and so many missed opportunities for balanced, complete dishes.