La Pergola (*) – Rome

TLDR: Familiar flavors executed to perfection with beautiful presentation. Flawless service well worthy of the 3 stars.

The Setting:
La Pergola is on the top floor of the Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri Hotel overlooking the city. They recently completed a renovation so the dining room felt very fresh and a bit more modern than the rest of the hotel. Tables face the spectacular view of the city.

The Food:
La Pergola offers a 7 or 10 course tasting menu as well as a 2-4 course prix fixe a la carte menu. We opted for the 7 course menu at 300 Euro each.

Service opened with an array of amuse plated tableside. I can’t recall the specific dishes, but it was 5-6 bites with more of a seafood focus. Everything was plated beautifully and was light but flavorful.

Next were two seafood courses, including a perfectly cooked piece of lobster with an interesting combination of flavors from the licorice, spinach, and beans.

The two pasta dishes were real standouts (it is Italy after all). The burnt grain tagliolini with rabbit and sweet pepper was a bonus dish from the chef. Very savory with some smoky notes. The fagottelli La Pergola is a signature stuffed pasta filled with a carbonara-type sauce (the one food photo I actually got). It was amazing how light but packed with flavor the pasta was.

The turbot and lamb were solid dishes, particularly the sauces. Proteins were cooked perfectly.

I have a big sweet tooth, so I was really excited by the number of different dessert bites we got to try. In addition to the two listed desserts, they also brought out a box of 12 different bites to try (the silver box pictured).

The Drinks:
I’m far from the wine expert, but I was really happy with the wines that the somm poured for us. They were very accommodating and helped us choose a couple wines to have by the glass without having to do a full pairing. As a lightweight, I appreciate being able to try a couple of different wines without getting bombed.

There was also a comprehensive water menu with bottles from all over the world. We had some sparkling water from Georgia that was pretty interesting. It felt a little gimmicky, but it was pretty fun having so many options to choose from.

The Service:
Having been to only one other 3 star place (Osteria Francescana), dining at La Pergola made me finally understand what people mean when they say the service is what makes a 3 star restaurant. Every need was anticipated, but it never felt overbearing or like we were being constantly watched. It felt very formal, but not too stuffy. It’s clear the staff is top notch and that there was careful planning behind every element of the service.