Today Pizzarium, Gabriele Bonci’s famed pizza al taglio joint, had its grand reopening on Via della Meloria in Rome. The shop, which has been closed for the last month, has undergone complete remodeling.
The pizzeria was gutted and rebuilt, bringing some improvements and couple of drawbacks. First off, the good stuff: The interior is still tight, and indeed lost 15cm of depth, which was donated to the kitchen space. However, the tiny storefront has more elbow room than the previous shop. The till is still on the left when you walk in, but the area displaying the pizzas has been moved to the back wall. About a quarter of the pizza area is dedicated to a bread display. A word to the wise: buy some. Bonci’s bread is made with the same long fermentation process approach, natural yeasts, and high quality flour that he uses for his pizzas. Personally, I think Bonci should be more celebrated for his bread than his pizza, and anyone who walks out of Pizzarium without a loaf of bread should be categorized as clinically insane. So what if you’re full? Just do it.
Now for the drawbacks: There is only one fridge (for now) and therefore the beverage selection is limited. Where did all that great beer go? Bonci is still trying to figure out where to put them. Small fridges on the floor by the till have been proposed. Possibly worse news is that the measurements for the ledges where people will be able to lean their trays was messed up, so for now, clients must eat standing up at an uncomfortable IKEA bookcase or snag a bench outside. When installed the sidebars, which will trim the opposing walls on the left and on the right, will be handy, unless the place is packed. At peak times be prepared to wait for a bench outside if you want a reasonably comfortable place to sit.
Back to the good news: the kitchen is completely new and Bonci will be using that extra 15cm of space to bake excellent breads and pizza by the slice for his faithful clientele. Expect the same quality ingredients and excellent dough that made make Pizzarium one of Rome’s premier pizzerias.
Pizzarium is located at Via della Meloria (near the corner of Via Cipro).
Open Mon-Saturday
06-39745416
