Rome is a classic city, monumental and historic, where despite the bustle of being kind of a touristic themed park, its people keep the past well present, as well as the respect for tradition and still look at change and modernity with severity, namely in terms of gastronomy.
It’s a city where it’s easy to find some great restaurants with emblematic dishes, well rooted in the Roman culture, simple, and based on product quality. However, when looking at haute cuisine, the choice is a bit more complicated, there are several starred restaurants of course, but the majority of them very classical without great irreverence or cultural shock as it already happens in other known restaurants in Italy.
But there is an exception, the Metamorfosi, born in one of the classiest neighborhoods in the city, by the hands of Roy Caceres, a Colombian that came to Italy to cook, passing by restaurants like Il Pelicano, Locanda Solarola and Pipero before going, in 2010, on his own adventure.
The restaurant, recently renewed, is a breath of fresh air in the city, recreated with a certain Japanese influence, where less is more, with a minimalist decoration and the use of wood screens to create cozier and more intimate areas in the room.
Olive oil and salt crackers
We are welcomed with snacks arriving quickly at the table, starting with some interesting olive oil and salt crackers and a cocktail of Vodka, Tequilla, basil, ginger, cardamom, kaffir lime and Indian figs.
cocktail
Crunchy seed bread, marinated fish and curry cream
Followed a crunchy seed bread, marinated fish and curry cream, a snack with an interesting contrast of flavors and textures, where the curry cream raises the bar. Then we had some Chicory tips, with anchovy mayo and sesame dust, delicate, crunchy and full of flavor.
Chicory tips, with anchovy mayo and sesame dust
So just you don’t doubt the chef’s origins, next up were some delicious and sinful Arepas filled with meat. Perfect I dare say!
Arepas filled with meat
Crunchy celery, mussels, potato foam, black salt and marjoram, where and unfortunately, despite the interesting textures, the delicate flavor of the mussels was completely lost in the combination.
After this interesting start, and with huge expectations, we made a pause, but not a common pause, a break so the bread arrives at the table, which here gets a specific moment. The bread created by the Swedish sus-chef John Regefalk, who fell in love with the art of bakery during his passing through Noma.
The aromatic side, the good level of hydration and an excellent crust make this bread the best we tasted in Italy. Accompanying was an interesting olive oil sorbet, allowing a good temperature contrast with the bread.
Tuna taco and herbs
A return to Latin America with an inspired Taco, in which the tortilla is replaced with leafs of several plants and herbs. A light dish, elegant, that takes street food to fine dining, raising the bar and the flavors. On the other hand, the dish shows very well the identity of Roy Caceres that was seen all over the menu, with the resource to fresh herbs and the contrast between the vegetable freshness and the remaining flavors and textures.
After the cocktail, followed a Riesling Fritz Haag, Trocken from 2015, an easy wine, without much complexity that conquers for its good acidity and the tropical and citrus notes. A good harmonization!
Carbonara
A dish that reminds us very well where we are, with a very well accomplished version. Without using pasta of any type, the dish lives of the good egg cooked at low temperature, of the guanciale, the combination of Parmigiano and pecorino, the cracklings, transporting us immediately to the comfy flavor of the Roman classic. Very well accomplished!
On the glass, we also traveled through Italy, more precisely to the region of Umbria, with a Chardonnay Bramìto from 2015, Castello della Sala, an interesting white of great potential, with an elegant tone and appetizing nose, complex, with tropical, citric and some vanilla notes. In the mouth, its structure and acidity reveal great freshness, cutting well the greasiness of the dish.
Anti Pasta
The name says it all, a pasta dish, that in reality is not! To create a kind of linguini, the chef uses a fish broth, dehydrated, cut and then hydrated again, giving it a huge intensity of flavor and a texture similar to a thin rice pasta. The dish grows even more with the sauce, made of shrimp heads, squid, prawns and a lemon gel with herb dust that gives it that freshness the chef seeks in every dish. Very good!
To harmonize, the choice went to a Rosé from Tuscany, Bibbona SOF 2015 from Tenuta Campo di Sasso, inspired by the Provence wines, with strawberry, pomegranate, gooseberry and balsamic notes. In the mouth revealed less exuberant but its acidity and elegance allowed the sea flavors of the dish to stand out.
Mushroom risotto, caramelized hazelnut, and robiola cheese
Another Italian classic hidden in a “Japanese drum”, with a cape of onion and dried mushrooms, that melts while pouring the Robiola cheese cream. As to the risotto itself, it was the most comfortable and classical dish of the menu, made with great rigor and rich in flavor and texture. With some truffle chips, it would’ve been unforgettable for sure!
Accompanying was a Verduzzo 2012 from Bressan, with a wide and fresh nose, despite the honey apricot, peach and pear notes. In the mouth, its structure and persistency turned it into a great company to the textures and flavors of the risotto.
Wagyu, onion and mint sauce with eggplant, satay sauce and herbs
Dish and sides served and plated separately, once again showing the accuracy and gastronomic personality of the chef and his search for freshness and the constasts of flavor and texture executed with great elegance. Great quality meat, the sauce remiding a barbecue, but lighter and fresh, the sides bringing Earth notes and some dimmension with the satay sauce. A great, great dish!
With the meat with passed to the Reds, with a Sicilian wine, Palari Faro from Azienda Agricola Palari 2010. A beautiful wine, light color, complex aroma, surprisingly elegant, with great tanins and presence in the mouth.
Blue cheese and white chocolate lollypop, Port wine gel
A classic at Metamorfosi, serving as pre-dessert, bringing to the table a Portuguese element we love so much, Port wine, in this case , gel made with the LBV from Quinta do Noval. As to the dish, great balance of sweetness and the combination of cheese with chocolate. Delicious!
Black Forest
A version of the classic cake, with mascarpone, dark chocolate fermented with passion fruit, chocolate crumble, herbs and red fruits gel. Interesting flavors and combinations, with highlight to the fermented chocolate, resulting in a fresh and light ending to an already long menu.
On the glass, we finished with a Favinia Passulé 2012, a Late Harvest produced in Sicily, of golden color and honey notes, with the nose transmiting classic fig notes, orange peel, dates, and dried fruits, surprising with the presence of aromatic herbs’ aromas that give it freshness. In the mouth, it’s sweet in the right measure, with power and finesse, where fruit is the hightligh. In terms of pairing, I would of course prefer a Port, but this one was not disapointing.
petit fours
To finish, the petit four, presented at a good level, with highlight to the lemon cake with vanilla and gooseberry.
The Service is worthy of highlight by itself, for being above the average of the Michelin restaurants in Italy. Calm, serene, present in the right moment, with understandable English (also a rare thing!) and with a good knowledge of the menu.
Final Remarks
It’s good when we enter spaces that break the classic rules and quickly overcome the expectations we take when entering the room, that’s the case of this Metamorfosi. A restaurant that could have everything not to be well accepted in a city like Rome, but that also has everything needed to become one of the great highlights of the city and the country.
The cuisine of Roy Caceres reveals details of enhanced subtelty and elegance, with a constant search for lightness and freshness, ending up being the common element to the entire menu, from the dishes inspired in his Latin America to the Italian classics that serve as base to some of his boldest creations.
A mandatory restaurant when visiting Rome!
Metamorfosi
Menus from 100€
Via Giovanni Antonelli, 30 – Roma
+39 068 07 68 39
info@metamorfosiroma.it
Photos: Flavors & Senses
Disclaimer
We were at Metamorfosi by invitation, whereas this does not alter our work, being the opinion and the text of the exclusive responsibility of the author.
