La Pergola

La Pergola restaurant, located on the top floor of the  Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel,  a splendid resort immersed in a private Mediterranean park, is considered by experts and lovers of cuisine to be one of the best restaurants in the world. From the wonderful terrace where you can dine on warm Roman summer evenings, La Pergola dominates the Eternal City, providing emotions for the palate and the senses in an elegant and timeless setting. For more than twenty years, the kitchen has been led by  Heinz Beck , a Chef of German origins and jokingly nicknamed “the eighth king of Rome”. In the space of four years, between 2001 and 2005, Beck managed to conquer three Michelin stars, thus becoming a world-famous chef.

The three-starred Chef has always paid great attention to balanced cuisine and prefers  seasonal first fruits in his recipes. For Heinz Beck it is important to satisfy the mind, not just the body: “Hunger expresses a need: that of being satiated. Cooking, on the other hand, exceeds satiety, goes beyond what is necessary, aims to satisfy pleasure”. However, La Pergola is also a pleasure for the eyes as the hotel boasts one of the largest private art collections  in the world. Once you have crossed the threshold of the restaurant, linger over the precious masterpieces on the walls, such as the Aubusson tapestry, the Sèvres porcelain and the blown glass by Emile Gallé.

Heinz Beck respects  Mediterranean tradition in the kitchen, exploring with great skill the most innovative culinary techniques, conquering even the most demanding palates. Among his most iconic creations, the  Fagottelli “La Pergola”,  a very thin stuffed egg pasta that contains the authentic ingredients of Roman Carbonara. It is a seemingly simple dish, but it continues to surprise with a unique explosion of flavours even those who are at home at La Pergola.

Beck’s creativity awakens the senses of those who taste his dishes, rediscovering  the flavors of the past  by combining them with refined and sometimes unexpected raw materials, such as the Veal sweetbreads with red fruits and  basil or the  Battered courgette flower on a base of shellfish and saffron with caviar . The lamb with giblets sauce, wild garlic and puntarelle is surprisingly delicious. To finish on a sweet note, the  Consistances of macadamia with lemon and apricot gel are unmissable, or the  Ricotta cream with marzipan, soft pistachio and candied orange sorbet , a kind of deconstructed and skilfully reassembled cannoli.

Making the  gourmet experience even more unforgettable is, without a doubt, the impeccable dining room service taken care of down to the smallest details by Restaurant Manager Simone Pinoli. When choosing your wine, rely instead on  Marco Reitano , Chef Sommelier who, for La Pergola, manages a cellar of 75,000 bottles for a total of 3,700 references on the menu with depths up to the last years of the 19th century. A heartfelt piece of advice?  Book in advance  because for about eighteen years La Pergola has always been fully booked, with a waiting list that can exceed two months, especially on weekends.