Percento

«Percento» is in a very fun area in Rome, next to Campo de’ Fiori. With wine bottles crowding the windows, the restaurant looks cute from outside and even better inside. It is very nicely put together: walls with exposed brick were lined with wine and dimmed light hung over modern tables and chairs. The menu has decent selections, some experimental and others traditional. Being who we are, me and my friend thought it was a boogie place to be seen.
Surprisingly, the place is run by only 3 people: the chef, sous chef, and one waiter. The server took the time to explain some of their specialties and answered our questions thoroughly. We shied away from the wine, wanting to keep inside our budget.
For our antipasti, we ordered the Carrot Soup with Calamari (Crema di Carota con Anelli di Calamaro) and the Anchovy/​Pecorino Cheese Meatballs (Polpettine di Alici e Pecorino). The carrot dish was disappointing; it was too creamy and the chef drizzled wayy too much olive oil over it. The thinly sliced calamari acted almost as a garnish that was helpless in saving the soup. The fried meatballs came with 4 little dipping sauces and were very good. After tasting one bite, I couldn’t go back to my bland soup. They had the right amount of anchovy and pecorino cheese, keeping the salt balanced.
We ordered 2 primi. Saffron Risotto (Risotto con Zafferano, Mele Smith e Crema di Formaggio Valderon) and Mussel and Pecorino Cheese Fettuccine (Fettuccine Cozze e Pecorino). Both, like the carrot antipasto, had lots of heavy cream. Nevertheless, my risotto was good: the sweetness from the apple played along with the saffron and contrasted with the Valderon cheese. The entire plate was beautifully topped with sliced almonds. Unfortunately, I had to put down my fork halfway. It was just too rich and creamy. The mussel pasta was very salty, making a okay (borderlining on bad) plate. I avoided having another taste even though my friend kept on insisting. Just because she was going over her daily sodium intake didn’t mean she could bring me down with her!
Our Seared Salmon with Orange Sauce (Salmone Scottato alla Senape Antica con Gel all’Arancia) came afterwards and had absolutely no salt. It was probably supposed to go with the orange sauce, which wasn’t even on the plate. It supposedly wasn’t a mistake, so we asked for table salt. The salmon itself was cooked perfectly, so we seasoned ourselves a good fish.
If I cooked this meal, I would have put the salt from the pasta into the risotto and fish, and taken the heavy cream and put it in the TRASH! What rescued our night was the dessert… Chocolate Cake (of course) with Hazelnut Ice Cream (Tortino di Cioccolato e Gelato Nocciola). It was beautiful and delicious! A soufflé like cake was topped off with a scoop of nocciola ice cream, crusted with hazelnuts. The cake was hot and oozed chocolate. The chubby chef with a slight «heavy cream» obsession made a bomb dessert. Overall price range was €€, with a few expensive items.
The two things to take away from the night were the risotto and chocolate tortino. There’s too much great food in Rome to visit this place another time. The place is cute and date appropriate, just not a foodie’s choice.