Il Cuoco Nero
Il Cuoco Nero is one of the more formal new restaurants in Rome, serving up a range of innovative takes on Italian dishes.
Update: following the departure of chef Maurizio Santin, Il Cuoco Nero has now closed.
When we discovered Il Cuoco Nero through Stefano Bonilli’s Papero Giallo blog, we couldn’t wait to try it. Like Bonilli, head chef Maurizio Santin is ex-Gambero Rosso. He’s originally from the north of Italy, where he worked in family restaurant Antica Osteria del Ponte.
Il Cuoco Nero—named for Santin’s distinctive black outfit—is an airy, sleek venue, where the black-attired waiting staff move among white furniture, indoors and out. Attention is paid to every detail, from the placement of the cutlery on the table to the gender of the clientele: women at the table are always served before the men, and receive menus without prices—Rob felt this was unnecessarily fussy, but Petu heartily approved.
Rob started with a calamari and ink risotto, topped with shreds of squid marinated in lemon juice. There were six of us at the table, and all agreed that this was the best squid risotto we’d ever tasted. Petu’s scallops were also superb; she followed them with gnocchi and spring vegetables. Running with a theme, Rob chose a secondo of squid with tomato and a side of squid sausages. All were remarkable, as were the choices of our friends, which included monkfish with sweet garlic, and felafel served with vignarola.
Santin’s speciality is his desserts, so it was no surprise to find a lengthy list on the final page of the menu. By this point, most of our fellow-diners had eaten their fill, but we couldn’t resist these: Petu had a “Capuccino goloso”, a chocolate sorbet with a frothy cream on a base of meringue; and Rob took the waiter’s recommendation of the “Sospiri di Passione”, a kind of passion fruit mousse served with biscuit, lavender jelly, and pistachios.
The bill came to around €50 a head, including a splash of wine from the extensive list, and some complimentary treats. There’s also a tasting menu at €60, and a lunch menu starting at €12.
Scallops with peppers at Il Cuoco Nero