Perilli

Via Gaetano Sacchi, Rome; January 26, 2013—

A PERENNIAL FAVORITE restaurant always arouses some misgivings when you decide to revisit after a number of years. Will it live up to your memory of previous visits; will it live up to the consensus among Yelpers, TripAdvisors, the New York Times, the scads of online foodies?

We chanced it today at this Testaccio favorite, where I ordered fairly carefully (and conservatively) and was quite pleased. We'd spent the morning on our feet at San Giovanni Laterano, pushing down marble with our soles, wearing out our retinas on other hard surfaces, and were quite ready for a comfortable trattoria. That's exactly what Perilli is.

I opened with the fettucini cacio e pepe you see here, good pasta properly cooked and dressed generously with good Pecorino and black pepper; then continued with beans with prosciutto, a very plain, substantial, well-balanced and -flavored dish. Dessert was a crème caramel, just average, quite acceptable.

On balance, then, Perilli seems to me to hold up well. The dining room is pleasant and comfortable, the service attentive and friendly without getting in your way. I'll go back, I'm sure, but only once per Roman visit, I think.

Biancodella casa

•Perilli, Via Marmorata, 39, Rome; +39 06 5755100