I Butteri, Rome

Agnes already warned me, "don't allow them to order anything. Just order the Bistecca Fiorentina for everyone, and that's all. Don't even look at the menu."  She repeated this so many times, and I dutifully repeated it to everyone again when we finally got to the restaurant.

Agnes' husband, Massimo, is from Rome, and I Butteri is one of their favorite restaurants. I love gathering tips on the places I visit, but when the suggestion comes from a local, it's gospel.

Despite the forget-the-menu suggestion, everyone wanted to see the menu and of course, our focus waned. 

 

We saw "scamorza" and remembered "Scamorza al coccio" from a past trip to Umbria. So we ordered it.

scamorza is a cheese similar to mozzarella

Ah, and the pizzas sounded too good to pass up, so we ordered three. I could hear Agnes' command in my head, but I didn't have the energy to stop the others from ordering.

And finally our Bistecca Fiorentina arrived. It's a perfect blue steak, the way B, his family, and the kids  like it. I prefer medium, so I get from the edge.

Each of these chunks of meat is at least one kilo because that's the minimum order.

Even if the pizza was good, we quickly regretted ordering appetizers.

I just had to say "I told you na Agnes said..."

When the steaks were all gone, we (finally) restrained ourselves and ordered one tiramisu for each end of the table.

This is when we should've ordered more.

The meal made such an impression that the guys insisted we go back another night. This time we promised each other we were just going to focus on the main event, the Bistecca Fiorentina.

The kids ordered their own steak.

But the adults ordered 3 kilos of Fiorentina and nothing else. I thought that was a bit much for 6 adults, but I underestimated the men and it was wiped out.

 a 1.5 kilo chunk is a bit too thick

We learned that it's better to order in one-kilo chunks. Heavier than that, the slab is too thick and ends up too rare. We have to come back a third time to get this steak ordering business perfected.

This casual, unpretentious restaurant is popular with the locals.  I didn't notice any tourists the two nights we were there.


If we find ourselves in Rome again, I know this is the first place we'll be headed.

Thanks for the recommendation, Agnes!


PS. Around the corner from I Butteri is the gelateria Bartocci

In Italy, having a gelato is the proper way to end an evening.


I Butteri
Piazza Regina Margherita, 28,
00198 Rome, Italy
+39 06 854 8130

Gelateria Bartocci
Via Alessandria, 145 

00198 Rome, Italy