Pro Loco Pinciano: a nice surprise near the main Rome train station
In via Bergamo 18, a 15-minute walk away from the Rome train station Termini, there is the pizzeria Pro Loco Pinciano. From outside the place is quite anonymous and it is recognizable only by their gazebo outside on the sidewalk. Indeed, the day that I visited the place for a quick lunch I chose a table under the gazebo.
The atmosphere is extremely informal, and at lunch the majority of the clients are people working in the area who eat there in their lunch break. Outdoor, under the gazebo, the wooden furniture is simple but pleasant. Instead, I can say nothing about the indoor dining room since I did not see it.
There was only a waitress to serve all the tables under the gazebo. She was informally dressed in a shirt, a pair of jeans and the restaurant apron. She was polite and efficient, but not once did she smile during the lunch.
I ordered a pizza “Margherita con bufala e olive di Gaeta” and it was quite a surprise, because it was excellent. It was not a Neapolitan pizza, but it was an Italian pizza. The difference between the two, although there is no common definition for Italian pizza, is the that Italian pizza is less thick in the center where there are the ingredients. As a consequence, the difference between the borders and the center is less noticeable. Besides, the Sorbillo’s pizza usually goes over the plate.
Considering that around train stations there are usually only fast-food chains or tourist trap restaurants which offer low quality food at a relative high price; the existence of a pizzeria as Pro Loco Pinciano near Termini station is an opportunity you should not miss if you are waiting for a train in Rome.
To tell the truth, the Pro Loco Pinciano’s pizza is worth the travel on its own.
