Travel Nibbles: ‘Sora Lella’ Review

Hey Nibblers!

        This week, we still find ourselves reviewing Roma. This is my last documented meal/ last dinner in Roma so, when we saw the raves of a Michelin star ratings and ads all over their entrance door plus a 4/5 Tripadvisor score, we just had to try it.

Situated on Isola Tiberina, a small island in Rome, it sits on a corner of one of Rome’s bridges on the way to Trastevere. So, if you’re lucky enough to cross there, you’ll find ‘Sora Lella.’ According to reviews on Tripadvisor, it can be pretty packed so reservations are necessary. We did make a booking but by popping in early that morning to reserve seats on our way to Trastevere and Vatican City.

‘Sora Lella’ Review
Where: Via Ponte Quattro Capi 16                                 Website: http://www.soralella.com/

Image viewed from Lifestyle/ Tastebook at ‘http://www.i-italy.org/8407/mood-amatriciana-try-sora-lella’

One of the main reasons why we wanted to try ‘Sora Lella’ was because my cousin Katy (Kelly’s older sister,) was joining us for the rest of her trip to Florence, Germany etc. as she needed to go back to London to get settled for her move. She said Florence had the best tripe dish she had ever had so she was hoping Roma would produce one of the same standards. We had actually made a booking for the previous night but we were so tired to go back out as it would have been a 30-45 minute walk after a whole day of exploring. We blew them off that previous night and they remembered our faces when we came back to make another reservation. They were surprisingly really nice about it and said they thought we had lost our way.

               We were seated promptly as soon as we arrived. First ones in the restaurant that night at 730PM. People in Europe sure eat late! It was really cosy and were given a bread basket as soon as we sat down. The pretzel like sticks in the ‘Roberto’ packet were delicious! I wish I had time to go to the supermarket to grab these as a snack!

Those Roberto bread sticks. mmmmmm

            As it was our last night in Roma, I had not yet had a traditional gnocchi. So, as soon as I say gnocchi on the menu I immediately said yes. We decided to share the dish between the three of us. What I loved about their service here was they actually portioned out three separate plates of gnocchi for us so we didn’t have to dig and split it ourselves. It was steaming hot when it came out. It was soft, not chewy and the tomato sauce was flavoursome. The menu also said it had pig’s cheek infused but, I couldn’t taste it nor see it. 

Gnocchi di Palate all’ Amatriciana ‘Home-made Gnocchi in a classic Roman sauce with cured pig’s cheek, tomatoes and Roman pecorino’

For my main, I ordered ‘Polpettine di Nonna Lella’ which translated is ‘Grandmother’s traditional veal balls’ which was served with pureed potatoes on the side. These meatballs were so full of flavour. They were perfectly cooked and just melted in your mouth. I loved the hit of all the spices in the meatball and it just tasted fresh. The pureed potatoes were of the same standard. It was fluffy, smooth and meshed well with the meatballs. It did have a lot of butter mixed in which is delicious but oh the arteries!

Polpettine di Nonna Lella / Grandmother’s traditional veal balls with pureed potatoes

Kelly ordered a lamb dish. I’ve tried to search the menu for this one and no luck. Taste wise, the lamb was soft and just pulled away from the bone. It had a great rosemary flavour and was nice dipped with a bit bread.

Lamb dish. Anyone care to help if you have been?

Katy of course ordered the ‘Trippa di Vitello alla Romana’ or Roman-Style Veal tripe with tomatos sauce flavoured with mint and pecorino cheese. It was nice of the waiter to clarify with Katy that she knew which part of the body tripe comes from. He didn’t know the word so just rubbed his stomach. It was such a sweet thing of him to do. Good laugh!

             I don’t know what Florence tripe tastes like but, like the other two dishes, the sauce is flavoursome. Full of the rich tomato taste it tasted very home-made and fresh.

Trippa di Vitello alla Romana / Roman-Style Veal tripe with tomatos sauce flavoured with mint and pecorino cheese.

Our dinner before devouring

For dessert, we ordered the tiramisu to share. We were quite disappointed with this one. The serving was tiny and presentation was not eye-catching. My picture is too blurry to post up but it was just basically served in a 250ml clear glass cup. Nothing special nor were the tastes. I prefer the ‘Life’ tiramisu.
               All in all, ‘Soral Lella’ is a lovely, cosy place. Great if you want a nice home-cooked feel meal. To get all the rave and Michelin Star rating I don’t understand. While the dishes were not terrible, I don’t see a ‘WOW’ factor in any of them. All  had the same soft, mushy textures. It could of possibly been our dishes we chose but, I still think while the sauces were full of fresh flavour, my expectation for a Michelin star restaurant was not met. Price wise, I forgot to write down the figures but from reading the Tripadvisor posts, many travellers thought it was overpriced for portions. 

            If I was ever in Rome again, I would probably go again just for the familiarity of it all and the great atmosphere/ staff. I think it’s a good place for lunch/dinner with friends if you want a place to relax after a day of exploring. But, if it was to impress a certain special someone, I say count ‘Sora Lella’ out. Otherwise, I’m sure you will run the risk of being friend-zoned. 

    Hope you have a lovely rest of the week!

    Nibble away,
Jo x.