best indian restaurant in rome {sitar}

Ok, my readers outside of Italy, this post probably is going to be a bit perplexing to you. No, it’s not about pizza or pasta or gelato. It’s about Indian food. In Rome.

I know, I know. If you are in Rome, why on Earth would you ever want to eat Indian food, right? Well, if you actually live in Rome, it’s kinda nice to go out for something other than the same old same old (even if that same old is pretty darn good.)

So, it’s no suprise that one of the most frequent questions I get from my fellow ex-pats in Rome is “Where to you go for Indian.” With this in mind, I answer you: Sitar.

First of all, a bit of back ground on Indian food in Rome. When I first moved here, in 1990, there was one Indian restaurant, in Trastevere, that everyone admitted was pretty bad. But over the years things have changed. While there hasn’t been the same growth as Chinese and Japanese restaurants, there are now at least 20 (and probably more) Indian restaurants to choose from. The first ones started springing up in the San Lorenzo neighborhood and around Piazza Vittorio. And lately a few have opened in Pigneto. But the strangest and most inexplicable concentration of Indian restaurants has turned up in Monti.

Why? Who knows. But there are four Indian restaurants (and there used to be a fifth Sri Lankan) in this tiny, decidedly non-ethnic quartiere.

Rather than tell you which ones I don’t go to and why (if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it) I’ll just tell you where I do go, gladly and often.

Sitar is our Indian restaurant, and the reasons are simple. It serves the best and freshest food and the family that runs it is gracious and warm. And we’re not the only ones who think so. Every time we have ever been there, we are among the few non-Indians at the table. That’s an endorsement, right?

But back to the food. Do look at the menu, but also talk to Anu, the owner. She’ll help you order if you’re unsure, and suggest things you might not have thought of. That is how I found out about two of my current favorite dishes, Pappadum Masala and Ginger Chicken. “It’s all the type of food I make at home,” she says.

I think I could make an entire meal of the Pappadum Masala and be happy. Crispy pappadum piled with chopped tomatoes, coriander and onions that have had a long soak in tamarind. Spicy, sour, crunchy and salty. Not an easy combo to come by in ragu land, but one I crave just about all the time.

And the Ginger Chicken is just what it is. Meaty pieces of chicken braised in a thick oniony sauce that is about 80% fresh ginger. When the chicken finishes all too soon, the sauce, ladled atop basmati rice, is heaven.

Other favorites include the Fish Curry, which is big chunks of salmon in a spicy red curry sauce, and every type of naan: garlic, onion and (my favorite) mint. We usually round things out with palek paneer, chana dal, bharta and raita

To drink: Indian beer of course.

So there you have it. Indian for my my fellow expats who are craving spice. And for anyone else who feels like a bit of Indian home cooking.














Sitar
Via Cavour 256A
06.890.26710
Open Daily Lunch and Dinner (Monday dinner only)