I’m sorry. There is no excuse for me not writing about Zoc sooner. It’s been around for a while. Owned and run by the same folks as Urbana 47, for some reason it’s gotten much less attention than it’s much more talked about relative.
And I’m not sure why. Probably because it’s not located in uber trendy Monti?
Like Urbana 47 the menu is almost entirely local and organic. And like its sister restaurant, the interiors are comfortably shabby and chic. But in a lot of ways I like Zoc even better than Urbana 47. The atmosphere is more relaxed (more space between the tables, and a bigger loft like space to start with) and it’s got a garden in the back. A beautiful, tranquil, comfortable courtyard.
Why isn’t everyone going here all the time?
The food is very good, and really fun. Don’t go here if you’re looking for traditional Roman fare. Instead, they take local, seasonal ingredients and work them into slightly exotic, and definitely creative dishes. But in a very casual, un-fussy kind of way.
At a recent girls lunch Sienna had their summery twist on prosciutto e melone. A cool melon gazpacho topped with crispy strips of prosciutto. Jeanette and I had the tagine, which came to the table in it’s own mini tagine dish. Besides being awfully cute, the stew of chickpeas and bacala was delicious, light and perfect spooned up with the vegetable-studded couscous. Gillian had the home made tonnarelli with plump, fresh mussels, fragrant with wild fennel.
It was all delicious. And all local. The lunch ‘specials’ came with water and coffee. All at a pretty low price.
I’ve been a few times for dinner too, and love the fact that the menu changes each month. One month it will be artichokes all over the place, the next broccoli. Most of the vegetables come from Giobbi, just south of Rome, and are the inspiration for many of the dishes. One of my favorite sections of the menu though is the Zoc Streetfood, which features their version of hamburgers, hotdogs and kebabs. A few weeks ago I had the Rabbit ‘kebab’ which was full of porchetta spices like wild fennel and black pepper, but also exotically seasoned with coriander and cumin. I also had a bacala hot dog which was not only less weird than it sounds, but incredibly good.
One thing I forgot to mention is the location. Just a few blocks away from Campo de’ Fiori, down the street from Ponte Sisto. Not trendy like Monti. And not a very easy area to find a good restaurant. Unless, of course, you head to Zoc. 
Zoc Trattoria
Via delle Zoccolette 22 (Ponte Sisto)
+39 06 68192515
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That looks totally wonderful. It goes on the list for next time. have you taken @spacedlaw there?
I walk past this place all the time. I had no idea! Sounds delicious.
So glad you wrote about it. Now I must check it out.
Hi Elizabeth. Did you know ZOC is closed? Their website is still up and says “WE ARE ACTUALLY CLOSED: see you soon!” but GoogleMaps reports them as permanently closed and the store is shuttered.
Someone else just told me that! Will correct the post. Thanks for confirming!