Casa Bleve

Casa Bleve review Rate it

Wine merchant Anacleto Bleve and his wife Tina pushed the boat out in 2003 when they opened what must be Rome's most elegant wine bar, on the ground floor of Palazzo Medici Lante della Rovere, between piazza Navona and the Pantheon. The main room is a huge colonnaded courtyard roofed over with coloured glass: undeniably impressive, though the tables feel a little lost in all this space. Food is chosen from the entrance buffet, which contains a vast spread of gourmet cold cuts - from cheese to meat to smoked fish - and salads. A mixed plate will set you back about €25; add wine and water and it's by no means a cheap lunch option. Wine remains the star turn here: there is a tremendous selection on offer, both by the bottle and by the glass. We still have a soft spot, though, for the original Bleve enoteca in the Ghetto (via Santa Maria del Pianto 9-11, 06 6819 2210, open 8am-8pm Mon-Sat), which runs its own, slightly cheaper, buffet-lunch operation from Monday to Friday (12.30-3pm).