CAMPO, the contemporary tavern that brings Italian peasant cuisine back to Rome, opens in Via Ezio 57, a few steps from the Lepanto stop.
CAMPO – eat local love season, the new project conceived by a group of restaurateurs who bring a modern tavern inspired by Italian peasant cuisine to the Prati district. A place that aims to bring family dishes, the flavors of “yesteryear,” and a conviviality that has almost been lost today back to the table, reinterpreted with a contemporary sensibility and rigorous attention to the quality of the raw ingredients.
The name “CAMPO” reflects the agricultural soul of the project: a return to the land, to the seasons, to simple gestures, to recipes that span generations. The setting reflects this imagery with a large outdoor area surrounded by greenery that can be enjoyed all year round—seating about forty—and a minimalist, bright interior with sixty seats, dominated by natural materials, light fabrics, and soft shades of gray. The first room, with its counter, is perfect for an informal aperitif; the second is home to the kitchen, where tradition moves forward with a contemporary step.
Campo’s emotional cuisine
The menu expresses the idea of “emotional cuisine”: a type of dining that touches the memory, revives almost forgotten recipes, and values the slow pace of preparation. It opens with the “campo di verdura” (vegetable field), a section dedicated to seasonal vegetables that focuses on authentic products and simple preparations: from baked pumpkin with sage, hazelnuts, and cooked must to fennel au gratin, from crispy mashed potatoes to cabbage and marinated carrots, to fresh mushroom salad. This is followed by traditional Italian appetizers—stuffed anchovies, beef and Parmesan meatballs, fried artichoke hearts, polenta with porcini mushrooms and truffles – while the first courses blend memory and technique: pasta and beans with mussels and puffed pork rind, green lasagna with meat sauce as a tribute to the chef’s Emilian origins, ossobuco with saffron risotto and the great classics of Roman cuisine.
In the main courses, the raw ingredients guide every choice: sheep’s Tomahawk with puntarelle, roasted octopus tentacles, and braised beef with brown sauce tell the story of a cuisine that seeks not effect, but depth. The journey ends with a dessert trolley and a selection of cheeses by Loreto Pacitti. Among the signature dishes, the tasting of meatballs in three variations (with tomato, lamb and artichokes, picchiapò) and fettuccina with butter and Parmesan cheese stand out. On Sundays, as in real family homes, off-menu dishes dedicated to convivial lunches appear. Many options are also available in gluten-free or lactose-free versions.
The kitchen is led by Mattia Chendi, 41, originally from Emilia but born and raised in Rome, whose career in Italy and abroad has allowed him to develop a keen sensitivity. His cuisine “listens to the earth”: measured gestures, recognizable flavors, respect for raw ingredients and what they represent. “I don’t cook to impress, but to be remembered,” he says. “Tradition is not nostalgia: it is a living language that must be understood and reinterpreted.”
Raw materials and fair prices
The selection of ingredients is one of the cornerstones of the project. CAMPO works with leading Italian agricultural and artisan producers: Azienda Agricola Travaglini, Urbano fish products, Loreto Pacitti cheeses, Le Galline Felici, Molino della Giovanna flours, Consorzio di Tutela del Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale IGP, Oleificio Quattrociocchi oils, Zaccaria rice, Pastificio Mancini pasta, Pane e Tempesta bread, Ortuso organic products, and Monticiano saffron. The wine list—about seventy labels, with a natural prevalence of Italian reds—accompanies the cuisine with balance and authenticity.
CAMPO was created as a place where you can eat well at fair prices, rediscovering the pleasure of shared dishes, time spent at the table, and food that speaks to the memory. A modern tavern that restores dignity and poetry to simplicity.
CONTACTS
Via Ezio, 57 – Rome
Tel. 338 1272399
osteriacampo.com
