- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
Magnolia
On our second evening in Rome, we had another free evening after a full day of touring. I had arranged for us to go to a 1 Michelin Star restaurant that was in walking distance from our hotel, Hotel Majestic. We just had to walk past the American Embassy and we were there! The entrance to Magnolia was down an alleyway but once you walked into it, it was very pretty.
We checked in after the poor hostess was dealing with a very angry Russian lady who was mad she couldn’t just ‘walk’ in and didn’t understand that they were fully booked for the evening. The hostess apologized for us having to see that but it was no bother to us! We felt more bad for her I think! We were brought to our table and had time to review the menu. This place was all about table art and each dish was created to be artistic. I’m upset I didn’t take a photo of the menu as many of the items are no longer on the menu so I’m having to recall what exactly it was months later. So - any creative names are lost.
Right after we were seated and began reviewing the menu, we were given an initial amuse bouche. It was two small bites for each of us. The fried black truffle ravioli was amazing. The cheese was interesting as it was served cold but you weren’t expecting it to be especially after the bite of the ravioli.
Initial Amuse Bouche - Fried Cheese and Fried Black Truffle Ravioli
We were also given the first two of the four breads of the evening. These were a nice light start to the meal. I also loved the presentation!
Bread 1 & 2 - Cracker and Sticks
After we ordered our meal and selected the wine the waiter recommended for us (which was cheap at only 45 Euros but he raved about it and it was worthy of that praise), we were given another welcome bite or four. I remember the shrimp chip with the seaweed foam being one of the worst bites I’ve ever had and I like shrimp chips and I eat sushi with seaweed (I mean, you read what I ate at Morimotos) but there was something really imbalanced about that dish that made me create a look on my face that my husband still teases me about months later. The seafood macaron was a lovely creative touch. The slider, while tasty, was huge for an amuse bouche prior to having multiple courses on the way. I don't remember anything about the third dish at this point. My husband doesn’t either which means it probably was passable but forgettable.
2nd Amuse Bouche - All Together
Amuse Bouche #1 - Cheese Filled Slider w/ Cured Meat
Amuse Bouche #2 - Seafood Macaron
Amuse Bouche #3 - I haven’t a clue
Amuse Bouche #4 -Shrimp Chip w/ Seaweed Foam & Caviar
Once they cleared the amuse bouche, the next bread was delivered. The multigrain was hearty but worked well with the freshly pressed olive oil you could dip it in.
Bread #3 - Multigrain
For my first course, I was really glad I selected the crab ravioli. It was a little out of my norms for ordering but I knew this was the right type of place to do it. These were so light that it didn’t feel like you were eating tons of crab meat inside the pockets but you could taste the flavor of the sweet meat. It also was served with a yellow curry sauce (the little yellow dots) and I loved how much flavor that brought to the pasta. I wish I had more of the stuff!
Dis_Yoda’s Appetizer - Crab Ravioli
My husband’s first course had entirely too many mushrooms on it for me, even if they were chanterelles. He loved his risotto though. It tasted fresh with the amount of pea shoots and such mixed among the cheesy rice. He did grow tired of the mushrooms though and picked them off, enough that the waiter teased him that he could have just spoken up and the chef would have gladly made it without the mushrooms!
Mr. Dis_Yoda’s Appetizer - Pea Risotto w/ Chanterelle Mushrooms
We were then presented the 4th bread of the evening. I like Focaccia but most of this was left behind as I was already getting to a full point and I knew I had an entree coming and most likely dessert.
Bread #4 - Focaccia
For my entree, I went with a perfectly prepared halibut that included white truffles. It was right before the start of the official truffle season and I was so happy to see this on the menu. The halibut was perfectly flaky and the truffles paired nicely with it.
Dis_Yoda’s Entree - Halibut w/ Truffles
My husband went with the Ribeye. This was one of those times where you are at a very fancy dinner and you ordered a dish and then you laugh at the portion size. Yes, it was small; however, the taste packed into those small bites were well worth it. It was tender enough to cut with a fork and with all the other food involved in the evening, it was absolutely the right amount of food to prevent him from rolling out of there.
Mr. Dis_Yoda’s Entree - Ribeye
We reviewed the dessert menu and made our selections. It was nice to see they provided us with a dessert amuse bouche that was opposite of flavors than the main dessert we’ve ordered. I was given a beautiful puzzle that had a dense white chocolate mousse and chocolate shortbread cookies. My husband had a refreshing fruit bite that had wonderful sesame crackers with it. These just felt right considering our next courses would be the opposite of the bite they just gave us.
Dis_Yoda’s Dessert Amuse Bouche - Chocolate Puzzle
Mr. Dis_Yoda’s Dessert Amuse Bouche - Orange Slices w/ Sesame Seed Crackers
I ordered strangely for my dessert. When I saw Reggiano Parmesan Cheese Ice Cream on the menu, I was really intrigued. I figured it would either go over badly or be amazing. In reality, it was neither of those. It really tasted like a parmesan cheese ice cream. It was very heavy and dense and felt like it needed something to cut through it. As I didn’t have something to cut the cheese, it forced me to enjoy it slowly as each bite needed to be savored before taking the next. (Yes, I made that joke...I do classy well)
Dis_Yoda’s Dessert - Reggiano Parmesan Cheese Ice Cream, Steamed Chestnuts and Blackberries Mustard
My husband selected something opposite of me for his dessert. His dessert was so pretty! It sparkled! Who doesn’t love sparkling chocolate caramel? I know we do! This is a winner. He was nice enough to give me a bite and I was in love.
Mr. Dis_Yoda’s Dessert - Caramel Mousse, Orange, Peanuts
Apparently to get a Michelin Star, you need to provide multicourse desserts but not mention it anywhere on the menu. After our plates were cleared, we were presented with another dessert. It was a wonderful selection of chocolates, including a creative chocolate pencil. There was two of each type so you got to taste each one. My favorite was the raspberry while my husband was partial to the lemon chocolate.
Dessert #3 - Chocolates
After we paid our bill, we were presented a lovely box of chocolate covered almonds to take home with us. Overall, this meal was a great experience. They truly took to making food that looked artistic and really thought about the plate they used while still being tasty (for the most part.) The cost was significantly cheaper than L’Olivo as it ended up at $325 on my credit card bill. That said, I could tell the difference in service between the two places as some things were just slightly oddly paced when you compared it to the other meal. I also felt there was too much to the amuse bouches at the beginning. 6 small plates is a lot when you aren’t deciding to do a tasting menu for your meal. That said, I would still go back here in a heartbeat!
Parting Gift - Chocolate Covered Almonds
On our second evening in Rome, we had another free evening after a full day of touring. I had arranged for us to go to a 1 Michelin Star restaurant that was in walking distance from our hotel, Hotel Majestic. We just had to walk past the American Embassy and we were there! The entrance to Magnolia was down an alleyway but once you walked into it, it was very pretty.
We checked in after the poor hostess was dealing with a very angry Russian lady who was mad she couldn’t just ‘walk’ in and didn’t understand that they were fully booked for the evening. The hostess apologized for us having to see that but it was no bother to us! We felt more bad for her I think! We were brought to our table and had time to review the menu. This place was all about table art and each dish was created to be artistic. I’m upset I didn’t take a photo of the menu as many of the items are no longer on the menu so I’m having to recall what exactly it was months later. So - any creative names are lost.
Right after we were seated and began reviewing the menu, we were given an initial amuse bouche. It was two small bites for each of us. The fried black truffle ravioli was amazing. The cheese was interesting as it was served cold but you weren’t expecting it to be especially after the bite of the ravioli.
Initial Amuse Bouche - Fried Cheese and Fried Black Truffle Ravioli
We were also given the first two of the four breads of the evening. These were a nice light start to the meal. I also loved the presentation!
Bread 1 & 2 - Cracker and Sticks
After we ordered our meal and selected the wine the waiter recommended for us (which was cheap at only 45 Euros but he raved about it and it was worthy of that praise), we were given another welcome bite or four. I remember the shrimp chip with the seaweed foam being one of the worst bites I’ve ever had and I like shrimp chips and I eat sushi with seaweed (I mean, you read what I ate at Morimotos) but there was something really imbalanced about that dish that made me create a look on my face that my husband still teases me about months later. The seafood macaron was a lovely creative touch. The slider, while tasty, was huge for an amuse bouche prior to having multiple courses on the way. I don't remember anything about the third dish at this point. My husband doesn’t either which means it probably was passable but forgettable.
2nd Amuse Bouche - All Together
Amuse Bouche #1 - Cheese Filled Slider w/ Cured Meat
Amuse Bouche #2 - Seafood Macaron
Amuse Bouche #3 - I haven’t a clue
Amuse Bouche #4 -Shrimp Chip w/ Seaweed Foam & Caviar
Once they cleared the amuse bouche, the next bread was delivered. The multigrain was hearty but worked well with the freshly pressed olive oil you could dip it in.
Bread #3 - Multigrain
For my first course, I was really glad I selected the crab ravioli. It was a little out of my norms for ordering but I knew this was the right type of place to do it. These were so light that it didn’t feel like you were eating tons of crab meat inside the pockets but you could taste the flavor of the sweet meat. It also was served with a yellow curry sauce (the little yellow dots) and I loved how much flavor that brought to the pasta. I wish I had more of the stuff!
Dis_Yoda’s Appetizer - Crab Ravioli
My husband’s first course had entirely too many mushrooms on it for me, even if they were chanterelles. He loved his risotto though. It tasted fresh with the amount of pea shoots and such mixed among the cheesy rice. He did grow tired of the mushrooms though and picked them off, enough that the waiter teased him that he could have just spoken up and the chef would have gladly made it without the mushrooms!
Mr. Dis_Yoda’s Appetizer - Pea Risotto w/ Chanterelle Mushrooms
We were then presented the 4th bread of the evening. I like Focaccia but most of this was left behind as I was already getting to a full point and I knew I had an entree coming and most likely dessert.
Bread #4 - Focaccia
For my entree, I went with a perfectly prepared halibut that included white truffles. It was right before the start of the official truffle season and I was so happy to see this on the menu. The halibut was perfectly flaky and the truffles paired nicely with it.
Dis_Yoda’s Entree - Halibut w/ Truffles
My husband went with the Ribeye. This was one of those times where you are at a very fancy dinner and you ordered a dish and then you laugh at the portion size. Yes, it was small; however, the taste packed into those small bites were well worth it. It was tender enough to cut with a fork and with all the other food involved in the evening, it was absolutely the right amount of food to prevent him from rolling out of there.
Mr. Dis_Yoda’s Entree - Ribeye
We reviewed the dessert menu and made our selections. It was nice to see they provided us with a dessert amuse bouche that was opposite of flavors than the main dessert we’ve ordered. I was given a beautiful puzzle that had a dense white chocolate mousse and chocolate shortbread cookies. My husband had a refreshing fruit bite that had wonderful sesame crackers with it. These just felt right considering our next courses would be the opposite of the bite they just gave us.
Dis_Yoda’s Dessert Amuse Bouche - Chocolate Puzzle
Mr. Dis_Yoda’s Dessert Amuse Bouche - Orange Slices w/ Sesame Seed Crackers
I ordered strangely for my dessert. When I saw Reggiano Parmesan Cheese Ice Cream on the menu, I was really intrigued. I figured it would either go over badly or be amazing. In reality, it was neither of those. It really tasted like a parmesan cheese ice cream. It was very heavy and dense and felt like it needed something to cut through it. As I didn’t have something to cut the cheese, it forced me to enjoy it slowly as each bite needed to be savored before taking the next. (Yes, I made that joke...I do classy well)
Dis_Yoda’s Dessert - Reggiano Parmesan Cheese Ice Cream, Steamed Chestnuts and Blackberries Mustard
My husband selected something opposite of me for his dessert. His dessert was so pretty! It sparkled! Who doesn’t love sparkling chocolate caramel? I know we do! This is a winner. He was nice enough to give me a bite and I was in love.
Mr. Dis_Yoda’s Dessert - Caramel Mousse, Orange, Peanuts
Apparently to get a Michelin Star, you need to provide multicourse desserts but not mention it anywhere on the menu. After our plates were cleared, we were presented with another dessert. It was a wonderful selection of chocolates, including a creative chocolate pencil. There was two of each type so you got to taste each one. My favorite was the raspberry while my husband was partial to the lemon chocolate.
Dessert #3 - Chocolates
After we paid our bill, we were presented a lovely box of chocolate covered almonds to take home with us. Overall, this meal was a great experience. They truly took to making food that looked artistic and really thought about the plate they used while still being tasty (for the most part.) The cost was significantly cheaper than L’Olivo as it ended up at $325 on my credit card bill. That said, I could tell the difference in service between the two places as some things were just slightly oddly paced when you compared it to the other meal. I also felt there was too much to the amuse bouches at the beginning. 6 small plates is a lot when you aren’t deciding to do a tasting menu for your meal. That said, I would still go back here in a heartbeat!
Parting Gift - Chocolate Covered Almonds
We gave him a great life but still feels like something is missing in our home. I hope we get a puppy from the upcoming litter from the breeder we've been talking to. 
