Antela, the restaurant at the NH Collection Roma Centro, wants to win over the Romans
Located in the heart of Prati, the Antéla restaurant has its own entrance, an outdoor garden, and a menu designed for both Romans and tourists.
Antéla is located within the NH Collection Roma Centro, a four-star hotel with 257 rooms spread across eight floors, but it has a separate entrance from Via dei Gracchi. The restaurant and cocktail bar, designed by Natale Giunta, is conceived as a reason to visit the establishment, not just as a hotel service.
The garden is one of its main attractions. It's a large, open-air space tucked away within the block, called the Urban Garden. The restaurant seats around 80 people and uses the garden for lunches, dinners, appetizers, and cocktails, so it can be visited even if you're not staying at the hotel.
The kitchen is helmed by Natale Giunta, a chef from Palermo who also developed the Oro Bistrot project for NH at the NH Collection Roma Fori Imperiali. The hotel's philosophy blends Sicilian and Roman recipes, international influences, seasonality, and high-quality ingredients, complemented by a wine list of over 50 labels, with a focus on wines from Sicily and Lazio.
The tasting menu highlights include zucchini blossoms, a nod to Roman culture; spaghetti with clams, reminiscent of the Mediterranean; mixed pasta with mussels and green sauce, with pecorino fondue, yellow datterino tomatoes, and olives; and a ceviche that takes the menu beyond Italy. Sicily, Rome, and the other influences must be integrated into a single cuisine, and therein lies the key to the menu's concept.
The hotel provides the infrastructure: 19 meeting rooms for groups of 7 to 220 people, banquet facilities, and 24-hour room service. Antéla aims to leverage this support without relying on it, offering a relatively affordable menu that doesn't include tasting menus exceeding €200.
Its aim is to be a fine dining Roman restaurant, also appreciated by tourists. Prati's clientele comes from Roman office workers, residents, professionals, and customers, not just visitors, and the cocktail bar serves appetizers and drinks in the summer, as well as after dinner.
The real test will come when a Roman books a table without worrying about the hotel's category.