Biondamara Rome, a new urban craft beer lounge in Prati (with food and cocktails)

Biondamara Rome. It's hardly news that Prati is a popular neighborhood for restaurants and bars of all kinds. But since the first post-Covid reopenings, this area has literally exploded, offering Romans a diverse and rather interesting array of new openings. Just think (to name a few) of Rever, the more informal bis at Enoteca La Torre, the Chinese dumplings at Bao Bao Dumpling, or the more recent Casadora, the pasta shop with a kitchen.

To these names we should add Biondamara, opened in June 2021, a project by brothers Alessandro and Marco Lucchini, entrepreneurs originally from Bologna but now living in Rome. Biondamara, aka, as the two introduce it, is the new urban craft beer lounge. Yes, because here, beer truly seems to be the center of everything: not just at the bar, but also in the creation of cocktails and dishes.

Urban Lounge Beer

How did Biondamara come about? After years of running the family business, Alessandro and Marco decided to indulge their passion for beer by developing various recipes and, in collaboration with friendly breweries, creating new brews. These brews can be tasted in the new venue, which has the soul of a brewery but presents itself as a restaurant: a sort of restaurant-pub, but carefully curated and where aesthetically nothing is left to chance. The spaces are quite welcoming, located at Via Paolo Emilio 69/a: in the first room, on the left, is the cocktail bar, and on the right, a small lounge area that attracts customers for aperitivo time. Moving forward, you find a new, larger room, featuring a social table, the centerpiece of convivial evenings. Moving further, you reach the main space: 70 seats, another large bar (this time for beers, 14 in total on tap) with plenty of stools, mirrors, lush plants, and design choices that showcase the attention to detail, including iron, concrete, marble, and tile. The predominant shades of gray, sometimes almost silver, contrast with the yellow accents (for the stools and sofas). There's also an outdoor area with another 40 seats.

The beers, the cuisine, the cocktails

We mentioned the 14 beers on tap, plus two seasonal ones on rotation. Beer is also a key component of the project, including cocktails and dishes. Speaking of which, in the kitchen is Giacomo Zezza (formerly at the Michelin-starred Bistrot 64). The menu is divided into various sections, starting with Per Stare Insieme (To Stay Together), delicious appetizers designed for an aperitif. It continues with Anti-Vino (Anti-Wine), a sort of antipasti including chopped chopped meat, Piedmontese Manzafassona leg, cabbage, hazelnuts, and robiola mousse (14 euros), and Selezione della Bionda (Selection of Blonde), 20-month-aged Parma ham, Mangalitza mortadella, DOP buffalo mozzarella, artisanal stracciatella, marinara sauce, and avocado cream (14 euros).

Then we find Primi Ricordi, various versions of meatballs: beef, with tomato and parmesan sauce (16 euros); veal, cacciatore style, and its sauce (16 euros); chicken, with sweet and sour peppers (16 euros); cod, with black garlic mayonnaise and pea cream (16 euros); chickpea and Jerusalem artichoke, with pepper and pecorino cream (16 euros); bread, with bacon and carbonara cream (16 euros). And don't miss the Panini, based on the Burghetta, a whole beer bread bun filled with various types of meatballs, condiments, sauces, cheeses, and vegetables (all 18 euros). The Secondo Noi section features more structured meat and fish dishes, such as confit cod fillet with marinara sauce, endive, and Taggiasca olives (€24), orange-seared duck breast with sautéed fennel (€26), and beer-marinated, slow-cooked pork shank with provola-flavored potatoes (€22). A selection of grilled meats also features, including lamb ribs with salsa verde (€24) and Marango beef rib-eye with BBQ sauce (€30). The Contorno dishes are designed to be shared, such as caponata with mixed seasonal vegetables (€6) and pan-fried wild greens (€6).

For pizza lovers, there's the La Nostra Panpizza section, which includes classic pizzas like the Bufala Dop (14 euros) and more original ones like the mushroom and chicory pizza with semi-dried tomatoes, roasted mushrooms, pecorino cheese, and chicory (16 euros), made with a 72-hour beer-leavened dough. All dishes on the menu are paired with a beer. Finally, La Dolce Bionda, where beer pairings aren't available, but the desserts are made with beer, such as the Beertozzo, which, as the name suggests, is a sort of maritozzo with Tripel in the dough, filled with whipped cream and brown sugar (7 euros), or the Birramisù, with Porter beer in ladyfingers, along with mascarpone foam and bitter cocoa (7 euros).

The collaborations

And speaking of cuisine, Biondamara's culinary project boasts interesting quarterly collaborations. The first few months of the new Prati venue's opening saw the participation of Max Mariola, while now it's Igles Corelli's turn, who has created two personal versions of the Burghetta and will be cooking with Giacomo Zezza for three evenings until December. And what about the stage in the dining room? The Lucchini brothers' idea is to provide space for talented musicians, artists, magicians, and street comedians who can perform and entertain patrons during Biondamara's evenings.

Biondamara. Via Paolo Emilio 69a, Rome. Tel. 06 5133505. Website. Facebook. Instagram. Open daily from 6:00 PM to midnight, closed on Sundays.