About Il Bagatto
Il Bagatto (dal 1995) is a no nonsense Trattoria and the love child of my (Beatrice Tosti di Valminuta) life long obsession with everything related to food and entertaining. The responsibility for the realization of this dream belongs entirely to Julio Pena, my husband since 1992, my friend, my partner and an amazing human being (in good and bad); and to Ian Alberts, master of many trades and all crafts. We at Il Bagatto have always been passionate about sharing traditional Italian food-ways with our patrons (hence no parmigiano on seafood pasta, etc.)

In 1999, my friend and star roman restaurateur, Clelia Bendandi, became part of the family. She called to see if she could come for a visit and never left. Clelia is now married and has been cooking with me at the restaurant ever since. The amazing chemistry between us creates the magic that is the cuisine of women—a cuisine of contents and substance, not appearance. It is a cuisine of love and good ingredients, where we cook like in the Italian homes with sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, market fresh ingredients, loads of herbs and tons of heart. I really believe that food carries the essence and the intentions of the person who cooked it.

Ours is a cuisine of mothers and grandmothers (actually my grandmothers were horrible cooks and never cooked a day in their lives, bless their hearts) that is meant to warm your heart and spirit. We cook everything in small batches so that the love is concentrated i.e. if I have to bake two lasagne on Sunday I won't cook double the béchamel sauce, I prepare two small pots (for some reason it tastes much better). We love spicy and tasty food and Mr. Phil, who blesses our life with his presence, says we make the food sing. We cook everyday as if it were for a dinner party for friends and with the same enthusiasm. Shopping at the local farmers markets and only from small purveyors who are passionate about their trade.

When you walk into Il Bagatto you can expect the warmth and romance of the roman trattoria. Dim lights, tons of candles, family photos and artwork given to us by friends and patrons. We serve uncomplicated healthy food from all regions of Italy with a bit of our creativity added.