Ricci Fish Market and Kitchen in Rome, When the Sea Comes to the City

Three souls that interact, united by a single motto: the excellent catch, selected daily at the Fiumicino fish auction. This is the new format of Ricci Pescheria con Cucina in the Vigna Clara area, opened at the end of 2022, a metropolitan temple dedicated to the seafood of our coast that manages to bring the sea far from the sea.

The format

The project for a contemporary fishmonger's shop was born from the passion of the Ricci family, owners of the historic "Ricci il Salumiere dal 1910" (which recently opened a second location in central Rome), renowned for the high quality of its products. It was precisely in this spirit that the Ricci family conceived the idea of ​​a place showcasing the delicacies of our sea (and by sea, that means the Tyrrhenian Sea).

To achieve this, the family enlisted the help of Daniele Usai, a true "ace of the seas," chef and owner of the restaurants Il Tino (one Michelin star) and 4112 in Fiumicino. The identity of Ricci Pescheria was thus designed by Usai, starting from the foundations of his culinary philosophy: freshness, seasonality, and meticulous fish preparation and maturation techniques. All this was carefully crafted and packaged in a miniature format for a fishmonger's bistro with a culinary laboratory, to be delivered under the leadership of Alessio Albanesi.

Chef Albanesi, born in Rome in 1989, toured the world and its most prestigious restaurants (including Noma) before returning to Italy to work alongside Daniele Usai, soon becoming his sous chef at Il Tino. And then the opportunity arose: "When Lele asked me to open Ricci Pescheria, I immediately accepted. I was back doing something that was my own."

The place

An intimate and cozy space, decorated in shades of blue and light blue, with the scent of the sea in the air. The fish counter immediately stands out upon entry.

"I go and get my fish every morning at the Fiumicino auction. 85% of the fish we handle comes from our sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea. We mainly stock crustaceans, rockfish, fish for frying, and shellfish like octopus, cuttlefish, and squid."

Behind the counter is the kitchen/workshop with a worktop, refrigerators, and an area for takeout. At the back is a small dining room seating about twenty people, and a chalkboard with the daily specials handwritten on it. Yes, because here the menu truly changes daily and therefore can't be printed.

Alessio continues: "Lele Usai was my mentor. For this restaurant, we designed a format with him that wasn't just a restaurant, but a place where guests come to eat well and feel at home in a welcoming environment. A place where they can return to the company of friends or family."

The kitchen

"We're all chefs here." In the kitchen, but also in the dining room. Alessio leads a young, close-knit team composed of Angelica Finamore and Nicolò Falcioni. "The idea is to bring what we do in the kitchen to our guests in the dining room. We don't have to hole up behind four walls. We're a great team and we're transparent because we work with top-notch ingredients, and when that's the case, there's no need to hide."

So, there are no secrets behind the glass windows that frame what happens in the small kingdom of the open kitchen. The catch of the day is selected from the counter and prepared for express preparations or take-out dishes, both hot and cold. These include: octopus panzanella, Thai seafood salad with coconut milk and lime, or lasagna with baby octopus ragù. And let's not forget the anchovies, fried or marinated with zucchini scapece, accompanied by mashed potatoes and lime.

Then there's the oyster menu and the seafood supplì (€3) to be fried on the spot. You can opt for the butter and anchovy version, the purple cabbage and clam filling, or the "sea and mountains" flavor of the cacciatore-style red mullet.

A completely original treat created by chef Albanesi is the carlino (3 euros), named after Piazza Carli, home to Ricci Pescheria. It's a savory and strictly seafood version of the Roman maritozzo, stuffed with gourmet seafood recipes: creamed beetroot, charred cabbage, mango chutney, and fried anchovies, or alternatively with octopus, sautéed chicory, and stracciatella.

A separate chapter should be dedicated to seafood cured meats, introduced by Usai, made from fish that is treated in a macerator and left to mature for 30 to 50 days.

From here come dishes such as tuna belly, bresaola, and 'nduja, but also steaks and whole fish to be cooked in the oven or on the grill.

Dedicated to the bistro's guests, the blackboard in the dining room displays the daily specials, which vary based on the availability of the catch. Among the hot dishes, there are also elaborate first courses featuring stuffed pasta and stocks that require hours of preparation; one example is the ravioli filled with octopus genovese, served with a root stock and fennel sauce. An alternative is the linguine with pink shrimp cream (€17) creamed with three butters (smoked butter, sour butter, and vanilla butter).

To finish the dessert: try the lemon sorbet with Taggiasca olives, salted caramel and peanut crumble (6 euros).

The sea

But how do you manage a seafood bistro in northern Rome? How do you bring seafood cuisine far from the sea? "The fish we serve is always fresh and local. We only use wild-caught fish, not farmed fish, which—paradoxically—isn't always the case in beachfront restaurants. The sea view and location of these restaurants are their strong points, but then the seafood served at the table is sometimes compromised."

At Ricci Pescheria, there's no compromise, and our philosophy is to work with select ingredients. "Our catch is excellent, and people recognize that. We want to offer dishes that change daily, depending on fish availability, but with a constant focus on high quality at affordable prices."

Ricci Fishmonger with Kitchen. Piazza Filippo Carli 16, Rome. Tel. 06 45544980. Website. Facebook. Instagram. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.