It’s Kosher in Rome’s Ghetto

The Ghetto period ended in 1870, and in the decades that followed, its ramshackle buildings were torn down and most of the Jews in Rome resettled elsewhere. Only a few hundred Jews remain living in the zone, but the area retains its cultural significance, and today it remains at the heart of Jewish life, home to two synagogues, three Jewish schools and a Jewish museum. Now, a growing number of kosher restaurants have sprung up on and around Via del Portico d’Ottavia, the main street in the Ghetto, with menus that have moved beyond fried artichokes and stuffed zucchini flowers. Among them is Ba Ghetto Milky (Via del Portico di Ottavia 2a; 39-06-6830-00-77; kosherinrome.com), a dairy kosher restaurant on the main street opened last December by Amit and Ilan Dabush, the sons of Tripoli Jews. The Dabush family escaped from Libya in 1967 and went to Israel before settling in Rome. The menu reflects their North African, Middle Eastern and Italian roots, and specialties like couscous, falafel and hummus share the page with Roman Jewish specialties like spaghetti with mullet roe and chicory. The Ghetto’s cuisine is inspired by the New World at Mamà Kosher Food (Via Portico d’Ottavia 14; 39-339-847-2084), where burgers and roast beef sandwiches are the signature dishes. Marco Spizzichino and Massimo Di Veroli, cousins, opened Mamà a year ago to fill what they saw as a void in the neighborhood’s offerings. “I worked in food service for eight years before opening this place,” Mr. Di Veroli said. “We thought people needed quick food that felt homemade, not like regular fast food.” Mr. Spizzichino said everything there was made to order. “Since most observant Jewish visitors stay in or near the Ghetto, we started offering Shabbat meals for them to reserve and take away,” he said. During the week, the small storefront is crowded with business people, students from Jewish schools and religious and secular tourists, all of whom stand around Mamà’s high communal tables for its popular hot sandwiches. There is an American influence, too, at the Ghetto’s newest kosher business. Il Mondo di Laura (Via della Reginella 8; 39-06-6880-6129; mondodilaura.com) sells parve cookies and baked goods, including brownies and carrot cake. Its owner, Laura Raccah, takes her inspiration from time spent baking in Tel Aviv, London and New York, and her tiny shop is filled with aromas familiar to all three hubs. S7heva (Via Santa Maria del Pianto 1b; 39-06-6880-1518), a cocktail bar with a patio, was opened in May 2010 by a young entrepreneur, Ilan Raccah. “I used to have a clothing shop, but with the crisis I saw that I needed to change direction,” she said. “The schools moving here brought more movement to the zone. There are parents, students, but lots of foreign visitors, too. Italians come here but there is strong international presence, as well.” Every evening except for the Sabbath, there is a happy-hour buffet offering kosher snacks like roasted, fried and marinated vegetables, falafel nuggets and pasta salad, which can be paired with cocktails or kosher wine. During the day, coffee, drinks and meals are served inside beneath exposed wooden beams or on a patio with an uninterrupted view down the main street.